Ludger Mees completed his PhD in History at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, and was Assistant Professor at the same institution before taking up a lectureship at the University of the Basque Country in 1991. Since 2004 he has been full Professor of Contemporary History at the University of the Basque Country, and between 2004 and 2009 he was also Vice-Chancellor. He is author, co-author or editor of 17 books and about 120 articles and book chapters in the fields of nationalism, social movements, historiography and agrarian history. His recent publications include Una Historia Social del Vino: Rioja, Navarra, Cataluña 1860–1940 and The Basque Contention: Ethnicity, Politics, Violence.
On the one hand, Mees's new publication is a weaving together of different research strands, a synthesis of his preoccupation with the history of wine-making in the Rioja region. On the other hand, this book is an attempt to achieve something new, something that goes beyond his past research. The chosen secondary title of the book, Tradition and Innovation , gives a hint at the hinge on which the author's history of Rioja and its wines hangs; it is the oscillation between two poles - one conservative in nature, the other one exploring the new - that explains much of the region's wine-producing story [...] Thanks to Ludger Mees's excellent guidance and this gem of a book we now know more about the history behind Rioja wines, how they came into being and finally reached our palates. -Andreas Hess, expert from book review, 'The Grapes of Mirth' in Dublin Review Books.