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123rd out of 565 books
—
840 voters
Champagne: How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times
Throughout history, waves of invaders have coveted the northeast corner of France: Attila the Hun in the fifth century, the English in the Hundred Years War, the Prussians in the nineteenth century. Yet this region - which historians say has suffered more battles and wars than any other place on earth - is also the birthplace of one thing the entire world equates with good...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
November 28th 2006
by Harper Perennial
(first published November 1st 2005)
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La Champagne, the region in northwestern France that is home to the world's most celebrated wine - 'le champagne'- has ever been at the crossroads of European history. In contrast to its rightful claim of a wine of superlative clarity, joy and finesse, Champagne has been the site of some of the bloodiest battles of ancient and modern times.
Don and Petie Kladstrup's lovely and heartbreaking book encapsulates an enormous stretch of history into 300 wonderfully readable pages. The authors original...more
Don and Petie Kladstrup's lovely and heartbreaking book encapsulates an enormous stretch of history into 300 wonderfully readable pages. The authors original...more
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From stories told by families about single fields to battles between regions for the use of the fields. Even battles between departments for just where the boundaries of la Champagne lie. Details and personalities abound in the story of effervescent wine. How kings and statesmen dance around the desire for a steady supply of wine and a desire for empire since it is difficult for vintners to produce great vintages when they have no grapes because a war either killed or drove the people into the c...more
I really enjoyed reading about a region I had visited and a drink I LOVE as much for its taste as for the celebrations it represents. Reinforced for me the information our tour guide gave us on the way to Reims about the effects of war on the region.
This book was a pleasure to read filled with historical anecdotes.
Which of my champagne worshipping family members wants to read it next?
This book was a pleasure to read filled with historical anecdotes.
Which of my champagne worshipping family members wants to read it next?
Jan 10, 2012
Kim
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
history,
wine-wine-memoirs-wine-history
In all honesty, I haven't finished this book yet. However, I am close to done, and enjoying it enough. I work in wine and so I find this book interesting. If you are interested in wine, very much enjoy Champagne or work in wine and/or food, this is an interesting enough little book about the wars, revolts, shady business deals and shady vintners the region has endured. It's also an interesting look at the progression of the region's wine, from an unfiltered still red table wine to a refined whit...more
Yawn. What a boring book. It's got some good juicy tales, but it's written so plainly that you practically have to take a nap in between. Interesting conversation piece.
A good little history. Brisk and informative; for the layperson rather than the academic. Surprisingly poignant in its coverage of the Franco-Prussian war, WWI, and WWII.
Interesting history of Champagne, looking forward to making my first batch of sparkling wine this spring.
An interesting book about an interesting topic.
A relatively light read.
A relatively light read.
Started out really great - lots of famous figures connected to champagne... but as it progressed I grew bored and all of a sudden realized I didn't know who any of the characters were.
It started great but at some point it became really boring and I don't know how I was able to finish reading it.
Feb 04, 2008
Andrew Smith
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Wine People
Recommended to Andrew by:
Satan
Cannot... stay awake.. while reading. I don't know why I keep subjecting myself to reading these wine books. I read Kladstrup's other wine/war book and enjoyed it much more. Burgundy during the great wars was way more interesting than Champagne. Bordeaux, kinda lame, but still a little more interesting. I will say that I am holding my breath for the next book, "Oregon Pinot: How America's Tightest Varietal Triumphed Over Not Being Regularly Stocked In My Local Wine Shop".
Light and easy read about champagne and the history of the region, France, the world in relation the bubbly. Entertaining, but I still prefer the actual beverage to reading about it.
I picked this book up randomly. I knew very little about Champagne the region or champagne the wine, so this book gave me a good introduction. That said, it had to cover a lot of materials. It jumped around at times, and didn't go into much detail. I'd be curious to read about about WWI in this region, as it was the most interesting aspect of the book.
A well-written background on the trials and tribulations of the people of Champagne and the famous wine. I'd already read "Wine and War" which covered a lot of the same information- and in a slightly more interesting way. So if you've read that one, I'd skip this one.
This is a great history of the Champagne region framed by the wars it has endured. My favorite part were the human interest stories peppered throughout. I'm not big on non-fiction but this held my interest.
I'm a huge fan of champagne and loved this book. It's a well written history of the region that's both entertaining and filled with interesting facts you never knew.
Enjoyable historical portrait of the Champagne region and wine. All throughout this book I kept thirsting for a nice glass of bubbly. Quick, easy read.
great combination of wine lore, history, and irony. i did start it with high expectations, but have been pleasantly surprised.
Champagne, war, hard economic times, and a whole lot of French history. Quick, interesting read.
Great history of champagne. Leaves you wanting more.
A really interesting history of Champagne.
May 16, 2013
Ruth
marked it as to-read
May 16, 2013
Kimberly
marked it as to-read
May 10, 2013
Ilona
marked it as to-read
May 07, 2013
Kelly
marked it as to-read
May 02, 2013
Laci Long
marked it as to-read
Apr 29, 2013
Tia Turner
marked it as to-read
Apr 29, 2013
M—
marked it as to-read
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