French Wine: A History

by Rod Phillips

Overview

"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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520285231
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	10/11/2016
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	319
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

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 ix

A Note on Usage xi

Introduction 1

1 From the Beginnings to 1000 CE 9

2 The Middle Ages: 1000-1500 34

3 New Wines, New Regions: 1500-1700 63

4 Enlightenment and Revolution: 1700-1800 100

5 Stability and Growth: 1800-1870 130

6 Phylloxera and Renewal: 1870-1914 155

7 Pinard and Postwar France: 1914-1930 192

8 From Depression to Liberation: 1930-1945 221

9 French Wine Reinvented: 1945 to the Present 252

Conclusion 281

Notes 287

Selected Bibliography 313

Index 323

Editorial Reviews

"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

"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 - Bill Ward

"It’s a book to read for its unstoppable torrent of fascinating and often surprising details."

Decanter - Andrew Jefford

"Almost every page contains a gem."

The Guardian - Henry Jeffreys

"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

"Rod Phillips' comprehensive book, French Wine: A History, is an absolute tour de force, sure to be an instant classic."

Wine Country Geographic - Pam Strayer

"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 - Michael Austin

"A fascinating book that belongs on every wine lover’s bookshelf."

The Wine Economist

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 - Tom Simoneau

"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

"An absolute tour de force, sure to be an instant classic."

Organic Wines Uncorked

"History buffs and French wine fans will enjoy."

Winnipeg Free Press

"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

"This is addictively readable history, Phillips’s easy style backed up by formidable research."

New Statesman

"A masterpiece in its genre and should be a must in the bookshelf of anyone interested in French wines."

Vinforum

"Almost every page contains a gem."

The Guardian - Henry Jefffreys