Champagne, Uncorked

March 14, 2016
Food and wine writer Tardi (Romancing the Vine) takes an uncritical approach to an, admittedly, rarely criticized wine. The book begins with the 2012 harvest and gives readers an unprecedented look into the process of crushing grapes, fermenting, tasting, blending, bottling, and aging that leads to the Krug Grande Cuvée, one of the most prestigious non-vintage champagnes on the market. A second thread carries readers from the earliest days of Champagne as a wine-growing region of monks and small farms, through a developing landscape of personalities and world events, to the modern state of the drink as a luxury good, highly regulated and, though still created by many family vineyards, often controlled by massive corporations. While the handling of Krug often reads as embellished advertising, the details of the winemaking process, as well as the stories of the region’s history, are compelling and interesting. The language vacillates between simple and technical, sometimes leaving a reader to wonder who Tardi’s intended audience is, but the work carries a wealth of information for a reader at any level of wine expertise and is more accessible than the Grande Cuvée, if not quite as effervescent.

April 1, 2016

Champagne, like gold, has been prized by many over decades and even centuries. Chef and restaurateur-turned-food writer Tardi (Romancing the Vine) is among those who hold it in such regard. In his newest book, the author gains access to the Charles Krug Winery, the oldest in the Napa Valley. Tardi becomes familiar with the family history, the winemakers, and the cellar and field workers. The insight provided is akin to what has been captured on film but perhaps less often in books, although Eric Arnold's rambunctious New Zealand winery memoir First Big Crush: The Down and Dirty on Making Great Wine Down Under comes to mind. Tardi deftly melds the process of creating champagne with the story of the winery from its earliest days. The result is fascinating, all the more so for the rich side stories captured in endnotes. VERDICT An insider look into the workings of one champagne maker, expertly woven with a history of the beverage itself. Recommended where books on the subject are popular.--Peter Hepburn, Coll. of the Canyons Lib., Santa Clarita, CA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 15, 2016
The enjoyment of each bottle of champagne is a full sensory experiencefrom the slight sigh of the cork to its intricate nuances of sight, smell, and tasteand a wine unlike any other, from its rich and storied past to its unique fermentation processes. Tardi chronicles his time following a tense year in the life cycle of champagne, from harvest to bottling, at the renowned Krug house, expertly balancing his personal experiences with extensive historical research of the development and sophistication of champagne as well as the establishment of the Krug winery. The stress that those working in the winery undergo from the difficult 2013 harvest is amplified even more by the resounding pressures of sampling, rating, and preparing the perfect blend of wines to then transform into the highly prized Grande Cuvee. This odyssey is an organic reflection of the journey that champagne and the people of the region encounter, from the drink's humble beginnings as a sweeter, slightly effervescent wine plagued by the imperfection of bubbles to its rise as a culturally significant and much-sought-after drink across the globe. Part memoir and part history, Tardi's love letter to champagne can inspire the reader to delve deeper into viticulture.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)