The Finest Wines of Champagne: A Guide to the Best Cuvées, Houses, and Growers (World's Finest Wines) - Softcover

Edwards, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520259408 ISBN 13: 9780520259409

Publisher: University of California Press, 2009

Synopsis

Champagne is synonymous with celebration and success - but have its festive associations detracted from its status as a fine wine in its own right? Drawing on his intimate knowledge of a classic but rapidly changing region, Michael Edwards takes a radically different approach in this unrivaled, terroir-based guide to the world's best sparkling wines. Ninety in-depth profiles of the best small growers as well as the greatest houses are organized geographically - from the finest producers of the great city of Reims, wine towns of Epernay and Ay, and the leading villages of the Marne, and to the rising stars of the Aube (Cote des Bar) and beyond. Edwards also discusses the culture of Champagne, reviews trends in viticulture and winemaking, and investigates controversial solutions to the current crisis of success in a region that cannot satisfy global demand for its wines. Additional sections explore the gastronomic traditions of the area, give advice on pairing Champagne with food, survey the vintages of the past 20 years, list the wines with the best price-to-quality ratio, and more, making this extensively illustrated work a true connoisseur's guide to the most glamorous and perhaps the most enigmatic of French wines.

About this title

Review:

"Straightforward yet refreshingly opinionated."--New York Times (11/18/2009)

"Delivers big time."--Chicago Tribune (12/09/2009)

"My favorite 2009 wine book."--The Wine News (01/01/2010)

About the Author:

Michael Edwards is a writer specializing in Champagne and gastronomy. He is the author of the best-selling Champagne Companion (winner of Le Prix Lanson), Pocket Guide to Champagne and Sparkling Wine, and The Red Wine Companion. Edwards is also a regular contributor to The World of Fine Wine among other publications.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0520259408
• ISBN 13: 9780520259409
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320