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University of California Press

French Wine

A History
by Rod Phillips (Author)
Hardcover Paperback eBook
Price: $17.95 / £14.99
Publication Date: Oct 2016
Edition: 1st Edition
Title Details:
Rights: World
Pages: 319
ISBN: 9780520960770
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Illustrations: 4 maps, 10 b/w illustrations,
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About the Book

"A fascinating book that belongs on every wine lover’s bookshelf."—The Wine Economist

"It’s a book to read for its unstoppable torrent of fascinating and often surprising details."—Andrew Jefford, Decanter

For centuries, wine has been associated with France more than with any other country. France remains one of the world’s leading wine producers by volume and enjoys unrivaled cultural recognition for its wine. If any wine regions are global household names, they are French regions such as Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy. Within the wine world, products from French regions are still benchmarks for many wines.
 
French Wine is the first synthetic history of wine in France: from Etruscan, Greek, and Roman imports and the adoption of wine by beer-drinking Gauls to its present status within the global marketplace. Rod Phillips places the history of grape growing and winemaking in each of the country’s major regions within broad historical and cultural contexts.

Examining a range of influences on the wine industry, wine trade, and wine itself, the book explores religion, economics, politics, revolution, and war, as well as climate and vine diseases. French Wine is the essential reference on French wine for collectors, consumers, sommeliers, and industry professionals.

About the Author

Rod Phillips teaches history at Carleton University in Ottawa and is the author of a number of books on European social history and the history of wine and alcohol, including Alcohol: A History and A Short History of Wine.

Table of Contents

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
A NOTE ON USAGE

INTRODUCTION
1. FROM THE BEGINNINGS TO 1000 CE
2. THE MIDDLE AGES: 1000–1500
3. NEW WINES, NEW REGIONS: 1500–1700
4. ENLIGHTENMENT AND REVOLUTION: 1700–1800
5. STABILITY AND GROWTH: 1800–1870
6. PHYLLOXERA AND RENEWAL: 1870–1914
7. PINARD AND POSTWAR FRANCE: 1914–1930
8. FROM DEPRESSION TO LIBERATION: 1930–1945
9. FRENCH WINE REINVENTED: 1945 TO THE PRESENT
CONCLUSION

NOTES
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

Reviews

"Rod Phillips' comprehensive book, French Wine: A History, is an absolute tour de force, sure to be an instant classic."
— Wine Country Geographic
"Offers insight on France's modern rise to wine world prominence, taking us back through several eras (Enlightenment to the Middle Ages, and beyond) to show us that the country's current premiere status was hard-won. Wine does not exist in a vacuum, and Phillips touches on several of the industry's outside forces in France, including religion and politics — two things you want to avoid talking about when you're drinking, but should feel free to read about anytime."
— Chicago Tribune
"A fascinating book that belongs on every wine lover’s bookshelf."
— The Wine Economist
"An absolute tour de force, sure to be an instant classic."
— Organic Wines Uncorked
"A Must Have for any wine lover. It is composed of exceedingly good information - a well researched substantive book that is a very satisfying read. I dare you not to underline half of it."
— Organic Wines Uncorked
"History buffs and French wine fans will enjoy."
— Winnipeg Free Press
"Almost every page contains a gem."
— The Guardian
"Phillips' lively masterwork seamlessly wraps culture, politics and religion into an adventurous saga covering 25 centuries and a fascinating array of happenings into a compelling and engaging narrative. History lessons should always be this engrossing."
— Star Tribune
"Phillips has packed so much into this book that no one-page review will ever do it justice, and neither would there be any point in writing more. He writes so much better than I can summarise. With so much exquisite detail, and yet with the rare ability to keep looping the reader back to the big picture, he rewards anyone who is remotely curious about how we've got to where we are with French wine. It is not a paean to French wine, and neither is it a deposition. It's the piecing together of a jigsaw puzzle, and whether you like the end picture or not is entirely up to you."
— JancisRobinson.com
"Candid, crashing and trashing some of the wine world’s favorite mythology to entertaining effect."
— Kansas City Star
"It’s a book to read for its unstoppable torrent of fascinating and often surprising details."
— Decanter
"This is addictively readable history, Phillips’s easy style backed up by formidable research."
— New Statesman
"Sizable in terms of the rich historical content and context of the topic. . . . It’s not a fast or particularly easy read, but ultimately a worthwhile one."
— 1WineDude
"Phillips’s masterly survey of the history of French wine covers a 2,500-year span from 500 BCE to the present day. Deeply knowledgeable, remarkably clear, and consistently readable, it is the first such history in the English language."
— The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs
"For the first time in English, this book comprehensively addresses the study of the production, consumption, and trade of wine in France from the beginning of the activity to the present day. . . .  Constitutes an interesting contribution and an essential reference on the subject."
— Journal of Wine Economics
"A masterpiece in its genre and should be a must in the bookshelf of anyone interested in French wines."
— Vinforum
“From the Greeks and Romans, the Black Death, the Classification of 1855,Phylloxera, and two world wars, do you need all this information? If you’re a wine guy… you do!”
 
— KSRO/The Radio Wine Guy
"This is a masterful survey of French wine that takes us from the Etruscans through the modern love affair with terroir. For those interested in wine and wine history, Rod Phillips takes us on an adventure that will broaden both our historical knowledge and our palate."—Kolleen M. Guy, author of When Champagne Became French

"This is a landmark book. Phillips captures with great authority the ups and downs of the world’s most illustrious winemaking nation and tells the story of French wine from its beginnings 2,500 years ago to the present day. The history of France’s big three wine regions—Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne—are given special attention, but other regions are also part of the story. Lively, serious, and engaging, Phillips's book provides the only overview of French wine in English."—Noelle Plack, Newman University

"Written with an academic’s knowledge and a connoisseur’s understanding, this magisterial overview is the most authoritative and compelling history of the world’s most important and inspiring wine country."—Neil Beckett, editor of The World of Fine Wine

"“From the Celts to the Cistercians, claret to Chaptal, Rod Phillips tells the story of French wine with the detail and insight that also characterised his A Short History of Wine. His new book is a brilliant overview of the greatest wine-producing country on earth.”—Tim Atkin MW

Awards

  • 2017 Gourmand Awards Sustainable, For the Public Category 2016, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards