ROUSSILLON 'French Catalonia' Wild Wine Country: Special offer: 25% off! Kindle Edition

"Really liked (this) book. Amazing knowledge packed into it." David Gleave MW, Managing Director of Liberty Wines and trustee of André Simon Food & Drink Book Awards.“Richard James has published a comprehensive run down on the region, from grapes and wine styles to appellations and recent developments, then on to profiles of many domaines, large and small. Worth a look.” Tom Cannavan wine-pages.com“James’s idiolectic text is occasionally opaque, but his many anecdotes are well suited to conveying what a colorful cast of characters has remade viticultural Roussillon. Estate profiles constitute nearly 90 percent of James’s text, which treats considerably more producers and incorporates vivid photos.” David Schildknecht World of Fine Wine. “My Roussillon address book… much enlarged thanks to your book.”This compilation of facts, stories and opinions aims to avoid rehashing those exhausting been-said-a-hundred-times-before clichés about how vast the South of France’s wine regions were/are, while focusing exclusively on a small unique part of it called Roussillon among other names. All that biggest vineyard in France and the world hyperbole, which is simply not accurate in this case but Roussillon still gets stuck in with the whole Languedoc and now the greater region beyond, whether they like it or not. Roussillon accounts for a fraction of that overall region, as the French understand it, in terms of vineyards (20,000 hectares) and below 2% of total French production. Just one good reason why it should be treated as a distinct entity, even if historically and stylistically it forms part of the Mediterranean South.In the area sections and producer profiles, the idea was to paint impressions of raw vine-clad landscapes dotted with age-laden timeless villages, while contrasting emotional history and deep-rooted culture with facts drawn from past and present. This book isn’t meant to be an exhaustive guide to everything everybody everywhere but a personal journey taking in many of the wineries and wines the region is famous for or that deserve to be better known. Whether the result for the reader is seeking out a once-mysterious bottle, and, with new insight, finding a colourful taster of the people, terrain and story behind it. Or for the more adventurous, to explore the stunning wild Roussillon for themselves helped by some information and opinion on where to find these winemakers. In addition, there are tips on where to eat and stay, other wine-related events, festivals and must-see sightseeing.175 wineries are featured north to south from Maury to Banyuls-sur-mer via Perpignan and almost everywhere else in between. It covers a mix of personal favourites including quirky natural and classic traditional, cult or most expensive and great-value alike, established and new-kid-on-the-block. What they have in common is catching my attention for a variety of reasons over the past fifteen to twenty years. There’s background to and history of the Roussillon touching on vines and grapes, landscape and terrain, discussion of the different wine styles and appellations (Côtes du Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon Villages, Côtes Catalanes, Maury sec, Collioure; fortified Vins Doux Naturels: Maury, Rivesaltes, Banyuls), production techniques and developments in viticulture and winemaking.RMJ has spent over half a lifetime dabbling in wine from tasting, talking and writing about it, to translating, doing qualifications and buying and selling wine. And passing long hours standing among vines watching them grow, grapes being picked and transformed into fermented juice while gleaning words of wisdom from the people who do the real work farming vineyards and making wine. His blog is WineWriting.com and he runs wine courses in Belfast although does have a day job in public libraries. Previously, Richard lived for 6 years in Les Pyrénées Orientales, its official name or number 66, where this particular wine adventure began. Read more