Bordeaux and Its Wines

To drive along the D2 route des vins is to travel through a three-dimensional wine list. For anyone with more than a passing interest in wine, the experience of actually seeing chateaux such as Margaux and Latour has to arouse the tingle of excitement film buffs feel in Hollywood ... The Medoc's quiet towns, woodland and sometimes barely perceptibly sloping vineyards provide a surprisingly plain setting for those buildings. But, like its wines, which initially can seem tough and forbidding, the Medoc demands and rewards patience - and the readiness to look beyond the obvious, and into the past. Recounting the history and ambience of a region where wine has been produced for more than a thousand years, best-selling and award-winning writer Robert Joseph takes us on a personal tour through the appellations of Bordeaux. Discover the many and varied regions from Margaux to St Emilion, from the Medoc to Graves. Savour the wines produced there, and also understand how the climate, the soil and the people make the wines what they are. Visit the chateaux, villages and vineyards of Bordeaux and meet the men and women who, every year, turn baskets of grapes into the bottles of wine that are among the most sought-after in the world. Along the way, Robert Joseph introduces us to the figures - from kings to hermits - who have shaped the history of Bordeaux, and to the colourful traditional confreries - brotherhoods - such as the Jurade in St Emilion, which meet to this day. He also shares anecdotes about famous Bordeaux-lovers - from Samuel Pepys to Richard Nixon. Bordeaux and its Wines is a rich and rewarding book for everyone enthralled by the wines and chateaux, people and culture, of France's most historic wine-producing region.