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Books > Health, Home & Family > Cookery / food & drink etc > Beverages > Alcoholic beverages > General
For centuries a bastion of tradition and the jewel in the crown of
French viticulture, Bordeaux has in recent years become dogged by
controversy, particularly regarding the 2012 classification of the
wines of St.-Emilion, the most prestigious appellation of
Bordeaux's right bank. St.-Emilion is an area increasingly
dominated by big international investors, especially from China,
who are keen to speculate on the area's wines and land, some of
whose value has increased tenfold in the last decade alone. In the
controversial 2012 classification, certain chateaux were promoted
to a more prestigious class because of insider deals that altered
the scoring system for the classification of wines into premier
crus and grand crus. This system now takes into account the
facilities of each chateau's tasting room, the size of its
warehouse, and even the extent of its parking lot. The quality of
the wine counts for just 30% of the total score for the wines of
the top ranking, those deemed premier grand cru classe A. In Vino
Business, Saporta shows how back-room deals with wine distributors,
multinational investors like the luxury company LVMH, and even wine
critics, have fundamentally changed this ancient business. Saporta
also investigates issues of wine labelling and the use of
pesticides, and draws comparisons to Champagne, Burgundy and the
rest of the wine world. Based on two years of research and
reporting, Vino Business draws back the curtain on the secret world
of Bordeaux, a land ever more in thrall to the grapes of wealth.
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