L’Archipel du goût (French edition) : The Great Story of Wine by Jacques Perrin | Alpaga

The Archipelago of Taste is the new book by Jacques Perrin, one of the best wine tasters and critics of his generation. Known for his fine analyses and original approach, Perrin offers in this book a unique journey through wine and gastronomy, blending philosophy and sensory reflections.

In this geo-sensory narrative, Jacques Perrin takes us on a discovery of the wisdom and flavors hidden behind each glass of wine. He asks profound questions such as: what is the link between wisdom and flavor? Can one be intoxicated with sobriety? And above all, how can wine become a bridge between history, nature, and humanity?

Throughout this literary journey, Perrin invites the reader to explore fascinating themes: from the origin of wine to the mysteries of Champagne, including encounters with world-renowned winemakers and chefs such as Lalou Bize-Leroy, Angelo Gaja, Pierre Gagnaire, Frédy Girardet, and many others. These exceptional personalities share their visions of taste, terroir, and gastronomy, allowing the reader to deepen their own understanding of wine and tasting.

This book is aimed at both wine enthusiasts and those seeking to better understand the mechanisms of taste. With an elegant writing style and a philosophical outlook, Perrin addresses topics such as the memory of wines, eternity, and even the possibility of cooking one's life. His multidimensional approach offers a new and enriching perspective on the culture of wine.

By reading The Archipelago of Taste, you will travel through the best restaurants in the world, while discovering exceptional wines, unique terroirs, and passionate personalities. Perrin reminds us that wine is much more than just a drink; it is a reflection of history, nature, and humanity.

Excerpt from the preface by Antoine Pétrus:
« Jacques Perrin knows, reads, sees, and analyzes like few others in this world of wine and more broadly in the world of taste. His writings have been the gustatory foundation for many of us. » — Antoine Pétrus, Meilleur Ouvrier de France in Sommellerie.

About the author:

Jacques Perrin is a renowned wine critic, born in Sierre. He studied philosophy and French literature at the University of Geneva, where he wrote a thesis on the phenomenology of perception. Founder of the Club des Amateurs de Vins Exquis, he is also editor-in-chief of the magazine VINIFERA and discoverer of many winemakers in Switzerland and around the world. Perrin has been a permanent member of the Grand Jury Européen des Vins since 1996 and has been ranked among the most consistent wine critics in the world by The Global Wine Score.

He is the author of several books, including The Vagabond of Angaria (1974) and Sayings of the Effigy (2009), thus confirming his place among the greatest writers and thinkers in the world of wine.

Book details:

• Publication date: August 30, 2024
• Publisher: Éditions Alpaga
• Category: Narrative
• Number of pages: 184
• ISBN: 978-2-9700841-2-9
• EAN: 9782970084129
• Format: 150 x 210 mm
• Language: French

Interview with Jacques Perrin, writer Born in the Valais, this former philosophy teacher is one of the most renowned wine tasters of his generation. The fruit of decades of peregrinations in vineyards the world over, this founder of the Club des Amateurs de Vins Exquis has now published a book: L’Archipel du Goût. A voyage of initiation into the world of wine, between rivers, seas, shores, hillsides, volcanoes, summits… How did you approach this book? Like a real road movie. With a starting point: Burgundy, the archetypal terroir. An imprint. For me, it’s where it all began: my first discovery of wine, climats, crus… It’s where I was lucky enough to meet people like Hubert de Montille, Henri Jayer, Lalou Bize-Leroy, Aubert de Villaine… And then, in this book, we head for the Rhône. Like Rimbaud’s Le bateau ivre, I travel down this river, arrive in the Mediterranean, head for the Aegean Sea to Mount Athos and, further on, Armenia, one of the countries where wine originated, along with Georgia… Each time, a new geography of tastes and encounters, like paintings, each different from the next, to be explored at your leisure. Because I also wanted rhythm. The very thing that, according to Roland Barthes, brings pleasure to the text. These days, stories are so formatted. There are no surprises. But life is full of surprises… So this is not a technical book? Not at all. After teaching wine, taking part in thousands of verticals, horizontales and other tastings of all kinds, writing numerous in-depth articles, notably for the biannual Vinifera, on estates, appellations, wine-growing regions, etc., I wanted something different. I wanted to take a different approach to wine, to help people who know nothing about it to appreciate it, to make them understand what it really is, through travel. What exactly is wine to you? Wine is a gift, something offered to us. It’s also a promise. It’s a promise to meet again, to spend a moment together, in a time that is suddenly free of all contingencies and worries. It’s a form of communion, a bond. Hence the name given to this book. Taste is eminently subjective. We all taste differently, depending on our physiology, our history… In this respect, everyone can be considered as an island. Despite this, and this is the beauty of it, representations of taste are being created everywhere, through communities, collectives, prescribers […] Find the full interview here