This book recounts the story of a young British girl, Nicolle Croft, who after studying wine in her native country of England set off to discover the vineyards, wine business and wines of Bordeaux in her 2CV car in 1990. The book is a synthesis of what she has learned over the years based in Bordeaux as a wine guide and professional taster – particularly how to find good value wines in this vast famous wine region.
Small Independent Producers
Bordeaux, most famous for its expensive Grand Cru Classé wines, is today the source of many great value wines as the attention to the vines and winemaking has become more precise.
“The stars to be found today in Bordeaux are within the 10 to 20€ bracket,” says Nicolle. Most of these are produced by the stars of Bordeaux, the SIPS, the Small Independent Producers.
Many of these properties lie just on the wrong side of a famous border or missed being classified (Grand Cru Classé) or happen to be located in one of the 65 appellations that is not considered trendy, or in the shadow of a neighbouring appellation that is! And many are as good as their famous neighbours but not the same price.
The book explains how to find “the SIPS” amongst the 7000 châteaux of Bordeaux and lists the names in each appellation of the treasures that she has discovered…
Some key areas included in the book:
- what makes Bordeaux special
- how to decipher a label
- vintage variation
- its classification system
- key regions and lesser known regions
- how best to buy Bordeaux wines
- finding value in Bordeaux
- grape varieties
- key terms in the vine-growing, winemaking, barrel ageing
- storing, how to put together a cellar
- how to match with foods
- Wine Touring with lots of tips and an off the beaten track section
For more information about Bordeaux – Sip by Sip, please visit Nicolle Croft’s SIP Wine Blog.
Prices per book, including postage and packing, as of November 2020:
25€ to the UK, USA, Australia and other international destinations
21€ in France
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