Your personal guide to the world of champagne. 75 Grandes Marques and growers, history of the region, production, practical advices and interesting facts.
Many books were written when their author was zonk out, remember only Ernest Hemingway, F. S. Fitzgerald or Jack London. This book too. Of course, this book was written especially under the influence of champagne, but sometimes of other wines, after all, we are not Rockefeller's heirs. However, it was not possible for us to wrote it in a different way, as we had to be able to pass on to you a joy we have while drinking champagne wine. How to otherwise convince you that this wine is worth not only for the outrageous money but also for your attention?
Why did we write this book?
In our opinion, people don’t drink much champagne. They know little about it and consider it (as a golf) to be a snobbish matter. We wanted to present a different view on it and to point out its lesser-known but more interesting site. To show that normal people stand behind this wine. We have selected and presented 75 wineries that we know personally, whose wines we drink and which we can recommend with a clear conscience for tasting. And in case you are already proficient in the world of champagne, maybe you will learn a few new information during your reading of this book so that you can shine at the party with some sparkling facts…
‘I've always been of the opinion that champagne should be to wine what haute couture is to fashion’
Alfred Gratien
Guest authors
We asked several of our friends who work professionally in the wine business to collaborate on the book. They either became co-authors of selected chapters, or corrected some chapters in the book:
Danihelka Miloš – Champagne Doyard
Co-owner of the Prague’s L’Fleur bar in V Kolkovně street and founder of the company Terroir - Champagne. He travels to Champagne several times a year and imports a portfolio of wines from several interesting wineries to the Czech Republic. Co-founder of the La Bouteille de Champagne festival.
A legend among Czech sommeliers. He worked as a sommelier in a number of prestigious Prague restaurants such as Rybí trh, Le Terroir, Kalina cuisine & vins alongside top chefs such as Jan Punčochář or Miroslav Kalina. Today, he is the co-owner of a brand new wine bar Le Terroir in Prague's Kozí street. The tastings of champagne or still wines led by him are among the best you can experience.
The co-owner of the Prague’s bar Autentista in Řetězová street, the founder of the Champagnier company as well as the importer of several brands of champagne wines. The co-founder of the festivals Prague drinks wine or La Bouteille de Champagne.
He completed internships with Michelin chef Pavel Pospíšil in Baden-Baden, Pohlreich's Café Imperial and also with Roman Paulus at Radisson SAS. Until recently, he worked as a head sommelier at Zdenek’s Oyster Bar, where he made full use of his experience in combining food and wine. You can currently meet him in the new Prague’s wine bar Le Terroir.
He belongs to the top of Czech sommeliers, he holds a number of awards from prestigious sommelier competitions at home and abroad. He worked, among other things, as a head sommelier in the Michelin restaurant Allegro of the Four Seasons hotel in Prague or in renowned restaurants such as Kalina cuisine & vins or Grand Cru.
Vice President of the Association of Sommeliers of the Czech Republic. Multiple winner of a number of sommelier competitions in the Czech Republic, forensic expert in the field of wine and other alcoholic beverages, graduate of WSET London Advanced. Co-author of the book SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT WINE – SOMMELIER PROFESSION. Author of several hundred professional articles. Lecturer of the Association of Sommeliers of the Czech Republic - CERTIFICATE SOMMELIER
‘He who has drunk once will drink again.’
Jean-Rémy Moët
Our collaborators
We wanted you to enjoy the book and also to like it. Here are those who has a share in it:
Graphic designer
We bravely asked Štěpán Malovec for graphic design and prayed that he would agree. Štěpán holds a number of prestigious awards in the field of graphic design. He also worked a long time ago with Klára at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. So he has known us for some time and knew he could not refuse to help us. That fulfilled our dream. Perhaps you will be as pleased with the result as we are.
Photographer
75 bottles had to be photographed in the book. There was not any option to download bottles photos from the net or buy them from photo banks. Photographer Bohouš Pospíšil therefore had a complete crowd of bottles in the studio for several days and stepped between them with unprecedented lightness and… also gloves. White ones.
Illustrator
The illustrations in the book were created by Jaroslava Bičovská. Her artistic beginnings are connected mainly with designs of graphic adaptations of books for the Vyšehrad publishing house, but she is also known for her free graphic and drawing work and paintings. Her works are represented in Czech and foreign galleries.
Publisher
The book was published by Galerie Gema, which publishes literally jewellery books devoted mainly to the visual arts. So in this respect we were in the best hands of Kamil and Linda.
Editor
The book was edited by Jana Vápeníková and the language editorial studio Studio Imprimis. They were kind to us, but strict.
An English translation of the book is currently being prepared.
I want a book!
Have we tickled your fancy enough to make you want to see the book in your library? Then we are delighted!
