French Wines

I really love this book. French wine can be very confusing to many people. This book breaks down the wine by region, using full color photos nad very nice full color geographic maps. Also gives good basic info on the main foods for each region. If going to France, or just your local wine shop, this book would greatly help. I have a very stong knowledge of French wine, but still refer to this book often.

I have come to be enchanted by this series of books. This marks, if memory serves, the fourth of these books that I have enjoyed. The book provides a nice service by beginning with context for a description of current French wines by region. The slender volume begins with a history of wine in general, and then French wine in particular. The author, Robert Joseph, notes that French wine was around before 500 B. C. Then, a section on wine making. For those interested in the nitty gritty of wine, there follows a description of the variety of raw materials--grapes from red to white, from Carignan to Viognier (plus some miscellaneous varieties to boot). And so on. . . . I learned a lot about the basics in the first segments of this book, including how different wines are made. Then, we get to labels, and my eyes glazed over! The discussion of the grades of wine, culminating in Appellation d'origine controlee. Arcane, to say the least! But fascinating! What's meant by bouquet? Elegant? Stalky? The book goes through each term. The heart of the book follows, with a region by region description of wines and the wine producers. This section begins with Alsace and Lorraine and concludes with miscellany. I like a nice red Bordeaux. So, naturally, I went to the section on this region of France wine-making. Nice discussion of a tour of the region and its history. From pages 92-111, there is a description of a series of wines coming from this region. Chateau Margaux, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (famously headed in the latter part of the 20th century by Baron Philippe de Rothschild), and so on. Delightful writing and neat little tidbits abound. And on it goes, region by region. Some of the arcane facts leave me a bit dizzy and not sure that I'm "getting it." But that's part of the fun! If you want to get an enjoyable introduction to French wine, this little book is a good start!

I have bought the latest edition (2005) of this title as well as the previous one published in 1999. This is one of the most helpful reference books on the world of French wines that you can find on the bookshelves today. The book is attractive in its size (handy), layout (very easy to locate chapter titles, topic headings, etc.), illustrations (touring maps, appellation maps in nice colours and quick to understand key), succinct text (giving you enough and relevant information). The alphabetical division of the book into the major wine-making regions of France and within each chapter, the alphabetical listing of the different sub-appellations and wines makes it really practical and a most handy and quick reference when you are searching for a particular fact or need useful information on a particular French wine or region. I highly recommend this title if you are looking for a very informative, easy to use (ie. user friendly), helpful, slim, well written book on French wines with incisive and authoritative information and comments. The author's knowledge of his subject is both deep and wide and he conveys this in an accesible manner.

While attempting to purchase a number of interesting and fine wines for my brother for Christmas and finding my knowledge of the subject lacking in almost every way, I purchased this book as it seemed to possess everything I was looking for in a fine presentation with plenty of much needed photographs. For me, visting a wine shop is a dangerous endeavor; I am dually susceptible to selecting and suspicious of the wine merchant's recommendations. After researching some fantastically priced wines on the FinestWine.com website, I took my list to my local store and was sorely disappointed. Since none of the wines I had researched were available, I needed to start at square one and did not have a square one to jump on. This book provided one. It tutored me regarding label so that I could get more grape and taste for my buck. By depicting in full color the actual labels produced by the various chateaus along with a succinct description of the producer's quality, yield, climate, soil, grape varieties, styles, longevities, etc, I was able to make some great selections.The book is divided into the different varieties of wine based on region: Alsace & Lorraine, Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc and is further exemplified by the various appellations and recommendations regarding producers and good vintages. Each of the ten regions begins with pages about the region with a drivng tour and ends with a discussion of the region's food partnerships and tasting tips. I would imagine that this would serve well on one of the popular wine tours of France.The book begins with some rudimentary information regarding the process of winemaking, label reading, red and white wine differences, starting a cellar, wine and food . . . it is extremely comprehensive and yet fits well into the 240+ page format --- every page filled with glossy photographs and interesting sidebars. If you enjoy the popular DK city/region/country travel books, you will equally enjoy this. I recommend this highly for anyone who wants to indulge in a small book with a huge amount of information.

This is precisely the book I'd been looking for. I have grown to enjoy French wines and am lucky to live near New York stores with great selections to choose from, but the subject is horribly confusing. Joseph deals with just about every wine I've come across and provides enough information to give a clear idea of how it's likely to taste and the food to have it with. I travel overseas for my work and have found it a great companion (its format is ideal for a briefcase) in restaurants with daunting lists.