- A new title from this much-admired wine writer, author of New France
- An appealing collection of his essays from Decanter and World of Fine Wine, which will appeal to the wine lover and literary reader alike
- Andrew poses and discusses a series of philosophical questions about our relationship with this extraordinary, living wine, made by artisans and large companies alike and enjoyed all over the world
- A new direction for wine publishing
"An entrancing companion for wine lovers. Celebratory, discerning writing with all the variety and unexpectedness of the wines explored." -- Michèle Roberts, author and Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia"This book is about feeling, tasting and describing the beauty of wine, as well as understanding the intensity of emotion that wine can engender." -- Decanter Magazine
"So precise and dancing, so chiselled and so free, as complex and delicious as your favourite bottle of wine, you will enjoy the world of wine differently after reading through Jefford's words." -- Pascaline Lepeltier on Instagram"A new sort of literary gumption arrived on the scene with Andrew Jefford; a powerful blend of science and poetry. Here is a writer who does his interviews, delves deep into motives and methods, and then lets fly with whatever imagery he finds winging by."Hugh Johnson (2019)
Poet, philosopher, author, radio presenter and journalist, Andrew Jefford lives in France; but buried deep in one wine country what does he miss most about the rest? The answer: "Drinking young port. It's the wine drinker's equivalent of zorbing, wing-walking, base-jumping ... you won't fully understand it unless you have tasted it young, in its 'Ride of the Valkyries' stage, when it comes hurtling out of the glass and puts the screamers on you..."
Andrew is the ideal companion for anyone wine-curious. In this collection of his essays, opinions and articles he shares his fascinating observations from half a century of discovery. For Andrew, wine should be listened to and admired, wherever it comes from; old-school pretentions turned on their head; style-points disdained; stellar prices dismissed; questions asked...
Jefford, Andrew: - "Andrew Jefford was born in Gloucestershire but grew up beneath the wide skies of Norfolk. Having discovered the pleasures of wine in his early teens, he learned more about it by making it - from carrots, apples, nettles, elderflowers ... and grape-juice concentrate. The quiet plop-plop-plop of fermenting wine in air-locked demi-johns tissued the night silence of the family home, while the finished wines (swallowed with a grimace) contributed to mealtime merriment. After study at the Universities of Reading and East Anglia, he worked first in publishing as an editor and then, from 1988, as a wine writer, taster, educator, tour guide and occasional radio presenter (on BBC Radio 4). He has written for many British newspapers, notably The Evening Standard and The Financial Times, and continues to contribute columns to Decanter and The World of Fine Wine; he also acts a co-chair for the Decanter World Wine Awards and as academic advisor to The Wine Scholar Guild. His books include The New France (2002), Andrew Jefford's Wine Course (2016) and Whisky Island (2019), a book about the Hebridean island of Islay. He has also published poems in The Spectator and The Independent. Andrew and his family moved to Australia in 2009 and to France in 2010, where they still live. He enjoys music and walking, but no longer makes his own wine."
