Keevil, Susan – The Bell Bookshop

On Champagne

Emma — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

“On Champagne is the wine book that every lover of the world’s most famous bubbles has been waiting for – whether they realised it or not.” – Club O Enologique

“…if you love champagne, this is another must-buy. And apologies for the terrible pun, but it is genuinely true – this book fizzes with wonderful stuff.” – Jancis Robinson

“Presenting the story of the iconic French fizz from its accidental beginnings to the present day and looking to the future, there is plenty for Champagne-lovers to enjoy.” – Decanter
Champagne is never a simple glass of fizz? As soon as the cork flies, the first sip reveals a wine of fascinating complexity. For even the most modest non-vintage cuvée, a bevy of blending decisions, multi layers of history and the incalculable climate of this northern corner of France all come into play. In On Champagne the thoughts, opinions and conclusions of the world’s finest champagne writers gather to reveal this wine’s action-packed trajectory from the myth of its accidental discovery – not in France, we find, but in the cider cellars of England – to the development of a high-tech champagne fit for space travel. It’s a journey that starts and ends with capturing that sparkle in a bottle and along the way beguiles us with the nuances of its chalky terrain, the determination of rebels from Ambonnay to Avize, and the mystery of a champagne cellar under the sea. We meet the pioneers who created the great champagnes of the past and the personalities who are ‘greening’ this landscape, nurturing it through climate change to shape the exquisite champagnes of the future.

On California

Emma — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

On California explores the grapes and the people who have made California wine great. The pioneers, the boffins, the whizz-kids and scientists, many of whom tell their stories on its pages – some in precious archive material, others have set down their thoughts mid-pandemic in 2021: Randall Grahm, Gerald Asher, Steven Spurrier, Paul Draper and Warren Winiarski take a bow?. Includes: California wine and the future: where will the ‘California spirit’ lead next? The ‘Hollywood Grape’: our authors chart the path of Cabernet Sauvignon, from the wish-list of Thomas Jefferson to the hallowed hillsides of Stag’s Leap and Screaming Eagle 1976? Of course it was a competition! Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher look back at the motivations behind the famous Paris wine tasting Top New York sommelier Victoria James tells of her near-death introduction to the whacky world of winemaking in Sonoma Will the real Zinfandel please stand up? Paul Draper seeks out the true heritage of California’s versatile orphan grape Contributions from top California writers: Elaine Chukan Brown, Mary Margaret McCamic MW, Karen MacNeil, Esther Mobley, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Liz Thach MW, Clare Tooley MW, and Kelli White Hugh Johnson, Jane Anson and Fiona Morrison MW introduce California’s intrepid wine pioneers Rex Pickett’s Sideways heroes, Jack and Miles, clink glasses over the Central Coast’s finest Pinot Noir A-Z: from ‘Bob’ Mondavi to Xylem sap-sensors and pink Zinfandel – California wine in bite-size Hugh Johnson pays tribute to Bordeaux master Michael Broadbent.

On Bordeaux

Emma — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

When things turn out right for Bordeaux, as they frequently do, its wines are sublime. They inspire many thousands of tributes, from Samuel Pepys’ succinct reviews to the most rhapsodic of Michael Broadbent’s tasting notes – in short, over 300 years of wine writing. On Bordeaux is a collection of the best bits, from our best-loved wine writers, critics and commentators, set around 10 of the themes that make Bordeaux tick. As Jane Anson writes in her introduction: “multi-layered, clear-eyed, moving and often extremely funny [this] collection of stories? celebrates, illuminates and renews our understanding of Bordeaux.” * Hugh Johnson, Fiona Beckett and Baron Elie de Rothschild discuss dining out on Bordeaux: how best to serve it, with what and who with. * Mathieu Chadronnier, Christian Seely and Joe Fattorini shed light on the way we see claret today. * Ian Maxwell Campbell extols the virtues of 1871 and 1875, the last great vintages before the phylloxera plague. * Fiona Morrison MW explores Bordeaux’s great bounce-back and how the vintage of 1982 changed everything. * John Salvi, Bill Blatch and Peter Vinding-Diers reveal the wines that lead the way to Bordeaux’s future. * Joe Fattorini serves up everything you need to know on running the iconic Me ´doc Marathon. * Hugh Johnson pays tribute to Bordeaux master Michael Broadbent.

Which Wine Guide 2003

Emma — Thu, 31 Oct 2002 00:00:00 +0000

This guide offers the reader an A-Z tour of the wine-producing regions of the world, with critical assessments of the producers, vintages and grape varieties. It also includes a directory of wine merchants, and three Â£5 vouchers redeemable against wine purchases from participating merchants.