According to wine historian Dr Julie McIntyre, there's a story in every bottle of wine.
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Dr McIntyre will reveal all when she delves into the history of wine in the Hunter Valley on Thursday at Cessnock Library.
Co-author of Hunter Wine: A History, Dr McIntyre will share insights covering our history all the way back 1828.
She will talk through six generations touching on the historical and technological developments that have culminated in today's thriving local community.
Council's Library Services Co-ordinator, Rose-marie Walters said the local landscape and local people have been shaped by the presence of vineyards and wineries since early colonisation.
"It will be a fascinating talk covering the connected histories of nature and culture in our region by looking at them from the aspect of wine history," she said.
Dr McIntyre is a senior lecturer in history at the University of Newcastle.
Her research for the book Hunter Wine: A History, stemmed from an Australian Research Council Linkage Project Scheme Vines, Wine and Identity: The Hunter Valley NSW and Changing Australian Taste.
She is the 2018 State Library of NSW Merewether Fellow and a 2019 Fulbright Scholar.
As an academic at the University of Newcastle, Dr McIntyre is one of Australia's leading wine historians.
Wine has carried Dr McIntyre back through her own family tree, and from those roots a vast area of research has blossomed for her.
Dr McIntyre was born in 1967 - "an excellent year for wine in the Hunter Valley, as it happens" - and her early life was spent on the land.
The Hunter Wine book looks at characters through six generations, including the great families who have shaped the region; names such as Tulloch, McGuigan and Tyrrell.
The book points out that a wine region is about more than individuals, and that a raft of forces - environmental, economic, and social - have had a huge impact on what ends up in the bottle, and on the industry and the Hunter through the years.
The book talk, which starts at 5.30pm is a free event with complimentary Drayton's Family Wine tasting and cheese.
Bookings are essential. Book online under "Events and Bookings" at libraries.cessnock.nsw.gov.au, or call Cessnock Library on 4993 4399 or Kurri Kurri Library on 4937 1638.