He is a fiction writer whose research is concerned with eighteenth—and nineteenth-century social and cultural practices that emerged around tea, coffee, and wine. He is particularly interested in how they influenced social structures, rituals, commerce, and intellectual circles and how the consumption of these beverages was associated with class, manners, and evolving notions of taste. He is working on a novel about Duke Nelson, the Georgia okra farmer, winemaker, mechanical engineer, and inventor, as well as a collection of essays organized by wine-tasting notes.