The father of Australia's now very lucrative wine industry was a Scot, James Busby (1801-1871), who emigrated to New South Wales in 1824. He began experimenting with vine growing on the land he received in the Hunter Valley, publishing several papers on viticulture. In 1831 he returned temporarily to Britain and the following year he made a four-month tour of Spanish and French vineyards, investigating the local vines and production methods. This book is an account of his tour, originally published in Sydney the previous year.