On Burgundy

FROM TEETH-GNASHING OUTRAGE to tonsil-tickling euphoria: burgundy can baffle with its unwillingness to charm in the glass, then dazzle and astound us when we catch it at its best. It is elusive yet addictive. Those who know burgundy frequently never love another wine – not least the authors and experts in this book, whose insights here embrace the two grapes (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), the two slopes (the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune) and the hillsides that surround this region. They answer the questions everyone asks: Why do these wines taste as good as they do? Who makes them this way? And, how is it that this celestial terroir came to the world’s attention in the first place?

• Bottled Alive! How the best burgundies are still living, breathing and evolving when they reach our glass…
• What is a Burgundian? Jasper Morris MW reveals the true character of this far from saintly bunch…
• A Delicate Topic in Burgundy: the truth about Burgundy’s historic frauds and fakes
• Can Good Burgundy ever be for Normal People? What chance is there for mere mortals when the A-listers and plutocrats snap up the best?
• Climate Change: will Burgundy see our children into the Future?
• Saints Preserve Us! The revolutionary growers who led Burgundy out of its Medieval slump…
• Of Montrachet and Moon Phases: the way Biodynamics has shaped Burgundy’s modern wines
• Wine Into Words: burgundy’s most beautiful, evocative descriptions from the hands of the master-scribes
• Analysis from Burgundy’s top commentators: Allen Meadows (aka the ‘Burghound’), Jasper Morris MW, Douglas Barzelay, Eric Asimov, Jay McInerney and Aubert de Villaine

Look inside