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The New France
 
 
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The New France (Hardcover)

by Andrew Jefford (Author), Jason Lowe (Photographer) "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..." (more)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Mitchell Beazley (17 Oct 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 184000410X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1840004106
  • Product Dimensions: 28.7 x 22.6 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 303,452 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description
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.

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.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
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
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Should have been called The Real France, 27 Feb 2004
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.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Perceptive, enlightening, witty: wine with soul, 2 April 2007
By R. S. Stanier "Robert Stanier" (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides) (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. He laments New World winemakers and British winewriters who seek only after 'fruit'. Fruitiness in wine is for him a temporary, superficial pleasure, because fruity wine can come from anywhere. Wine should emphasise its terroir, for only that piece of land can produce that bottle of wine. Choice of grapes should therefore not be decided on by what pleases the public, but by what best draws out and delineates the terroir from which it comes.

It is possibly an elitist argument, but in the five years since the first edition of this book was published, it has been substantiated rather than damaged. Chasing the consumers led to widespread planting of chardonnay in the last 90s, only for consumers to head away to sauvignon blanc and viognier. The Robert Parker inspired Merlot phenomenon led to hectare upon hectare of Merlot but "Sideways" led a counter rebellion against it.

For Jefford, yes, grow Merlot, but only where Merlot draws out the land. His heroes are those who insist on, Carignan, say, in Provence, because that's what works there. The vigneron should submit himself to the land, not try to make the land grow what is not 'true' to that land: that is too arrogant. Jefford's not uncritical of the AOC system - it's clumsy and slow to change in many places - but the fact that it that has preserved pinot noir in Burgundy, chenin blanc in the Loire, and syrah in the Rhone etc. is something for which he rejoices.

In exploring this thesis, the whole book is transported beyond a guide to French wine to something much deeper and more profound. I didn't agree with all of it, but in its quirky way it's made me think more than almost any other piece of non-fiction I've read in the last five years.
A brilliant book, then, full of pleasures and with much to ruminate on. One you will keep wanting to dip into.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars French wine and New?, 9 May 2003
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.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Tank you for the terrior!
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. Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2003

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