The Story of Champagne

It is extraordinary enough that one small area in north-eastern France, on the northern edge of Europe's wine-growing regions, should be capable of producing the finest sparkling wine in the world, one of the few worth discussing as a wine and not merely as a sparkling beverage. Yet champagne fascinates not only wine lovers, but also historians - social, economic, political - linguists, physiologists, physicists and chemists.

The long-awaited new edition of Nicholas Faith's landmark *The story of champagne* tells the tale of champagne from the winemakers' point of view. This classic study of the world's greatest wine is a masterpiece of storytelling and analysis that has for decades sent readers away with renewed excitement about the different types of champagne and the landscape, geology and climate that inspire them.

*The story of champagne* explores the history of champagne from its origins in the seventeenth century to the high-tech industry of the twenty-first before examining the wine itself, how it is made, the crus, the vines and the harvest. Faith provides completely up-to-date statistics on wine production and consumption and finishes the book with an all-important evaluation of today's most important producers.

*The story of champagne* is essential reading for anyone interested in the world's most celebrated wine.