The Wine Revolution in France

Book excerpt: During the past eight decades French vineyards, wineries, and wine marketing efforts have undergone such profound changes--from technological, scientific, economic, and commercial standpoints--that the transformation is revolutionary for an industry dating back thousands of years. Here Leo Loubre examines how the modernization of Western society has brought about new conditions in well-established markets, making the introduction of novel techniques and processes a matter of survival for winegrowers. Not only does Loubre explain how altered environmental conditions have enabled pioneering enologists to create styles of wine more suited to contemporary tastes and living arrangements, but he also discusses the social impact of the wine revolution on the employees in the industry. The third generation of this new viticultural regime has encountered working and living conditions drastically different from those of its predecessors, while witnessing the near disappearance of the working class and the decline of small and medium growers of ordinary wines. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.