In this handsome and engaging book, Clive Coates, one of the world's leading authorities on wine, gives us the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and detailed study of the wines of France ever written. Coates's vast knowledge of his subject together with his natural gift as a storyteller make An Encyclopedia of the Wines and Domaines of France as informative as it is entertaining. He discusses every appellation and explains its character, distinguishes the best growers, and uses a star system to identify the finest estates. With more than forty specially commissioned maps that show the main appellations and wine villages of France in detail and a format that invites browsing as well as in-depth study, this book will be essential reading for anyone, professional or amateur, interested in wine. Coates gives ample reasons for his belief that France produces the finest wines in the world, in a volume and variety no other country can match. He shows how, despite savage competition from other countries, France holds its own. It not only creates great wines, he says, it also produces affordable wines. The outcome of thirty-five years of traveling around the French vineyards, this book displays a continuing love and respect for French wines and the vignerons of this remarkable country. In discussing each region and its wines in detail, Coates leaves no stone unturned. His encyclopedic knowledge is evident, bringing the places and the people where these great wines are created to life.