Bursting Bubbles: A Secret History of Champagne and the Rise of the Great Growers

by Robert Walters, Andrew Jefford (Foreword by)

Overview

Based on a series of articles published in The World of Fine Wine, Bursting Bubbles is a ground-breaking new book that offers the reader an alternate history of Champagne and its greatest growers. Often controversial, it is a no-holds barred look at the world's most famous wine region and the sparkling wine that it produces. It has the potential to change the way wine lovers think about Champagne. In his foreword, multi award winning author Andrew Jefford has called Bursting Bubbles, 'The most engaging book about leading Champagne growers I've read, full of insight and detail' and '...the most refreshing, pretension-pricking, myth-busting and amusingly unfrothy book on the subject I've read.'

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781846892554
Publisher:	Quiller
Publication date:	04/20/2018
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Robert Walters is a respected wine merchant, vineyard owner and writer with over 25 years of experience in the trade. His deep knowledge of the Champagne region comes from working with some of the pre-eminent growers of Champagne from Europe, Australia and New Zealand for close to 15 years, giving him a unique perspective.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
Disclaimers Where the author preempts several lines of criticism, comes clean about his motivations and forewarns the reader that he is not without self-interest 10

Prologue In which a wine traveller has an encounter with a Champagne from another planet and lets the reader in on a little secret 13

Part I Where we follow sparkling Champagne’s remarkable metamorphosis from faulty to fabulous 21

Myth I In the name of the father: Dom Pérignon was the father of Champagne 30

Part II In which we drive along a haunted racetrack in search of a singular grower and discover, not for the last time, that all is not what it seems in the world of Champagne 33

Part III Where we meet the revolutionary parents of modern Champagne – science and industry 47

Myth II First place: Champagne was the original sparkling wine 52

Part IV In which the author travels to the mountain to meet the rock of Ambonnay, tries to get blood from a stone and ends up leaving on better terms than when he arrived 55

Myth III The good and the great: Grand cru vineyards produce the best wines 68

Part V Where we head to ‘Rahnse’ to visit the cathedral and then travel south to Épernay, for a stroll down the legendary Avenue de Disney 69

Myth IV Silver spoon: Placing a spoon in the top of a Champagne bottle helps preserve the bubbles for longer 77

Part VI In which the wine traveller drives south from Épernay to Avize and discovers that all that glitters is not gold 79

Part VII Where we encounter more threats to Champagne’s ‘Great Wine’ pretensions and find out what conventional Champagne has in common with baked bread, roasted nuts and seared steak 91

Myth V Holy Trilogy: Only three grape varieties are used to make Champagne 98

Part VIII In which we pay a visit to Pascal Agrapart, and where the authoracknowledges that he can sometimes miss what is right under his  nose by playing the man and not the ball 101

Part IX Where we unearth even more image problems for Champagne (by comparing the ‘approach Champenois’ with best practice in Burgundy) and where we also learn that the English are the necrophiliacs of the wine world 113

Myth VI Blending is better: Champagne is blended in order to produce a better balanced, better quality wine 119

Part X In which the author tries to comprehend Anselme Selosse via a blend of pop psychology and historical minutiae and then plays word games with the man himself 123

Part XI Where we blend a few things together in order to produce a histoire vraie of Champagne and then explore the extent to which brand has come to dominate land in this famous region 135

Myth VII Simple fizzics: Where bubbles come from 143

Part XII In which we head south to Vertus and visit a great grower making ‘crazy wine’ in order to remind ourselves, once again, that Champagne is a wine, first and foremost 145

Part XIII The continuation of our histoire vraie, where the author views advanced capitalism through the rosiest of glasses and perhaps takes the friendship too far by comparing the history of Champagne to that of Camembert and free-range chicken 159

Myth VIII The shape of things to come: Champagne should be served in flutes 163

Part XIV In which we travel from Vertus to the historic market city of Troyes, all the while grappling with the ideologies of Champagne’s separatists 165

Part XV Where the author discusses the problems with the term ‘grower revolution’ and then offers the reader a choice between two radically different worlds of Champagne 171

Part XVI In which we visit our first Aube grower and learn what it means to be an outsider in your own wine region 179

Part XVII The final instalment of our histoire vraie, where the true grower revolutions are revealed – and yes, there were more than one 191

Myth IX In the beginning: Champagne is mentioned in the Bible 195

Part XVIII In which we visit a vigneron farmer – or is that a farmer vigneron? 197

Part XIX Where we delve into the remaining key factors that led to the development of Champagne’s current batch of great grower-producers 207

Myth X Bursting bubbles: Smaller bubbles are a sign of a high-quality Champagne 212

Part XX In which we visit the last of our growers in the Aube and learn that, no matter how seriously we take it, wine’s main work is to make us happy 215

Epilogue A short manifesto in which the author asks you, the wine lover, a simple, somewhat rhetorical question: ‘What sort of Champagne do you really want to drink?’ 223

Notes 229
Acknowledgements 237
Bibliography 238
Index 23
 

Editorial Reviews

"The most provocative wine book I’ve read in a while." —Guardian


"An absolute pleasure to read from start to finish . . . Whether you consider yourself an expert on Champagne, or you’ve never popped a cork in your life, Bursting Bubbles has plenty to offer both ends of the spectrum and everyone in between." —Andrea Frost, The Good Wine Shop


"Robert Walters writes not because he wants to sell more; he simply thinks that the wines are brilliant and that the story of their creators should be told." —The World of Fine Wine


"Bursting Bubbles is about tradition, it’s about revolution—the ever-changing competition in carbonation and taste—and is oh so worth the read." —Drink Me Magazine


"His prose is fluent and concise and he is like an entertaining, if slightly bossy, tour guide to his favourite growers. I would dearly love him to write more." —Fizzicality


"It’s a brilliant and appealing book, and the story it tells is fascinating and compelling—leaving me thirsty to try some of the wines that are its subject." —Wine Magazine South Africa


"This is part history lesson, part travel adventure story and wholly entertaining to read. It reminds me of Kermit Lynch’s ‘Adventures On The Wine Route’ with an Australian accent." —The Wine Depository


"Refreshingly iconoclastic ." —The Age, Australia

From the Publisher

Reckons with the multitude of Champagne myths in an edifying manner. This is the most readable wine book on this list.

Sevenfifty.com - 9 Must-Reads for Drinks Industry Scott Rosenbaum Pros

Busting Bubbles should be in every wine drinker’s library, and mandatory reading for every sommelier and hospitality student. Highly recommended.

Hrayr Berberoglu

Packed with insightful perspectives, Robert Walters captures the people and history of champagne unlike any other book. This is a must-read book for any wine lover who has an ounce of interest in champagne. If this book doesn't inspire you to seek out the wines of these great growers profiled at the end, then read it again!

Derek Morrison

Bursting Bubbles by Robert Walters is the most provocative wine book I’ve read in a while.

The Guardian

This beautifully written book is so cheerful and entertaining that one risks not realising how thoughtful and informative it is as well – a risk that I would advise any wine lover to take without hesitation.

Manzanilla & Awarding-winning co-author of Sherry Jesus Barquin Montilla

There's much to agree with in this book. It is well written and researched, a pleasure to read and Walters argues his case persuasively. Most importantly, at the same time as it engages in some hand-wringing about the way things are, it communicates a joy and enthusiasm for good Champagne. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

The Real Review - Huon Hook

Written with verve and wit. In addition to a fascinating historical examination, Walters explodes numerous myths, which will amuse any lover of wine trivia.

Australian Financial Review - Tim White

Robert Walters is an exceptionally good storyteller. His writing is eloquent and often impassioned. Wherever you stand, you should read the book. The debate is worth having.

Jancis Tamly Currin Robertson.com

Champagne. It's the pop, the cork, the theatre and sheer luxury of an exquisite drink. So, where best to start researching this enigmatic tipple? ... There is so much to this industry and Bursting Bubbles goes a long way to explaining what to consider before splashing out on a bottle of Dom Perignon. The book is a fascinating combination of history, legend, travel guide and non-holds barred insight into the ultimate celebratory drink.

Goodreads - Annette Shaw

A brilliant and appealing book, and the story it tells is fascinating and compelling – leaving me thirsty to try some of the wines that are its subject.

Wine Mag - Tim James

It all gets off to a cracking start, since the author is a gifted writer who gives a delightfully engaging account of his epiphany, his unconditional surrender to the charms of the great grower Champagnes in God’s little acre. Robert Walters writes not because he wants to sell more; he simply thinks that the wines are brilliant and that the story of their creators should be told.

Michael Edwards

Shows a masterly command of what is important in writing fastidiously crafted profiles of the top artisans of the Montagne and Cote he knows best.

The World of Fine Wine - The World of Fine Michael Edwards Wine

A fascinating combination of history, legend, travel guide and no-holds barred insight into the ultimate celebratory drink.

Devon Life

Busting Bubbles should be in every wine drinker’s library, and mandatory reading for every sommelier and hospitality student. Highly recommended.

Winesworld Magazine