Wine of the Times

When it comes to wine, the passion runs deep.

By Samantha Myers

Photos courtesy of FrenchEntrée

Famed French chocolatier and culinary wizard, Patrick Roger, has launched his first exclusive wine, “L’Instant de Patrick Roger (2016).” Produced in Trouillas, in the eastern Pyrénées, the wine was harvested alongside four varieties of almonds on a vineyard that has been planted for 20 years. Saved from destruction after purchasing the estate in 2011, today, the vineyard is a stunning plot of land.

From vinification to bottling, every step of production of the wine was done by hand out of respect for the land, due to Roger’s priority in protecting the environment. “We have to save the earth if we want to survive on it,” he says. “We must fall in love with nature, with trees and wines, in order to make the rain come.” L’Instant de Patrick Roger is €69 per bottle or €282 for 6 bottles. www.PatrickRoger.com

Under the careful supervision of his father, Patrick Alexander began drinking wine with his meals at the age of five. “Although mixed with water, it was unmistakably wine and we would discuss the taste and bouquet while my father would explain where and how it was made,” says Alexander. “At the same age, with the warm encouragement of my mother, I began a lifelong love affair with books.”

Surrounded by vineyards from his early 20s on, from Bordeaux, to Piedmont to Santa Cruz, Alexander finally settled in Miami — a location with no vineyards at all. After teaching a wine appreciation course in a bookstore for more than a decade, Alexander said creating a book about wine and books was a natural flow. “Living in a region with no wine — I decided to write about it instead!”

The Booklovers’ Guide to Wine aims to teach an all-encompassing background to wine — what it is, where it’s grown and how it’s made. “Throughout the book, I have quoted extensively from poets, novelists and statesmen as they refer to wine from so many different perspectives,” he says. In a particular chapter, Alexander pairs different wine grapes with different writers; Dickens with Cabernet Sauvignon, Jane Austen with Chardonnay and JRR Tolkien with Albarino.

THIS STORY WAS FEATURED IN OUR WINTER 2018 ISSUE. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL DIGITAL VERSION.

From custom-made coloring books to first edition copies of century-old novels and everything in between, online marketplaces are now offering customers the chance to purchase incredibly rare, hard-to-find books. Sites like Biblio, AbeBooks and VeryFirstTo have all the options you need to expand your book collection, including these noteworthy titles.

By Kelly Potts

East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North by Kay Nielsen 

This signed limited edition version, one of just 500 copies printed, features gilt titles and decorations to the spine and front cover, and an original pen and ink drawing by Nielsen. “It’s probably one of the most collectible illustrated books of the 20th century,” Richard Davies, PR & publicity manager of AbeBooks, says of the book that was published in 1914. $49,913.49 • AbeBooks.com

The Bespoke Colouring Book with Bespoke Illustrations by Ian Beck

Featuring 10 custom illustrations that can range from meaningful personalities to locations to events, this coloring book is hand-bound in leather with the buyer’s name embossed in 24-karat gold lettering on the cover. As VeryFirstTo reports, Beck is excited to begin this project, saying, “This is an amazing keepsake and heirloom in the making for the family.” $30,875 • VeryFirstTo.com

This article originally appeared in our Fall 2017 issue. Click here for the full digital version.