Books about Bordeaux from Amazon.com

It was the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold.

In 1985, at a heated auction by Christie’s of London, a 1787 bottle of Château Lafite Bordeaux—one of a cache of bottles unearthed in a bricked-up Paris cellar and supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson—went for $156,000 to a member of the Forbes family. The discoverer of the bottle was pop-band manager turned wine collector Hardy Rodenstock, who had a knack for finding extremely old and exquisite wines. But rumors about the bottle soon arose. Why wouldn’t Rodenstock reveal the exact location where it had been found? Was it part of a smuggled Nazi hoard? Or did his reticence conceal an even darker secret?

It would take more than two decades for those questions to be answered and involve a gallery of intriguing players—among them Michael Broadbent, the bicycle-riding British auctioneer who speaks of wines as if they are women and staked his reputation on the record-setting sale; Serena Sutcliffe, Broadbent’s elegant archrival, whose palate is covered by a hefty insurance policy; and Bill Koch, the extravagant Florida tycoon bent on exposing the truth about Rodenstock.

Pursuing the story from Monticello to London to Zurich to Munich and beyond, Benjamin Wallace also offers a mesmerizing history of wine, complete with vivid accounts of subterranean European laboratories where old vintages are dated and of Jefferson’s colorful, wine-soaked days in France, where he literally drank up the culture.

Suspenseful, witty, and thrillingly strange, The Billionaire’s Vinegar is the vintage tale of what could be the most elaborate con since the Hitler diaries. It is also the debut of an exceptionally powerful new voice in narrative non-fiction..
Price: $14.05 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Ellen Crosby's third tale of suspense set amid the vines of Virginia wine country involves a two-hundred-year-old bottle of Bordeaux that Thomas Jefferson may have purchased for George Washington and is turning out to be a wine to die for.

It has been a year since Lucie Montgomery took over running her family vineyard at the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. The Bordeaux Betrayal now sweeps her into a mystery that began more than two centuries ago in France and ends in murder not far from Montgomery Estate Vineyard.

When author and historian Valerie Beauvais turns up dead the night after a verbal brawl with a noted wine critic on the grounds of Mount Vernon, George Washington's home, Lucie is certain Valerie's death is related to something she knew concerning the authenticity of the priceless Washington Bordeaux.

As Lucie and her eccentric winemaker Quinn Santori bring in the last grapes of the season, Quinn's controversial past becomes intertwined with the murder and the rare wine, testing the bonds of their increasingly close relationship. New neighbors challenge Lucie for allowing a century-old hunting club to use her land for foxhunting; Mick Dunne, Lucie's ex-lover, comes back into her life; and her beloved French grandfather makes an unexpected visit that will rekindle painful memories some would prefer to forget.

As Lucie investigates the shadowy history of the Washington wine, she uncovers a web of deceit and betrayal and a long-forgotten scandal that affects not only the international wine world but her own as well.
Price: $11.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Recognized the world over by frequent flyers and armchair travelers alike, Eyewitness Travel Guides are the most colorful and comprehensive guides on the market. With beautifully commissioned photographs and spectacular 3-D aerial views revealing the charm of each destination, these amazing travel guides show what others only tell..
Price: $11.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Seeking to penetrate the mysteries of two great wine regions--"two opposite civilizations, two distinct ways of feeling"--Jean-Robert Pitte embarks upon an evocative and fascinating exploration of the land, people, and wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy. His account is a rich tapestry of terroir, history, culture, and economics from Roman to modern times. The unique qualities of the wines of each region, Pitte believes, cannot be entirely explained by the differences in their physical environments: they have social origins as well. Beginning with an entertaining look at the remarkable variety of insults exchanged by partisans of the two regions, Pitte delves into the key role played by medieval monks, dukes, and peasant vignerons in building their respective reputations and in creating the rivalry between bourgeois Bordeaux and earthy Burgundy that we know today. His sparkling, fair-minded narrative, engaging the senses and the mind alike, conveys a deep appreciation of two incomparable winegrowing cultures, united despite their differences by a common ambition to produce the best wines in the world..
Price: $13.47 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $36.86 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Wine drinkers around the world refer to Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s Bordeaux simply as "The Bible."

First published in 1985, this landmark consumer guide launched one of the most illustrious careers in wine criticism Robert Parker's mission, in his newsletter The Wine Advocate and his many bestselling books, has always been to give wine drinkers honest, informed advice about which wines are worth their money, and which wines aren't.

The fourth edition of Bordeaux presents a complete guide to vintages between 1961 and 2001. This latest volume brings readers up-to-date on the abundance of new producers in France's most important wine region and for the first time includes more than 700 wine labels. Parker has retasted and reevaluated many of Bordeaux's finest wines -- and adjusted their ratings accordingly -- so readers of his previous editions will discover herein a wealth of new material.

Parker begins with an overview of each year, which includes insight into growing conditions and yields, notes on anticipated maturity, general price ranges, and lists of best wines. The heart of the book is the chapter "Evaluating the Wines of Bordeaux," in which he meticulously reviews wine producers of every appellation. Organized geographically, the chateaux are listed in alphabetical order, and entries include contact information, vineyard size, details about the wine-making style, and a general evaluation of the chateau's wines. Best of all, each entry includes extensive tasting notes on important vintages, all of them featuring Parker's celebrated rating system -- in which every wine is assessed on a scale ranging from 50 to 100. In later chapters, he also offers essential information about the elements of a great Bordeaux wine, practical travel information about the region, a glossary of wine terms, and more.

An invaluable guide for consumers, Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s Bordeaux provides all the information amateurs and connoisseurs alike could possibly need in their search for that perfect bottle.

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Price: $32.20 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"Echikson's understanding and explanation of how the business works...is fascinating and easy to swallow "—Michael Philips, Wall Street Journal

For wine lovers the world over, Bordeaux is the center of the universe. But in the past two decades, revolutionaries have stormed its traditional bastions, making their mark—and their fortunes—modernizing the production and marketing of wine.

Noble Rot introduces us to the figures who epitomize the changes sweeping Bordeaux—the noble family behind Château d'Yquem; a stonemason turned winemaker whose wine, made in a garage, sells for $100 a bottle; the Maryland-based critic Robert Parker, whose opinion routinely makes or breaks a wine; the New World operations that have used branding to undercut Bordeaux's supremacy—and delves into the mysteries of the legendary classification of 1855. 23 illustrations..
Price: $7.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A guard dog of relentless power and a family companion of sincerity and humor, the Dogue de Bordeaux comes to the dog world via the vineyards of Southern France. This giant mastiff, draped in its deep red coat, boasts the most magnificent head in the world and a heart that is aptly matched. For devotion, protection and appeal, the Dogue de Bordeaux is a premium choice. This book provides the much-needed factual information about Dogues de Bordeaux and their ancestry, character and standard, as well as the proper selection, feeding, training, preventative health care and behavior of the breed. The new owner will welcome advice about puppy-proofing the home, housebreaking and preventing puppy problems.

In addition to an extremely authoritative, comprehensive text, this book presents over 135 photographs in full color, which prove to be as informative as they are attractive. Helpful hints and important information are highlighted to provide easy access to everything the reader needs to know about life with a Dogue de Bordeaux from puppyhood to the senior years..
Price: $11.31 [Notify me when price goes down.]