Vignerons Alpins - Emmanuel Renaut (French edition) by Isabelle Ambregna & Matthieu Cellard

The book Vignerons Alpins, authored by Emmanuel Renaut, a three-star chef and best craftsman of France, is a tribute to mountain wines and their winegrowers. For 30 years, Emmanuel Renaut has been interacting with the wine artisans from the regions of Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Bugey, Switzerland, Valais, and Alsace. He dedicates this 260-page book to them, a collection rich in history, traditions, and flavors, highlighting the complexity and richness of these high-altitude wines.

The wines discussed in this work stand out for their unique characteristics. The white wines of Savoie, such as the refined jacquère or the juicy bergeron, and the red wines, like the rustic mondeuse, offer surprising gastronomic pairings with mountain cuisine.

The wine regions around Mont Blanc form a territory of exceptional richness, with vineyards often perched on steep slopes and rugged terraces. This extreme viticulture, shaped by a harsh mountain climate, gives rise to deep and distinctive wines. In Savoie, the jacquère and bergeron are iconic, while the Valais enchants us with the petite arvine, featuring saline finishes.

Olivier Poussier, an internationally renowned sommelier, highlights in his preface the uniqueness of Savoyard, Valais, and Aosta Valley wines. He praises Emmanuel Renaut's initiative, who has managed to showcase these lesser-known terroirs on his wine list at Flocons de Sel, his three-star restaurant in Megève.

In a second preface, Enrico Bernardo, another giant in the world of sommeliers, takes us into the heart of the Mont-Blanc wines. These mountain wines, marked by a spirit of altitude, are the result of a delicate balance between climate, geology, and native grape varieties. They are distinguished by their freshness, verticality, and their ability to elevate mountain dishes.

The native grape varieties such as mondeuse or petite arvine are at the center of this wine exploration. These wines reveal varied aromatic profiles, far from usual standards, and improve with time. The prie blanc from Morgex and the muscat de Chambave from the Aosta Valley are examples of the diversity and richness of these wine regions.

The book, beautifully illustrated by the photographs of Matthieu Cellard, offers a visual and sensory immersion into these mountain landscapes and suspended vineyards, true gems of the Alps. The texts by Isabelle Ambregna provide valuable insights into the history and wine practices of these regions.

Vignerons Alpins is much more than just a book about wine: it is a journey through unique terroirs, a discovery of rare grape varieties, and a celebration of passionate winegrowers who, day after day, perpetuate an ancestral know-how, adapted to the extreme conditions of the mountains.

Technical characteristics:

• Title: Alpine Winemakers (French Edition)
• Author: Emmanuel Renaut
• Texts: Isabelle Ambregna
• Photography: Matthieu Cellard
• Publisher: Deux Ponts
• EAN: 9782918734505
• ISBN: 978-2-918-73450-5
• Number of pages: 258
• Publication date: 10/2022
• Format: Hardcover
• Dimensions: 32 x 25 x 3 cm
• Weight: 1800 g
• Language: French

This work is intended for wine enthusiasts, professionals in the wine sector, as well as for anyone who wants to learn more about the world of mountain wines. With its didactic approach and portraits of winemakers, Alpine Winemakers is a true celebration of the alpine wine-making art.