The Story of Champagne

by Nicholas Faith

It is extraordinary enough that one small area in north-eastern France, on the northern edge of Europe's wine-growing regions, should be capable of producing the finest sparkling wine in the world, one of the few worth discussing as a wine and not merely as a sparkling beverage. Yet champagne fascinates not only wine lovers, but also historians - social, economic, political - linguists, physiologists, physicists and chemists.
The long-awaited new edition of Nicholas Faith's landmark The story of champagne tells the tale of champagne from the winemakers' point of view. This classic study of the world's greatest wine is a masterpiece of storytelling and analysis that has for decades sent readers away with renewed excitement about the different types of champagne and the landscape, geology and climate that inspire them.
The story of champagne explores the history of champagne from its origins in the seventeenth century to the high-tech industry of the twenty-first before examining the wine itself, how it is made, the crus, the vines and the harvest. Faith provides completely up-to-date statistics on wine production and consumption and finishes the book with an all-important evaluation of today's most important producers.
The story of champagne is essential reading for anyone interested in the world's most celebrated wine.

Genres: Nonfiction, Wine

272 pages, Paperback

Published September 5, 2016

About the author

Nicholas Faith is a former senior editor for the Sunday Times and The Economist, a journalist and author.

He has written widely on wines, spirits and transport.

In 1996 he founded the International Spirits Challenge.

In September 2010 Nicholas Faith was the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Bureau National Interprofessional de Cognac.

Reviews

[Randal White · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Story of Champagne" is a book of great depth, balance, and intensity. Refined and classy. Like a bottle of Brut champagne, the book tends to be rather dry. For those whose tastes run to complexity, this would be a good fit.

[Randal White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like A Bottle Of Brut  "The Story of Champagne" is a book of great depth, balance, and intensity. Refined and classy. Like a bottle of Brut champagne, the book tends to be rather dry. For those whose tastes run to complexity, this would be a good fit.

[Caley Brennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book could have benefited from more coherency to make the writing a bit less dry in places, but it is nevertheless a very informative summary of the history and production of champagne and accompanied by interesting photographs.

[Ceilidhchaos · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are better, more thorough and more current books on this topic.