France has a rich wine culture that spans hundreds of years. From Champagne to Burgundy to Avignon, its wine regions are quite famous across the world. And in exploring the art of great wines, reading the Best Books About French Wine can be an interesting thing.

Some wine books are merely about wine production, some are fiction describing characters’ lives, and some are research-based prescribing health tips from scientific findings. Whichever one you get, be rest assured that they will give you an educated insight into their central theme in relation to wine.

Here Is a List of Some of The Best Books About French Wine:

The New Wine Rules: A Genuinely Helpful Guide to Everything You Need to Know – Jon Bonné

We live in a world of lush information that rightly and otherwise constantly tells us what is good and bad for us. Some even describe to us what the good life is. This book reflects on becoming happier and being an assured wine drinker in the face of it all. As the first step to achieving these, you need to let go of worrying about the unnecessary burdens you incur from listening to the things wine “experts” have been telling you. 

The author intends to give lessons through the world of wine with simple hacks. They also explain to readers why you should smell the wine’s cork and what it reveals to you. You will also learn why a wine’s price hardly reflects its quality. The illustrated book is informative, interactive, and fun. 

Mon Docteur, Le Vin – Gaston Derys

Gaston Derys takes a bold stride towards illuminating on a topic we have grappled with on our minds but with less success and external proof. It centers on whether drinking wine is good or not. Derys might deserve a cosmic award for giving wine lovers hope and solid assurance that drinking is not a ruinous practice. And that they might not need to question their life’s decision by embracing it. 

After thorough research, a team of French doctors released a book with the underlying assertion that drinking plenteous amounts of wine prevents infection, diabetes, appendicitis, and obesity. As many have feared for a long time, drinking a lot can be hazardous to health because implications will rear their heads. 

In expounding the assertion, one of the doctors carrying out the research said that a few glasses a night should be an important routine for healthy living. A bold one, isn’t it?! The book was first published in the 1930s, and a good part of the medical truisms maybe just outdated. It, however, is a delightful read, with each chapter followed by a set of satirical watercolors. We do advise that you take Gaston Derys and the so-called doctors’ words with only a pinch of salt. 

Sideways – Rex Pickett

Pickett does a great job on this book with the literary elements employed while the author appropriately wedges wine allusions into the piece. Apparently, the author has absolute knowledge of viniculture to the delight of readers and wine lovers.

While Miles, the main character, loves Pinot Noir (red wine), Jack, his friend sets his heart on a different thing. On the Californian vineyards are women and Pinot Noir in unimaginable proportions. 

Days before Jack’s wedding, both friends went into the vine-filled slopes for one last time together. Gulping pitchers of wine at a place called Hitching Post, Miles tries to discard that things are not going particularly well for him. He steals cash from his old mother, publishers have just rejected his novel, and his best friends display cheerful irresponsibility running naked from a lover’s room; just a few hours before his ties the knot with his intending bride. 

The book is funny and at the same time dark but there is plenty of interesting stuff about wine and viniculture generally. 

A Good Year – Peter Mayle 

When it comes to relaxation and holiday literature, Peter Mayle ranks indeed high. The author is skilled at wielding literary forces to elicit throbbing emotions in readers, and that is why it comes as no surprise the A Good Year turned out decently. 

The author’s mild and seamless prose is the ideal match for the Provencal terrain that he brilliantly describes in this fiction. He chronicles the vinaceous undertakings that center around fake vintage wine. You should definitely know that the author had a fine execution with the book as he describes a deal about wine production. To have an alternative experience of the vinous magic that Mayle concorts, read A Good Year with a nice glass of white wine to go with it. Nothing beats that. 

A Vineyard in the Dordogne – Jeremy Josephs

A tribute to the southwest French region of Dordogne (also a wine-producing area), the author takes us through the intriguing journey of an English family’s business quest. For the Ryman family, they were pursuing their dream- to live in France, make wine in a vineyard of their own, and have their own impressive chateau. But these will come at a high price.

When Nick Ryman’s son, Hugh, took charge of the enterprise, he integrated modern and cutting-edge production techniques to the vineyard, thereby making one of the region’s finest wines. Even though the family had want they wanted, emotions and detachment got the better of them and threatened the family bond. The book navigates the tale about relationships between members of the family. 

Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure – Donald and Pete Kladstrup

This is a historical detail on the place of viniculture in the midst of political events that immensely shook Europe. If you are a keen observer, you will notice the theme of the Nazis each time you visit a vineyard in France. The book also sheds light on man’s effort to save what it holds dear like passion, love, and legacy; which is wine in this case.

Vignerons (people who cultivate grapes for wine production) are only excessively excited to open bottle after bottle and walk through the years with you, recollecting the weather on harvest days many years ago. However, as you drink your way through the vintages, they start to acknowledge their faults, “I am afraid the Nazis got to the bottles”.

This captivating book narrates the story of the wine that survived and the trick the vignerons used to preserve them from intruders- like aging young bottles by changing the labels and covering them in cobwebs to deceive the Nazis. The Germans thought they were vintage. 

Bon Appetit! Adventure with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew – Peter Mayle

Bon Appetit is another great book in the impressive corpus of sensualist writer extraordinaire, Peter Mayle. It is a celebration of wine and good food as the author skillfully wedges the subject matter in a plot about the Bordeaux marathon. Once you pick up the book, we can assure you that you will be totally glued to it. Again, Mayles demonstrates his incredible knowledge of wine, gastronomy, and beautiful France.

Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer’s Tour of France – Kermit Lynch

Published in 1990, the book chronicles the journey of Kermit Lynch during his wine trips in France. It tells of his expectation and amazement at the fine art of wine production across the wine-producing regions of the country. Lovers of France and French wine will no doubt appreciate Kermit Lynch’s work for its analysis and clear description. 

Extremely Pale Rosé: A Very French Adventure – Jamie Ivy

If you love reading about good wine, good food, and adventurous travels, this is a brilliant book for you. Jamie Ivy does a great job of crafting a longing diversion from the real world to a perfectly refined and epicurean plain. The book is an autobiographical travel journal where the author takes us through their journey of southern France in the delightful company of their friends, delicious food, and velvet wine.

Vintage: A Novel – David Baker 

Wine and thriller flick is a perfect combination for relaxation. David Baker’s book is entertaining, and remorselessly offers readers a lush of suspense. Wine and food lovers, too, will relate to this beautifully written prose. The vintage storyline follows the adventures of a former journalist, Bruno Tannenbaum, across France. He takes on France in search of a lost wine vintage, the 1943 Trevallier, as he also hopes to revive his career. You would not want to miss this action-packed piece.

Which to do think is The Best Book About French Wine? Leave your comments down below!