Alexandre Vène (9 results)

Condition: New.

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Paperback. Condition: New.

Condition: New.

Condition: New.

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Condition: New.

Paperback. Condition: New.

Softcover/Paperback. Condition: Fine. First Edition. 1867 First Edition. In 8vo. Pp. [1] f.e., 58, [2], [1] r.e. Bordeaux. Imprimerie Administrative de Ragot. Original wrappers. No defects. Fine. Rare first edition of this slim survey, pitched at a general readership rather than the wine trade itself and belonging to the promotional à vol d'oiseau genre common in French regional publishing of the period. The formula had already entered wine literature with Auguste Luchet's La Côte-d'Or à vol d'oiseau (1858), and was brought to Bordeaux by Dr. Aussel's much larger La Gironde à vol d'oiseau. Ses grands vins et ses châteaux in 1865. Vène's vol d'oiseau, appearing only two years later, is a remarkably concise Bordeaux contribution to the same genre. The book's own structure narrows twice over: the city of Bordeaux first, in a single sweep from its medieval walls to its 1867 population of two hundred thousand; then its vineyards, surveyed soil by soil and grape by grape; and finally its wines, ranked from the first growths of the Médoc down to the humblest palus reds, fit, in the author's own estimation, only for cheap taverns. Its Conseils vinicoles chapter turns practical, naming the tricks of merchants who fake a price "sacrifice" and counterfeiters trading under invented sociétés de propriétaires, a period consumer-protection notice tucked into a wine guide. Elsewhere, rather than explain fermentation himself, the author directs his reader to Pasteur's work by way of Saint Paul's question to the Corinthians. Absent from Simon, Vicaire, Labadie, and Oberlé. Ref. BnF, FRBNF31555397. The first part, Bordeaux à vol d'oiseau, traces the city's development from its early foundations through the civil wars between 1451 and 1700 and its subsequent expansion. It concludes with a portrait of Bordeaux in 1867, when its population approached two hundred thousand, describing its principal thoroughfares and a harbor capable of accommodating eighteen hundred ships. The second, Les Vignes de la Gironde, opens with a general account of the vine, distinguishing the wild Vitis labrusca from Linnaeus's cultivated Vitis vinifera, and discusses its productive life and principal enemies, including spring frost, insects, hail, and oïdium, still causing considerable damage at the time of writing. The author then examines Gironde viticulture, cultivated area, average yields, and the four principal types of terrain (côteaux, graves, palus, and hautes-plaines) identifying the gravel soils of the Médoc as the source of its finest wines. Cépages Bordelais catalogues the principal red varieties of the Gironde, among them petit verdot, gros verdot, merlot, carmenet, carmenère, and malbeck, recording several of their contemporary local synonyms. De la Vinification concludes the section with observations on winemaking and the trade's distinction between a domaine, producing several wines from scattered parcels, and a propriété, producing only one. For the chemistry of fermentation, the author directs his reader to Pasteur. The third part, Les Vins de Bordeaux, begins with a defense of wine's healthfulness and a short history of the Bordeaux wine trade. Particular attention is given to the great growths, with ownership histories, anecdotes, and production figures for Château-Lafite, Château-Margaux, and Château-Latour. Lafite is associated with the Maréchal de Richelieu and Louis XV; Margaux is described as the "Versailles of the Médoc"; and Latour's succession of owners is traced into the Société civile du vignoble de Latour. The survey continues with Château-Haut-Brion, the first growth of Graves, renowned since the reign of Louis XI, and Château-Yquem, the great white wine of Sauternes. The author recalls personally purchasing the 1848 Yquem for a friend in Turin at seventeen francs a bottle. Further chapters cover Saint-Émilion, described as the Burgundy of the Gironde, the wider Médoc, Blaye, Bourg, Fronsac, the palus wines, and the whites of Sauternes, Barsac, Cérons, and Graves.…