The winemaker's year - Michael Buller

The annual arrival of the "Beaujolais nouveau" is one of the most exciting events in the wine-lover's calendar. Every year, thousands eagerly await the innocent freshness and appetizing bouquet of the latest Beaujolais, with its delightful recreation of one's first encounter with wine.;Michael Buller's text and Pierre Cottin's photography aim to take us to the source of the excitement, to the Beaujolais region itself. We visit the hundreds of small family-owned vineyards, the grander wine chateaux, the "negociants" who bottle and ship the wine, and the cafes and restaurants of one of the gastronomic centres of France.;Like the wine they produce, the people of the Beaujolais region are depicted as vigorous and expressive. We are introduced to Papa Louis Brechard, aged 86, who organized the first winegrowers' co-operative; Comte Henri de Rambuteau conducts us on a tour of his Chateau Des Granges; we meet Georges Duboeuf, the most famous "negociant" of all. Here too are the celebrated chefs of Lyons, Paul Bocuse and Jean-Paul Lacombes, and Christian Mabeau at Odenas. The photographs capture the charm of the hamlets and farms, the energy of the harvest, and the exuberance of the harvest festivals.