Wines of the French Alps: Savoie, Bugey and Beyond With Local Food and Travel Tips

Although they were once scarce outside France, wines from the country's Alpine regions are increasingly becoming available elsewhere. Following on the model of her Jura Wine, Wink Lorch offers here an authoritative and personal guide to French Alpine wines and the regions in which they are produced: Savoie, Isère, Bugey, Le Diois, and Haute-Alpes.

Wines of the French Alps begins with brief overview of each region's character and history, then discourses broadly on factors of climate and geology, as well as favored grapes, many of which are not cultivated anywhere else in the world.

Profiles of 120 different producers follow, selected with an eye to those who export, who favor organic production, or whose market presence is strongest. Throughout this section there are maps which help clarify the position of the vineyards relative to significant geographic features.

And finally, Lorch provides a selective guide to regional foods (the cheeses, the cheeses!), and a pithy selection of notable hotels and restaurants. This is a charming and detailed resource, clearly written with an intimate knowledge of places as well as the people who are producing the wines.

Paperback. Color photographs throughout.