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Thirsty

100 Great Wines and Stories by the Wine Guy

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

‘I like to talk about wine the way normal humans talk about things they love – it’s not about showing off how many fancy wine terms I know. The point is to share something I love with someone else in a way that makes them want to love it too.’

Thirsty is the story of Tom Gilbey (The Wine Guy) and his life in wine, a celebration of the bleedin’ beautiful people who make it, and a history of his family’s love affair with winemaking – and let’s be honest, drinking – since the 1800s.

Learn how to:
- read a label (even if you can’t speak the language)
- talk wine without sounding naff
- choose wine in a restaurant
- explain why some wine smells like your granny’s cardigan

Along the way you’ll discover 100 Wine W*nker approved bottles: wines for friendships and long lunches, for autumn afternoons and winter evenings. Whether yours is a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Kylie Minogue’s rosé or – God forbid – orange wine, Tom will help you find the good stuff, always.

Let Tom show you how this gloriously gluggable elixir is, at its heart, made to bring pleasure, and that there is no right or wrong to enjoy wine: just go for it.

‘My favourite wine w*nker’ Jack Whitehall

‘Entertaining and engaging’ Helen McGinn of @knackeredmother

© Tom Gilbey 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Culinary Food & Wine Gastronomy Professionals & Academics Wine & Beverages Heartfelt

Critic reviews

An enormously entertaining read
This engaging book…woven with lots of inspiration for the wannabe wine buff, is a significant achievement
[An] entertaining autobiographical book
Fascinating… There are laugh-out-loud moments, and real excitement and heart in this book… a full-bodied book that’s really got legs
A vibrant memoir-meets-guide bursting with 100 unforgettable wines and even juicier stories behind them
All stars
Most relevant
A very interesting book that is enthusiastic about ensuring the enjoyment of wine, as opposed to simply making you more knowledgeable, although it does educate as well. Tom comes across as being much calmer and more reflective than he does on social media, which is a good thing for a 7-hour book. The book makes me want to run to my nearest wine merchant.

My only minor gripe is that, for an audio book, the audible chapters are too long. They are all between 35-55 minutes each. It would be better if there were more shorter segments. The book is written with sub-sections within chapters so it wouldn't have been hard to do.

How to enjoy wine

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I found this the most interesting way to understand about wine and also enjoying great stories alongside. Plus felt compelled to try wines alongside reading it ! Perfect combination
An excellent read for those with any interest in wine

Great way to understand wine with excellent narration

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just finished listening and I have to admit this book is a must have in collection

Great book with great Narrator

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Gilbey has done a great job of this book. Stuffed full of wine education but woven into his life story, filled with comedy and drama. Excellently narrated.

Fun and educational

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Fun, informative and a really well structured story of Toms life of wine and what shaped him and his views. A brilliant listen made so much better with Tom narrating.

Exactly what you expect, need and want!

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