Author Andrew Jefford has travelled extensively in each of France's 14 wine regions to investigate the personalities and producers who have masterminded the resurgence of the French wine industry. Producer listings are a significant and important feature of the book as Jefford covers the background of the producers he feels worthy of mention for their contribution to the world of wine and their own individual wines. The book includes research on terroir and its effect on the wines of each region, and how accurately it is reflected by the appellation controlee system.
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About the Author
Andrew Jefford has combined his passions for writing and for wine since the late 1980s. He is the London Evening Standard's drink correspondent and contributes to a number of wine publications and websites. He presents on BBC Radio 4 and has written a range of books on wine. Andrew has received a multitude of awards, including Glenfiddich Wine Writer of the Year, International Wine & Spirit Communicator of the Year, and Glenfiddich Radio Broadcast of the Year. He lives in Hastings. Jason Lowe travels the world extensively photographing a number of subjects. His outstanding contributions to book photography include the award-winning Malt Whisky (Mitchell Beazley), and Nose to Tail Eating, among many others. Jason works with Simon Hopkinson on the Saturday Independent, for which he won the 2001 Glenfiddich award for food photography. He also contributes to a range of international publications.
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First Sentence
There is a growing realisation not just in France but around the wine world that while the final decades of the twentieth century may have been years of great progress in the winery, they were also years of catastrophe in vineyards. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
There is a growing realisation not just in France but around the wine world that while the final decades of the twentieth century may have been years of great progress in the winery, they were also years of catastrophe in vineyards. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is brilliant on so many levels that it's hard to know where to start.
First up, it operates as a guide to French wine. It explains French wine law (why labels on wine tell you what they do), it gives you vintages assessments for every region in recent years, and it lists recommended producers from every region in France (and even which within their range are worth trying). The information here will bypass absolute beginners, but will still please a broad range of people, from those with just a drop of knowledge to geniune connoisseurs.
Second, it is a wonderful evocation of France. Time and again, descriptions of scenes and moments drip with atmosphere: Jefford's witty, eloquent prose is a pleasure to read. And he's strong on describing the current issues in the French wine industry.
Yet what's most significant is that Jefford is a man with a thesis whose implications are in their way both moral and spiritual. In the new France he envisages, wine should become more truly reflective of the terroir from which it grows. Far from lambasting the AOC system (tying labelling to terroir rather than grape-variety), he rejoices in it.
And this delight in the invidivuation of wines, to reflect every nuance in the land, leads him to lament two things: first, the increasing branding of wine, which inevitably seeks to iron out variation.
His vision is to get rid of the marketing departments: let the vignerons become both viticulteur and salesman. Let those who understand the land, and the wine from which it grows, be those who communicate it to the world. That way, truth lies.
His second lament is that of winemakers who do not acknowledge their land in which they work.... Read more ›
First up, it operates as a guide to French wine. It explains French wine law (why labels on wine tell you what they do), it gives you vintages assessments for every region in recent years, and it lists recommended producers from every region in France (and even which within their range are worth trying). The information here will bypass absolute beginners, but will still please a broad range of people, from those with just a drop of knowledge to geniune connoisseurs.
Second, it is a wonderful evocation of France. Time and again, descriptions of scenes and moments drip with atmosphere: Jefford's witty, eloquent prose is a pleasure to read. And he's strong on describing the current issues in the French wine industry.
Yet what's most significant is that Jefford is a man with a thesis whose implications are in their way both moral and spiritual. In the new France he envisages, wine should become more truly reflective of the terroir from which it grows. Far from lambasting the AOC system (tying labelling to terroir rather than grape-variety), he rejoices in it.
And this delight in the invidivuation of wines, to reflect every nuance in the land, leads him to lament two things: first, the increasing branding of wine, which inevitably seeks to iron out variation.
His vision is to get rid of the marketing departments: let the vignerons become both viticulteur and salesman. Let those who understand the land, and the wine from which it grows, be those who communicate it to the world. That way, truth lies.
His second lament is that of winemakers who do not acknowledge their land in which they work.... Read more ›
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By Stormbringer
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book could be summed up in two words - France and terroir. Yet to do so would be a massive injustice on such an and obviously well-researched book.
Firstly, to France. The author, Andrew Jefford takes you on a memorable tour of the wine regions of France, as well as a background of the history of French Wine Law. For each region that he visits, he explains the history of the area, what is good about it, some myths and common accusations, and gives details of the top producers.
Then there's the terroir. You cannot help but come away from this book understanding that the soil, climate and history of a region are intrinsic to the production of a wine, much more so than in other countries. And it is the history of French wine makers, who care passionately about what they do (if a little arrogantly in the past), that has produced these efforts.
The most impressive aspect of the book, however, was it's style - I found it to be a breath of fresh. Most other wine books are full of facts, figures, maps and diagrams, with precious little in the way of decent narrative. This volume, on the other hand, paints a vivid picture of the vineyards of Burgundy, the landscape of Alsace, and the beauty of South West France. I almost felt as though I was with Mr Jefford as he described tasting white Burgundies in the cellars beneath Corton-Charlemagne.
Overall, a very good effort, and a recommendation.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Excellent book showing the huge changes we are now seeing in the oldest of old world wine areas. Andrew deals with each region of France seperately and is very informative both about the changes in each region, but also about the new wave of winemakers, using a combination of new world techniques, and old world knowledge to produce exceptional wine.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The negatives: misses some of the more exciting developments in both the Loire Valley and the South West to name but 2. Certainly nothing really new about the Bordeaux section.
The positives: the Rhone and Burgundy sections are very good especially if you are not so familiar with them.
The positives: the Rhone and Burgundy sections are very good especially if you are not so familiar with them.
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very good book if you are seriously interested in wine. The thesis is that "terrior" is the bggest factor for "fine" wine. And the French are the king exponents.
While this may not immediately be self evident to the novice wine lover it will be pretty much rammed in by the time he/she finishes this book. That said the journey through the pages is always interesting because (even during passages on the AOC system) we are in the company of impassioned people and Jefford has the accomplished gift of bringing them alive as people while not skimping on the issues of land, history and politics. The pics are a major enhancement in adding appetite appeal to the text.
Handled carefully, it will make a fine present on the coffee table for any English emigree you visit, but by then you will probably want to keep it yourself.
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