The Winemasters of Bordeaux: The Inside Story of the World's Greatest Wines

by NicholasFaith (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1999

  $3.27

  In the heart of Bordeaux, in the South-West of France, the region was a network of wine merchants, originally from Britain, Germany and Ireland, whose long-established businesses dominated the selling of the produce of the great Chateaux. These merchants were known as the Chartronnais, after the district in the city where they had their offices and The Winemakers is their story, and that of their frequently stormy relations with the growers who actually grow the grapes and make the wines. The story builds up through the arrival of new characters such as Baron Phillipe de Rothschild and of major international conglomerates with dramatic suddenness in the great boom and bust wine prices which accompanied the oil crises of 1973-74. The collapse resulted in Winegate - the trial and conviction of members of the Chartronnais families. In this edition Nicholas Faith describes the developments since then, including the increased power of the Chateaux owners and the arrival of dozens of new faces and forces in what remains the world's biggest wine market.

• Used

  Paperback
  2005

  $3.27

  In this paperback edition of his classic book The Winemasters, Nicholas Faith tells the story of the wines of Bordeaux - the most glamorous in the world. It is the history of a group of merchant families, mostly from Ireland and Germany, who for two centuries controlled the sales of the finest clarets and Sautemes. It is the tale of the way the owners of the region's greatest estates and chateaux freed themselves from the merchants' grip. Above all it is a story of the fascinating men and women involved - from the Rothschilds to dozens of eccentric chateau owners. The Winemasters of Bordeaux brings the story up to date, including the way that Bordeaux repelled the intrusion of the major international drinks groups. More successful newcomers have been the French nouveaux riches who have bought many of the famous chateaux.