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I’LL DRINK TO THAT
Beaujolais and the French Peasant
Who Made It the World’s Most Popular Wine

by Rudolph Chelminski
(Gotham, $27.50)

I'll Drink to That: Beaujolais and the French Peasant Who Made It the World's Most Popular Wine

Reviewed by Nancy Huang

In the world of wine, no festival is celebrated more universally and with more vivacity than the Beaujolais Festival, held worldwide each year on November 15 to ring in the arrival of new wine.  Author Rudolph Chelminski introduces us to the festival and its history in his new book, I’ll Drink to That. The book offers an entertaining account of the underdog Beaujolais and the peasants who fought to bring respect to the tiny winemaking village.  It’s a lighthearted change of pace for Chelminski, who recently wrote The Perfectionist, a behind-the-scenes story of chef Bernard Loiseau and the French culinary world.

In the book, Chelminski details the long history of Beaujolais wine and the villagers who made it, describing the plight of the poor man’s quaff that was spurned by those in Burgundy and Bordeaux, France.  The uniqueness of Beaujolais’ gamay grape, easily drinkable when young, coupled with the marketing innovation of Georges Duboeuf, now one of France’s most famous wine négociants, eventually brought respect to what was once peasants’ wine.  I’ll Drink to That also dives into the globalization of the wine, from its rise to fame to the predicament of being a victim of its own success.

Chelminski mixes nostalgic vignettes with his own personal experiences in the story, breathing life into what could have been a boring history book on wine.  The book leans heavily on wine jargon and French terms, making it less approachable to readers who are not wine enthusiasts or Francophiles.  But those who can appreciate what lies beyond their glass of Beaujolais will fall in love with the story of the little wine that could.

PNJ091107  


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