I'm pretty inured to the charms of wine books, being lucky enough to be bombarded with them each autumn. But I am very taken by French Vineyards by Patrick Hilyer, a new edition from Alastair Sawday's stable, or rather from his ecologically designed cottage/offices outside Bristol.
It was the subject matter – where to stay in B&Bs, châteaux and gîtes in French wine country – and the very attractive design that caught my eye initially, and I have only just read the first couple of pages of the book devoted to the company's green credentials. This is a handsome large-format paperback with particularly alluring photographs of beautiful buildings, inside and out, priced at £19.99 for 224 pages on about 80 recommended places to stay, presumably available direct from Sawdays website.
The only place in the book that I know personally is Anne Gros' La Colombière in Vosne-Romanée (communcal kitchen pictured) and the description strikes me as very accurate. (I tried to book there for my tasting trip to Burgundy in late November and she was already fully booked.)
But I am genuinely looking forward to looking through the book as a vicarious travel adventure. Do look out for it if you share my interest in wine-related travel or are simply looking for somewhere congenial, and ecologically aware, to stay in French wine country.
French Vineyards by Patrick Hilyer, published by Alastair Sawday at £19.99