France Today review of Food Wine Burgundy

I’m glad to report that Food Wine Burgundy is getting a fair amount of attention in the press and on line.

Anyone interested in reading a Big Wine definition of terroir should follow the ongoing debate stirred up by my blog post on Huffington Post about Pinot Noir and Terroir, and the Red Bicyclette wine scandal. Clearly the apologists for mediocre and false wines made by industrial-scale winemakers are determined to score their points. To paraphrase Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities, such poseurs will be “hoist by their own petard.”

Happily the reviews of the book so far are positive. Here are a few excerpts from a new review just out in the March issue of France Today. Information on ordering or subscribing to the magazine is on the website. The review is not—not yet.

France Today www.francetoday.com
Pure Burgundy
Food Wine Burgundy, reviewed by Vivian Thomas

For years now, The Little Bookroom has been publishing out-of-the-ordinary travel guides—books that encourage travelers to slow down, to appreciate details, to focus in a thoughtful way on what makes each destination unique. The publisher’s new series, the Terroir Guides, applies these concepts to food and wine… The result is a real celebration of the sense of place, and the first volume on France, David Downie’s Food Wine Burgundy, proves that the concept works beautifully… a feast of hearty Burgundian food and luscious wines, starting with a section on local specialties… Downie takes us behind the scenes, stripping away myths and clichés and showing unexpected aspects of this “heartland of ancient Gaul.” … Downie’s passion lies in promoting the smaller, more easily overlooked gems hidden throughout the region. And when well-known places don’t meet his standards, he doesn’t waste much space on them… The book is packed with insider’s addresses, including small, family-run bistrots, country inns, cheese shops and bakeries that seldom make it into other guidebooks. And the descriptions, often enlivened by Downie’s wry sense of humor, are a delight to read… invaluable information on wineries… establishments that offer some of the region’s most underrated and affordable wines… The volume is lavishly illustrated with Alison Harris’s gorgeous color photographs… I wish I’d had Downie’s guide with me on my past trips to Burgundy. And judging from the many margin marks, underlinings and stars that I penciled throughout the volume, it will certainly accompany me on the next.