I Drink Therefore I Am

A Philosopher's Guide to Wine

We are familiar with the medical opinion that a daily glass of wine is good for the health and also the rival opinion that any more than a glass or two will set us on the road to ruin. Whether or not good for the body, Scruton argues, wine, drunk in the right frame of mind, is definitely good for the soul. And there is no better accompaniment to wine than philosophy. By thinking with wine, you can learn not only to drink in thoughts but to think in draughts. This good-humoured book offers an antidote to the pretentious clap-trap that is written about wine today and a profound apology for the drink on which civilisation has been founded. In vino veritas. 

Review: [Written with] customary brio -- Times Higher Education

4 stars [Scruton's] indisputable passion for wine will send you off to your next glass better informed and more thoughtful than before. -- Metro

[Scruton] writes deliciously ... this book is a marvellous read - provocative, spicy, balanced and brimful of wise words ... it is hugely recommendable. -- The Oldie

If you are searching for an interesting gift for the wine buff in your life, this will last a lot longer than another bottle of wine ... The greatest joy of this book is the appendix where [Scruton] suggests what wines to drink with different philosophers' works. It is irreverent and funny, but at the same time, wise. -- The Bookbag

A good-natured and witty exploration of the wine-drinking phenomenon, from its place in Christian worship to a sojourn down at the local bar. -- Good Book Guide

I have never met Roger Scruton, though I would like to ... Scruton's book is for people who are already wine lovers and want to link their pleasure to a greater world outside -- The Spectator

Author Roger Scruton appeared on Start the Week.

Mentioned in France Magazine, April 2010.

They don't come much more knowledgeable than Roger Scruton ... light-hearted but thought-provoking -- Bath Life

By turns challenging, enjoyable, thought-provoking -- Times Literary Supplement

He is by turns interesting, fatuous, informative, cranky, outrageous, rhetorically self-indulgent, and insightful...For general readers, and especially Monty Python fans, this book is great fun. Summing Up: Recommended. -- R.T. Lee, CHOICE

[Scruton is] clearly a man of remarkable energy, art and scope ... [An] entertaining experience. -- The Australian

Scruton liberally dispenses nuggets of wisdom throughout his book and very effectively uses personal narratives to make his case... the patient reader and drinker has much to glean by following the author's gustatory and thought-provoking journey in the world of wine. -- The European Legacy, Volume 16, Number 5

Reviewed in Times Higher Education Supplement, December 2009.

Reviewed in Decanter, March 2010.

Author article in Decanter, March 2010.

Article by Mark Dooley on Scruton in Irish Daily Mail, February 2010

A novel approach...there are nuggets of wisdom and insight. -- The Herald

[An] elegant defense of wine and its place in society ... offers a window into an unusually original, subtle, and independent mind: the mind of a gifted philosopher ... all wine lovers should feel compelled to read him. -- The World of Fine Wine

Chosen as a non-fiction stocking-filler in The Herald, December 2009.

The third chapter is one of the finest expressions of reverence to French wines I have ever read - perfect for curling up with in front of the fire, with a large glass of claret. -- The Scotsman

Reviewed in Evening Standard, 2009.

[Scruton] is no slouch when it comes to wine ... the first part of the book combines a memoir of his development as a "wino" (his word) with some useful tips and factoids ... in the book's second part ... he is good on wine as the expression of a place and community, on the nuances of intoxication and on the social beneficence of buying rounds. -- The Observer

Spendid ... partly a serious guide to the wines of France, Italy, and Spain and (if you must) the "New World", it is also very funny ... this is one of Scruton's most enjoyable books, uncorking much wisdom, and concluding with a wicked guide to the right drink to take while reading various philosophers. -- Steven Poole, The Guardian

Witty and philosophical. -- The Daily Telegraph