Cognac

by Nicholas Faith

Published 14 July 1986
This fully revised third edition of Cognac: The story of the world's greatest brandy provides an authoritative account of how the much-loved spirit is produced and matured. Nicholas Faith, the world's leading authority on cognac, explores the reasons for the spirit's complex character, and reveals its fascinating history. Cognac is an extraordinary and unparalleled collection of insights into the world's finest brandy.
The first edition of this book, published in 1986, won the Veuve Clicquot award in the US and the Deinhard/Wine Magazine award in Britain. In 2005 the second edition was awarded the Andre Simon prize, Britain's premier wines and spirits writing prize. This new edition includes a fully updated directory of the top producers and their brandies - including the author's tasting notes - and two new sections on tasting and mixing: a selection of cognac cocktails and how to make them, and revelations on the associations made between brandy and food. This completely updated edition of Nicholas Faith's classic guide, which includes the best products available in 2015, is a thorough and engaging resource - the essential companion for every cognac enthusiast.

The story of champagne

by Nicholas Faith

Published 7 July 1988
It is extraordinary enough that one small area in north-eastern France, on the northern edge of Europe's wine-growing regions, should be capable of producing the finest sparkling wine in the world, one of the few worth discussing as a wine and not merely as a sparkling beverage. Yet champagne fascinates not only wine lovers, but also historians - social, economic, political - linguists, physiologists, physicists and chemists.
The long-awaited new edition of Nicholas Faith's landmark The story of champagne tells the tale of champagne from the winemakers' point of view. This classic study of the world's greatest wine is a masterpiece of storytelling and analysis that has for decades sent readers away with renewed excitement about the different types of champagne and the landscape, geology and climate that inspire them.
The story of champagne explores the history of champagne from its origins in the seventeenth century to the high-tech industry of the twenty-first before examining the wine itself, how it is made, the crus, the vines and the harvest. Faith provides completely up-to-date statistics on wine production and consumption and finishes the book with an all-important evaluation of today's most important producers.
The story of champagne is essential reading for anyone interested in the world's most celebrated wine.