Wines of France: A Guide to 500 Leading Vineyards - Hardcover

Lewin MW, Benjamin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0983729247 ISBN 13: 9780983729242

Publisher: Vendange Press, 2015

Synopsis

Wines of France provides a comprehensive account of the vineyards and wines of France today. Offering unparalleled range, France has been the world's most important wine-producing country for more than a hundred years, and is the source of the major grape varieties now grown all over the world.

Extensively illustrated with photographs and maps of each area, Wines of France reviews wine production in all regions of France, from the top appellation wines to discoveries in Vins de France. Selected wines are suggested as an introduction to each area.

From the classics of Burgundy and Bordeaux, to the sparkling wines of Champagne, and the challenging climates of Alsace and the Loire, from the Rhône to the Languedoc and Provence, all of France's wine regions are included. Each chapter ends with detailed vintage information.

France's wines are better than ever, but have never been so challenged by competition. Considering the tension between tradition and modernism, Wines of France asks whether France is still the essential reference point for grape varieties and wine styles, explains how production is changing in established regions, and identifies new emerging regions.

Leading vineyards and winemakers are profiled in detail, with suggestions for wines to try and vineyards to visit. With comprehensive coverage of the wine-producing regions, and reviews of 500 wine producers, this is the indispensable guide to the wines of France.

Contents: The State of France; Burgundy & Beaujolais; Bordeaux & the Southwest; Champagne & Crémant; Alsace; The Loire; The Rhône; Languedoc & Provence; The Challenge to France.

About this title

About the Author:

Benjamin Lewin MW brings a unique combination of qualifications in wine and science to bear on the world of wine. He is one of only 300  Masters of Wine, and was the founding Editor of Cell journal. He has written a series of critically acclaimed books on wine, which have been shortlisted for the prestigious Andre Simon and Roederer awards. In addition to his books, he also writes the myths and realities column in the World of Fine Wine, and contributes to Decanter magazine  His blog on wine is at lewinonwine.com.

Review:

THIS STUDY OF the wines of France breaks new ground for the stupendously industrious Benjamin Lewin MW. His previous books had been projected at insiders (What Price Bordeaux?, Wine Myths and Reality) or at informed wine lovers (In Search of Pinot Noir, Claret & Cabs). In contrast, this new book is far more introductory, exploring the major regions: their grape varieties, terroir, economic structure and top names.

This allows Lewin to make ample use of his secret weapon: statistics, dolled up in the form of pie charts, graphs, tables, aerial photographs and highlighted maps. More so than in his other books, they are usually very helpful. What other publication gives us a table of the surface in each region devoted to ungrafted vineyards? In an introductory chapter he faces up to the confusion about AC and AP, IGT and IGP, and there is fighting talk about their inadequacies. He is also sceptical about biodynamism, accepting the excellence of many wines produced by this method, but ascribing it to attentiveness in the vineyards rather than to the mystical potency of hermetic treatments.

Although much of the book covers ground familiar to most lovers of French wine, Lewin handles the material with aplomb, tackling issues, in the Burgundy chapter, such as land prices, the blurred boundary between grower and négociant, and premature oxidation. Indeed, he is excellent at asking the right awkward questions: about classifications in Bordeaux, about high yields and unclear disgorgement dates in Champagne, about yields and the grand cru system in Alsace, about the use of new oak in the Rhône for Syrah, and about rising alcohol levels in the southern Rhône.

Almost half the book is devoted to 500 profiles (two per page) of Lewin's pick of estates in France. His portraits are descriptive rather than judgmental but none the worse for that. The book as a whole is not a regurgitation of entirely familiar material. Lewin has clearly spent months on the road, talking to, then quoting from, the great and the good of each region. It is also lavishly illustrated... In all respects this is an admirable introduction to French wine, taking the place of Clive Coates MW's magisterial study of the subject 15 years ago.
Stephen Brook, Decanter

Like the author's preceding four wine books, this work resembles satisfying wine. Seasoned with clearly presented facts and figures, it entices with its purview and perspective, fulfills with substantive body and complexity, and finishes by leaving the reader with much to consider. It honors what makes French wine great, and exposes the shams.

Benjamin Lewin, MW, an accomplished scientific author, editor and publisher, has transformed himself into an important wine authority. His books, well mounted and generously illustrated, are grounded in the abundant documentation of personal visits, interviews and tastings - this one in all the areas of vinous France that matter and a few more. Characteristically and most valuably, Lewin addresses philosophical controversies, asking provocative questions. Many issues are illuminated, not a few unresolvable: modernists (or New Worlders) vs. traditionalists; the pervasive and likely future effects of global warming; paradoxes real or apparent; industrial or traditional or organic or biodynamic viticulture; and more.

After a clear overview come detailed chapters on the important French wine regions. Each ends with assessment of recent vintages and Lewin's selections of reference wines for various categories...Lewin concludes with an appraisal of vinous France's challenges. Once utterly dominant, now rivaled both as producer and exporter, some of its problems are its own doing.Witness its inexplicably powerful antialcohol movement. While France iscompetent at all levels of quality, it probably can't compete makinghighproduction varietal wines (vins de cépage), and may have toconcentrate on high-quality vins d'appellation, i.e.,
wines of terroir.

Just when the volume seems finished, we are treated to a large bonus: 25O pages of profiles of 5OO "leading vineyards", each astutely characterized. There follow a list of recommended vineyard visits, a bibliography, pages of informative notes, and 22 double-columned pages of index. Readers get a lot for their money.

Harvey Finkel, Mass Beverage Business

Wines of France is perhaps as much a love letter about France as it is a treatise on understanding her vineyards. The book begins with the overview of the state of France... This chapter is almost a book in itself. The complexities of Burgundy are unfolded and analysed with care. Subsequent chapters look at Bordeaux and the South West, Champagne and Crémant, Alsace, Loire, Rhône, Languedoc and Provence, treating each with the same gravitas and exquisite attention to detail, his very real love for some of the wines and vineyards quite palpable on the page.

Rather usefully, Lewin has tabulated a handful of what he calls 'reference wines' at the end of each section. These are specific wines that Lewin believes exemplify an appellation (or IGP) and are generally available, rather than the best or most famous wines. It's a brilliant benchmark wine shopping list for the serious wine student.

The second part of the book is a series of neat, succinct producer profiles, again incredibly useful for anyone wanting to visit producers or plan a wine trip to one of the regions. This, surely, must be the Bible of French wine. Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Vendange Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0983729247
• ISBN 13: 9780983729242
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 680