The world is enamored with Italy: its culture, art, food, and fashion, its beautiful landscapes, and famous cities—and, of course, its wine.

From the ancient Greeks to the Medici, and from fascism to feminism, Italy has always been entwined with wine. Through the millennia, it has been a celebratory libation at great events, given solace in times of despair, and fortified warriors before battle. Whether Possessioni Rosso, still made by descendants of Dante; Barolo "Lazzarito," from a wine estate founded by the son of Italy's first king; or Terre Rosse di Giabbascio, pressed from grapes grown on ex-Mafia land, the peninsula's wines provide an intoxicating insight into the ideas, events, and personalities that shaped Italian history.

If history can sometimes be throat-achingly dry, writer and wine expert Marc Millon serves up a delightfully fresh take on Italy's past, present, and future, best enjoyed with a glass in hand.