Book Review: French Country Wines (Rosemary George, 1986)

Book Review: French Country Wines
by Rosemary George

https://www.amazon.com/French-Country-Wines-Faber-Books/dp/0571138942/

This is an old book, written circa 1986 by Master of Wine Rosemary George. I still found it fresh, interesting and relevant. (My imprint is from 1990, so maybe it took a while to get published, or there were multiple print runs)

This is a book for those who want to learn more about the wines of france outside the famous regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, and (now fashionable) the Rhone. The author seems to have traveled around most of these smaller areas, which don’t all have AOC status, and as of the writing, often labored under VDP or other labels. Her writing conveyed a real sense of the journey - backroads, confusing signposts, and village squares with sleeping dogs.

George must have taken great notes on their journey as they are quite specific in many details related to the vineyards, towns, history, people, vinification etc. The exposition is terrific - its not just a bunch of tasting notes nor regurgitation of technical statistics. So many of these areas must have been unknown to Americans in that era, but now enjoy some (modest) attention. Just looking at the first page of the contents includes some southwest regions like Cahors, Monbazillac, Gaillac etc.

Of course she covers a ton of regions like the Pyrenees, Corsica, Savoy and so on, but the lions share of the book – 50% or so – is on the vast number of villages in the Midi: Languedoc/Roussillon/Provence. These are wines that I’ve grown fond of, as they often have a similar cepage as Rhones, and are typically great value. (The world however has discovered Tempier now!) This region might not keep as long as Hermitage or CNDP, but that’s not the highest priority for most consumers.

I know almost nothing about the wines of the Alps, but I thought she did a good job touching on the region. I was pleasantly surprised that so many estates mentioned have one way or another found their way over the pond. K&L’s direct import program had plenty of names represented. Maybe it was a coincidence or the quality was so obvious that others found the same producers too.

There are some well etched maps included in the book too, but it does not have the vineyard details that Hugh Johnson’s atlas’ have.

This book really shows how great the diversity of wine styles/varietals is in France. If you also enjoy the regions outside the grand growths, this is a worthy read, despite its age. I’ve picked up a few new names now that I feel that this has given me some sense for what they might be like.

Copies can be had for a song on Amazon.

je recommande

It is a good book for sure and Rosemary is still very active. Your mention has made me put it out for patio reading when it warms up here…brrrr!

Better late than never. As a matter of interest, ALL of the Faber wine series books that were published around that time are good, informative reads. I always used to consult the Italian set, comprised of northern & southern. I am sure those could have used 3rd or 5th editions considering how many changes have occurred there over the past 20 years!

I just picked up another of those Faber books. Love Amazon!