In Mediterranean countries, whenever a beverage is being served, it is customary to lay a rose next to the glass. This is considered to be a gracious gesture coupling the beauty of a rose with that of wine — both being the fruit of a perfect blend of nature and art. Vineyards and wine evoke so many lovely images and so many ardent poetic yearnings, have inspired so many joys of writing, are suitable for so many artistic variations, combine so many tastes and fragrances, harmonize with so many styles, fuel so many imaginings, and take on so much symbolism, that any mention of them inevitably involves art and beauty. Discussing aesthetics is therefore an irresistible temptation: the aesthetics of landscapes and of work in vineyards, of wineries and wine's growth and maturation process, of wine-tasting and the art of presenting wines, etc.

Anne-Marie Royer-Pantin, has written various books on country cooking and the history of wine-growing regions. She was awarded the Edmond de Rothschild Prize for her latest opus, Dégustations fabuleuses (2003).