The simple thread that allowed Robert Wagner to visit every continent in the world and every state in the nation, to meet former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton and to lecture aboard the Queen Elizabeth II was wine. But the spirited way Wagner got to where he is today is a recipe all his own.

Wagner will share his wine expertise at the Coupeville Library Sunday, Sept. 18 at 4 p.m.

“My interest in wine is because it is the oldest known liquid beverage that has traversed different cultures and societies for thousands of years. Unfortunately, Prohibition in the United States was not very helpful to the research and development of the wine industry in the U.S.,” Wagner said.

This interest has allowed him to visit France, Germany and Italy more than 40 times, plus Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina to purchase and study wine.

At the event Sunday, Wagner plans to teach how to buy, drink and taste wine. Most importantly, he’ll teach people how to read the label to distinguish fine wine from “one of the biggest frauds in wine: ‘Two-Buck Chuck,’” Wagner said.

Attendees will sample six wines from the San Antonio Winery, owned by the Riboli family.

“They’re a highly-recommended family. For 91 years they’re still the sole owners of their company and produce more than 500,000 cases per year. It’s a rarity to see a well-knit, family-owned winery,” Wagner said.

When Wagner got into wine in 1955, there were about 300 wineries in California. Today, there are approximately 3,600 wineries but most are no longer family-owned, Wagner said.

“You have to know what you’re selling. Wine is a food substance in European countries. You don’t drink it as an alcohol, you drink it with meals. People treat it as an alcohol but I treat it as a food substance,” Wagner said.

Hundreds of bottles age in Wagner’s wine cellar. Among them are a 1970 Mouton Rothschild with an estimated value of nearly $1,400 and a commemorative cabernet sauvignon from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, where he attended college.

At his wine presentation, he’ll reveal the evolution of wine as rich as his personal evolution from his childhood in poverty to the generous supporter of education Wagner is today.

Wagner’s mother raised five children singlehandedly and money was always scarce. In 1940, at the age of 16, Wagner used his brother’s birth certificate to enlist in the Army without a high school diploma.

When he came home from World War II, 23-year-old Wagner applied to Georgetown University but the registrar told him he wasn’t qualified because he had no high school diploma.

“I got a distressed look on my face and she said she’d tell me what she’d do. She’d put me on a one-year probation and if I passed I’d get a degree,” Wagner said. At 27, he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics.

After college, Wagner worked for Barclay Knitwear as assistant to the president and revamped the system to provide more order in the factory. He held various sales positions before becoming manager of a liquor shop owned by his cousin.

Six months later, Wagner’s cousin put the store, called Squires of South Pasadena, up for sale and Wagner snapped it up — only to find himself unprepared to sell liquor in the small, “dry” town of South Pasadena, which still embraced the old ideas of Prohibition.

Wagner’s entrepreneurial spirit flamed to life and he studied French and Italian wines and attended wine courses in Germany. He found mentors and transformed Squires into a full-service community shop. The young men he hired for deliveries would even walk dogs and water lawns for customers.

Wagner only hired students saving money for college; if they mentioned buying a new car, he passed over them.

“Our family believes that education is the key to knowledge,” Wagner said, adding that education allowed him to overcome poverty and become a widely-recognized wine connoisseur.

Wagner’s respect for education didn’t stop there. He funds six scholarships for needy students at Georgetown University and he assisted in raising more than $5 million to refurbish buildings for an alumni house at Georgetown, named the Robert and Bernice Wagner Alumni House for Wagner and his wife.

Wagner catered the Georgetown University Class of 1968 reunions and met fellow graduate Bill Clinton and his family. He said he especially enjoyed meeting Hillary because he respects her intelligence.

Wagner has also catered wine functions for Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Ford Motor Company, and lectured on cruises on every major European river.

Grab a taste of his teaching — and wine — by registering at www.sno-isle.org or call 678-4911.