Customer Reviews

Champagne: How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times

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4 star:		(3)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this book--which I finally threw down unfinished in irritation after the umpteenth faux "fact" was presented--trite beyond belief. I presume that a history is factual. This was not. The authors presented so much factually wrong, unsupported information and claims that I finally decided I could not justify spending more time reading it. For instance, they claim that both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette drank champagne with a last meal before their executions. Well, Louis did enjoy a fairly good meal--without champagne--before his execution. Marie Antoinette, however, was so brutally treated and degraded by her captors as the Widow Capet before hers that there most assuredly was no "last meal" for her, much less a champagne chaser. Her maid recounted the details of her prevailing upon her to eat a few mouthfuls of some vermicelli which she warmed up on her stove in her cell. If she drank anything it was water--likely from the nearby and very polluted Seine. Anyone offering her champagne would have most certainly ended up being arrested for royalist sympathies. With all the many fine sources out there on both of these executionsw, how can the Kladstrups get away with printing such trite, factually wrong drivel merely to add some silly patina of faux glamour to their thesis? Then they go on to describe the aristocrats being guillotined, describing how the victims were forced to kneel and put their heads on the block. Have the Kladstrups even the remotest familiarity with how a guillotine works?? There is no block. There is no kneeling. There is no cooperation by the victim whatsoever. Read any source on the topic. Yet again, the Kladstrups trot out rubbish which is not even factually close to correct. Their description of the executions of Desmoulins and Danton--whom they falsely claim were drunk and singing a drinking song as they awaited their executions--round out this litany of utterly fabricated nonsense by which they attempt to link champagne to just about every event in French history. So. With so much drivel and made up "fact", how can one trust, much less enjoy, any of their other assertions in this so-called history? Definitely a candidate for recycling--or the outhouse.

Don and Petie Kladstrup's new book, "Champagne", is a serious but lively romp through the history of champagne...champagne, the drink and Champagne, the region. It is also a revealing look at the French and how they defended what became their national symbol through war and (literally) pestilence. Defend it they did, to their credit and our good fortune.

Written as a timeline, "Champagne" begins in the Middle Ages with an almost startling revelation....the bubbles in the wine, so essential to its success and taste in later years, were considered to be a flaw. The drink as we know it today must have borne little or no resemblance to what was consumed hundreds of years ago. The Kladstrups delve into many other aspects of the making and the keeping of champagne which are as engrossing as their narrative....how sediment was handled, the trials and errors of storing champagne so the bottles would not explode, the care of the vineyards, and so on. I was surprised to hear that dry champagne was a rather late development and that its initial offerings were met with resistance as most people preferred their champagne to be sweet. The transportation of champagne is one of the more humorous parts of this offering.

As much as this book concerns itself with the product, it is even more a story of people and politics. The effects that wars had on the region of Champagne (and no one really knows where those boundaries begin and end) make it all the more surprising that champagne could ever have survived the onlsaught of armies inflicting a tremendous toll, most notably during World War I, on the vineyards and the people who owned and operated them. The tragedy of the levelling of the city of Reims during the war can be coupled with the infestation of the deadly phylloxera, which ruined crops for years.

The recurring theme in "Champagne", however, is the heart of the French people, who have overcome all of these assaults to secure their national pride through champagne. According to the commander of French forces in Reims, "as long as there is champagne here, we will defend it". That quote sums it up in the best possible way.

"Champagne" is as delightful a book as the drink itself. In fact, I'd suggest the reader pour a glass or two while reading it. Thank you, Don and Petie Kladstrup for giving us this wonderful history of champagne.

I found the book an enjoyable read even though the authors' writing was a bit trite and simplistic. It did lack some flow in areas as the writers simply jumped from vignette to vignette, albeit they were all fairly entertaining. My biggest criticism is that the authors seemed to have lost interest in finishing the book. After taking us through several centuries of relevant history, approximately 60 pages was devoted to the plight of Champagne/champagne during WWI (which was, in my opinion, appropriate). However, only about 8 pages accounted for the WWII years, and then....the end! Apparently, there have been no new or interesting developments in Champagne / of champagne during the past six decades. I find this hard to believe, and is thus my biggest disappointment with the book.

After having read the Kladstrup's previous book, "Wine and War: The French, The Nazis, and France's Greatest Treasure", I knew I was in for a treat when a friend handed me a copy of their latest offering: "Champagne: How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times".

I was not disappointed. The authors have once again given readers a highly enjoyable (and exhaustively footnoted) peek into the history of the Champagne region of France, and the origins of, and dramatic evolutionary style changes in, its namesake wine.

Told in a style that's somewhat evocative of Ken Burn's highly acclaimed "Civil War" Epic, we see a countryside repeatedly overrun, looted and destroyed by the conquering hordes of Attila the Hun, the Roman Empire, the Prussians (Napoleonic era), and Germany (WWI & WWII); a countryside at war with itself (first the French Revolution, then riots over outsourcing and regional labeling); and a countryside devastated by vine-destroying pests (phylloxera) and recurring economic hardships (Prohibition, and the Great Depression). From each period, the authors give insightful glances behind the scenes, from the vantage point of growers, winemakers, cellar masters, merchants, soldiers, local residents, and community leaders who are repeatedly driven by circumstances to extraordinary measures - such as staging public protests, evacuating entire communitites into underground limestone tunnels during wartime bombardment, and engaging in armed resistance, and even international smuggling, in order to defend their lives, vines and livelihood.

Also included is a refreshing attempt to strip away much of the self-serving disinformation (much of it still repeated even to this very day) surrounding the posthumously exalted Monk, Dom Perignon who, contrary to myth and rumor, was neither blind, nor the inventor of Champagne (which actually invented itself). The authors give the reader a clearer picture of a meticulous man devoted to improving the winemaker's art - techniques such as boosting wine quality by reducing vine yields, improved bottles and closures, and refining techniques to improve wine clarification, and producing white and blush wines from dark grapes (blanc de noir).

This is a wonderful book, and a great read. I only have a few minor nits to offer:

* SMALL PHOTOS: Although there are 16 pages of black and white photos, all of them are needlessly small, squeezed too tightly into the center of the book, and are unnumbered and not referenced by the rest of the text.

* MINOR OMISSION: Although the authors do spend time on the vigneron riots over the unethical practice of re-labeling outsourced wine (which resulted in the AoC laws), they largely overlooked another clash of historical interest - in this instance, the propaganda war waged by the wine industry against non-grape distilled spirits. As I understand history, just as French wine interests began to suffer noticeable production losses (and price increases) due to phylloxera, the spirits industry happily stepped in to fill the growing void. Absinthe in particular enjoyed skyrocketing popularity, and was all the rage from the 1870's through the turn of the century. The wine industry fought back hard. False propaganda was eagerly spread about how the wormwood used in absinthe caused brain damage and madness. By the end of WWI, Absinthe had been successfully vilified and outlawed in most Western nations, just in time for the French wine industry to begin recovering in ernest from it's darkest days ... a classic example of protectionist propaganda. In hindsight, it's hard to fault people driven to the brink of extinction for doing what they had to do in order to survive, and the French wine industry (and the French people as a whole) had suffered horrifically in WWI. In any case, I was slightly disappointed at the omission.

* CONTROVERSY: I've seen some comments by other reviewers who claim the Kladstrups have dramatized or padded certain elements of their account. Not being a historian, I can't comment on that ... other than to say I enjoyed the book.

Despite these minor nits, I highly recommend this book: not just for wine enthusiasts, but also those interested in the broader sweep of history, and a gripping tale of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.

Champagne's role in history - a fascinating read. I learned a lot.

Unfortunately, some of the "facts" presented in the book seem to be stretches. For example, here's a quote from the book:

"Champagne was a patchwork of warring fiefdoms whose leaders kept the province in constant turmoil....In 1095 Pope Urban declared "Let those who until now have been moved only to fight their fellow Christians now take up arms against the infidel." With these words, the First Crusade began. His call for a holy war struck a particularly responsive chord with his fellow Champenois, as warlords and others put aside differences and set off for Jerusalem, accompanied by their armies and retinues."

The book suggests this was the convenient excuse to invade another country -- to prevent fighting among themselves at home.

A well-written and easy-to-read story of the Champagne region and its wines. My copy of this book has been enjoyed by both drinkers and non-drinkers, but if the former you're get more out of it. Best read with a glass of cold Champagne in hand!

I wasn't certain I would like this book. On one hand, the subject matter is one of my favorites: I could easily drink champagne every day of my life - that is if it were a sensible thing to do and wouldn't pose health risks. There is another matter to the book, though, that scared me off a bit - quite a bit of talk about war. It's never been my favorite subject.

But I found here, in these pages, not stories of war, but a glowing testament to the courage of the people, not only the Champenois but so many more. They would die before allowing anyone to take both Champagne and champagne from them. I read, astonished, stories during the WWI of vineyard workers capping bottles, riddling, conducting all processes necessary to the making of champagne in deep underground tunnels, as bomb shells exploded directly above their heads.

Personally, I would have enjoyed to hear more about champagne (the beverage), but that wasn't the topic of the book. As another reviewer noted, it did end rather abruptly, but that was as it should be. The subtitle of this book is "How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times". As Champagne hasn't been attacked since WWII, there really wasn't anything more to talk about.

We were lead through all of the battles, from the Huns who lost a battle they should have handily won through World War II. We saw politicking, and also how champagne came to be the wondrous beverage it is today. Reading about the "big" houses who began so long ago and still stand tall today was fascinating reading.

Since the reviews seem to be divided into love or hate for this book, I figured I'd add my two cents. The content is interesting enough (though I'm not knowledgeable enough to comment on the dubious factuality of the authors' anecdotes), but the writing is just insufferable. It is trite, lazy, and obnoxious.

This book is well written, informative and witty. It is well-sourced, but the actual references are relegated to the end of the book. The style is like listening to a very knowledgeable, engaging person talk about a subject he/she loves.

"Champagne" by Don and Petie Kladstrup is a brief and lively rendering of the history of the world's favorite white wine and its relationship to the history of France. The book's subtitle, "How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed over War and Hard Times," suggests the recurring themes of the book.

The authors introduce the reader to the region in France called Champagne and its people, known as Champenois, and begin to trace the many foreign incursions into the region by the Vandals and the Goths, the Romans, and Attila the Hun, noting that, "From time immemorial," as one historian put it, "Champagne has suffered an overdose of invasions."

They tell the story of the seventeenth century monk, Dom Pierre Pérignon, who is credited with "inventing" the bubbly wine we know today. From its humble beginnings in a monastery, champagne soon became the favorite drink of monarchs and royalty throughout Europe, favored by Napoleon, who spread its popularity as he carved out his continental empire.

By the nineteenth century, the grape growers and wine makers of Champagne were thriving as millions of bottles of champagne were exported to countries around the world. The houses of Clicquot, Heidsieck, Moėt, Pommery, and Mumm became household names.

Then came the wars. Even wars in other countries hurt the Champenois. The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the U. S. Civil War before that caused numerous bankruptcies, "...all of which left champagne producers with stacks of unpaid bills." Then in 1870, hostilities came right to the doorstep of the Champenois with the outbreak of the Franco- Prussian War, the Prussians' big guns pouring thousands of shells every day on the vineyards and wine cellars of Champagne. Though brief, the Franco-Prussian War "... would be the bloodiest of the century." But somehow France came roaring back, and as the twentieth century began, the champagne industry was in high gear again.

The first decade of the new century saw changes in the law defining what could and could not be called champagne, and there was a violent tax strike in 1911, but the wine industry had fully recovered when World War I broke out in the summer of 1914.

Fierce bombardment by German guns forced the citizens of Reims to seek refuge in the vast limestone caves that housed the reserves of the champagne industry and a deep depression swept over the region as champagne-making came to a near standstill. Then, when the war ended, another crisis hit the vineyards in the form of a microscopic bug called phylloxera vastatrix, which affected all but a handful of Champagne's vines. Entire vineyards had to be uprooted and replanted, but by 1920, the industry was again on an even keel, and this is exactly when the United States Government enacted Prohibition. Ironically, smugglers and bootleggers were so successful during the period of Prohibition that more champagne made its way into the United States than ever before, by one estimate seventy-one million bottles reaching America's shores in those "dry" years.

Given the resiliency of the champagne industry over centuries, it is no surprise that the Champenois weathered the Great Depression and another world war with a German occupation of the wine-making region.

As the story ends, the authors, Don and Petie Kladstrup, cite an earlier writer praising the dead heroes of the Great War, whose crosses dot the landscape, and there, he says, "champagne will be celebrated once again."