The Millennium Champagne & Sparkling Wine Guide

From Bollinger and Krug to lesser-known sparkling wines from South Africa and the United States, Tom Stevenson describes the history of the vineyards, the grapes and the wines from various countries in his easy-to-use, A-Z listing The Millennium Champagne & Sparkling Wine Guide Stevenson, who wrote Sotheby's Champagne in 1996, is one of the world's foremost experts on bubbly. In this book he describes more than 900 individual wines, which he ranks and analyses over 64 full-colour pages. Notes on chilling, opening, storing and pouring are included. A good glossary explains everything from acidity to Vin de taille and there's also a listing of the major stockists of Champagnes and sparkling wines in Britain. Interesting anecdotes and quotes abound. When asked how she enjoyed a glass of Bolly, Lily Bollinger (1899-1977) once said: "I drink it when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it when I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it--unless I'm thirsty of course