Godforsaken Grapes: A Slightly Tipsy Journey through the World of Strange, Obscure, and Underappreciated Wine

Written by Jason Wilson

Narrated by Jonathan Horvath

There are nearly 1,400 known varieties of wine grapes in the world—from altesse to zierfandler—but 80 percent of the wine we drink is made from only 20 grapes. In Godforsaken Grapes, Jason Wilson looks at how that came to be and embarks on a journey to discover what we miss.

Stemming from his own growing obsession, Wilson moves far beyond the “noble grapes,” hunting down obscure and underappreciated wines from Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, France, Italy, the United States, and beyond. In the process, he looks at why these wines fell out of favor (or never gained it in the first place), what it means to be obscure, and how geopolitics, economics, and fashion have changed what we drink. A combination of travel memoir and epicurean adventure, Godforsaken Grapes is an entertaining love letter to wine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abrams Books
• Release date: Apr 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781683354369

Jason Wilson

JASON WILSON, series editor, is the author of Godforsaken Grapes, Boozehound, and The Cider Revival. He is the creator of the newsletter and podcast Everyday Drinking. Wilson has been the series editor of The Best American Travel Writing since its inception in 2000. His work can be found at jasonwilson.com.

Reviews for Godforsaken Grapes

[Trent Thurton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very detailed, and excellent information. Really liked his writing style. A great read. Would love to share a bottle of weird wine with the author.

[Paulo Arany Prado · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

IF YOU LOVE WINE, Y O U M U S T R E A D... or listen

People might argue what is relevant in wine. Tough that they might differ in their opinions and preferences, I would say, that even the most callused and skeptical wine enthusiast might agree that vouching for wine diversity is important.

Delicious narrative, of events, people, places and wines.
But it is very hard to listen with an empty glass.

Immersive narration (though Portuguese grape names pronunciation could be more accurate)

[Alexander Anderson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An intelligent exploration away from the Nobles and into the burgeoning area of the lesser-known varietals and wines.


Entertaining and well-written.

[John Peter Fella · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

boring,too much detail and a bit pondorous for long listening