Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine

"Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine" by Tom Stevenson (published by Absolute Press) is famous for being the first book to publish the 17th century document proving that the English used a second fermentation to convert still wines into sparkling at least six years before Dom Pérignon arrived at the Abbey of Hautvillers. When first published in 1998, Le Figaro accused Stevenson of “trying to burn Dom Pérignon”,cite web|last= Goode |first= Jamie, wineanorak.com |title= Tom Stevenson |url= http://www.wineanorak.com/bookshop/astevenson.htm ] but it was the French who were the first to award this book a prize, The Best Wine Book of 1998 at the Salon International du Livre Gourmand in Périgueux.wines.com [http://wines.com/store/champagne.html Champagne Accessories Wine Lover's Gift Shop] ] [ [http://www.absolutepress.co.uk/books/champagne.html Absolute Press] ] Characterised as "still the best guide to fizz” by "The Independent", it ranks it among its "Top Ten Best Wine Books".cite web|last= "The Independent" |title= The Ten Best Wine Books |url= http://independent.net-genie.co.uk/Food_Drink/2340/the_ten_best_wine_books.html ]

"Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine" is the “most authoritative and comprehensive work on Champagne and Sparkling Wine ever published”, [ [http://www.wineappreciation.com/index_accessories.htm?sidenav_accessories.htm&topnav.htm&champagne_main.htm The Wine Appreciation Guild] ] “first in-depth guide to sparkling wines of the world from Champagne to California, Italy to Australia and beyond” [ [http://www.finestwine.com/Wine-Book-Selection.html Finest Wines] ] [ [http://www.books-on-wine.com/www/en/book/book/2767_Christie-s_World_Encyclopedia_Of_Champagne_+_Sparkling_Wine.html Books On Wine] ] The foreword is written by Michael Broadbent.

When first published, "Le Figaro" accused Stevenson of “trying to burn Dom Pérignon”. It was awarded The Best Wine Book of 1998 at the Salon International du Livre Gourmand in Périgueux. [ [http://www.absolutepress.co.uk/books/champagne.html Absolute Press] ]

Content

Stevenson opens with "A Little History", in which he points out the difference between the numerous occurrences throughout time of accidentally sparkling wine, and the first documented evidence of a deliberately produced sparkling wine, as recorded by Christopher Merret. In Merret’s eight-page paper “Some observations concerning the ordering of wines”, which he presented to the newly formed Royal Society on 17 December 1662, he states “our wine-coopers of recent times use vast quantities of sugar and molasses to all sorts of wines to make them drink brisk and sparkling”. Stevenson explains why the French did not have the technology to produce any sparkling wine in 1662, and how, through a series of James Burke-like "connections", it was almost inevitable that the English did. He unravels the paradox of "sparkling champaign", which is mentioned by George Etheredge in The Man of Mode in 1676, yet did not exist in France until the late 1690s. Stevenson’s detective work and the documentary evidence he presents are without doubt the most fascinating aspect of "Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine", yet there is much more to this book.

He provides an overview of the six different methods of sparkling wine production in “How Sparkling Wines Are Made”, and looks more deeply at the most important of these in “A Step-by-Step Guide to Méthod Champenoise”, but perhaps the most important contribution he makes to the understanding of this style of wine is “The Elusive Quality Factor”. After an articulate argument to establish that intrinsic quality exists beyond the personal preference of taste, Stevenson analyses what precisely contributes to the intrinsic quality of a sparkling wine, starting with establishing the vineyard, from site selection to the varieties of grape, and how they should be grown, harvested, and pressed, looking at ripeness levels and acidity, through every aspect of the production process. Stevenson offers a surprising, yet thoughtful, argument why chaptalisation might actually contribute to Champagne’s perceived "lean" structure. He discusses ideal fermentation temperatures to give a “fast and furious first fermentation” and a long “low-temperature second fermentation”. He looks at the pros and cons of malolactic fermentation, what the "assemblage" is, how to obtain good mousse retention, why small bubbles are important, and what affects their size, the effects of autolysis, ageing on lees, adding a "dosage" and post-disgorgement ageing. No other book provides this information. Stevenson even tests out nine Riedel glasses on 100 different Champagnes and sparkling wines, to give his conclusions alongside Riedel’s official design purpose.

The main section of this book consists of a country-by-country, region-by-region assessment of sparkling wines, with every producer rated on a 100-point scale, and all of their wines are given a star rating (three star maximum). Naturally Champagne gets the biggest individual coverage, occupying 98 pages, but 10 other French regions (Alsace, Loire, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Limoux, Others) take up a generous 45 pages, while Stevenson needs 141 pages to get through the rest of the world (Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Switzerland, Austria, Southeast Europe, Other European, South Africa, The United States of America, California, Others USA, Canada, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia). These pages are full of technical data and the historical development of sparkling wines locally, as well as Stevenson’s own critiques of the producers, the lowest rating of which is 35, demonstrating that he is not afraid to make full use of all 100 points of the scale.

There is a detailed assessment of “Champagne Vintages” from 2001 back to 1970 at the rear of the book, and the fact that the youngest vintages assessed in this 2002 update are not that far out of touch with current vintages (primarily 1998, 1999 and 2002 in 2008), demonstrates how far ahead of the market releases that this expert works. For each vintage, Stevenson recommends “The Best” wines and “Other successes”. He profile no less than 100 "Sparkling Wine Grapes" and there is an extensive, detailed "Glossary of Technical Terms".

ISBN 1899791982

References