In Christie’s World Encyclopaedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine (Absolute Press, 1998 – latest edition 2013), Tom Stevenson published a paper that had been presented to The Royal Society in 1662. This document was written by Dr Christopher Merret, one of the founding members of The Royal Society, and its publication proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the English had invented Champagne (or, more accurately, the misleadingly named méthode champenoise) more than 30 years before the French claimed Dom Pérignon had invented it. Indeed, six years before Dom Pérignon had even set foot in Champagne.
In 1997, however, a rare work called De Salubri Potu Dissertatio was auctioned by Sotheby’s, who estimated its value to be 12 million Lira. Following the pre-auction hype, the bidding was fierce and it was eventually sold to the Lunelli family of Cantine Ferrari (which has no connection to Ferrari, the famous Italian sports car manufacturer) for 40 million Lira. Both before and since the auction, the popular press has claimed that Chapter 21 of this book documents the production of sparkling wines in Italy as early as 1335. We now know 1622 to be the true date. Some sources even suggested that it contained a recipe explaining how to make sparkling. Could this really be true? To arrive at a definitive conclusion, Tom Stevenson commissioned John Holland, a world class Latinist, to translate Chapter 21 into English for the very first time, and in analysing this, he found out much more than he bargained for! This book contains the full text of Chapter 21 in English and Latin with a full analysis leading to a conclusion that will surprise the French as much as the Italians.
Tom Stevenson is a British author who has been writing about wine for more than 30 years, during which time he has won 33 literary awards, including Wine Writer of the Year three times and The Wine Literary Award, America’s only lifetime achievement award for wine writers and in 2011 he was inducted into the New York Wine Media Guild’s Hall of Fame. Stevenson is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on Champagne, he has written 25 books, the most important of which have been published internationally by more than 50 publishers and translated into over 25 languages. His Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia has sold over 700,000 copies worldwide.
In 1997, however, a rare work called De Salubri Potu Dissertatio was auctioned by Sotheby’s, who estimated its value to be 12 million Lira. Following the pre-auction hype, the bidding was fierce and it was eventually sold to the Lunelli family of Cantine Ferrari (which has no connection to Ferrari, the famous Italian sports car manufacturer) for 40 million Lira. Both before and since the auction, the popular press has claimed that Chapter 21 of this book documents the production of sparkling wines in Italy as early as 1335. We now know 1622 to be the true date. Some sources even suggested that it contained a recipe explaining how to make sparkling. Could this really be true? To arrive at a definitive conclusion, Tom Stevenson commissioned John Holland, a world class Latinist, to translate Chapter 21 into English for the very first time, and in analysing this, he found out much more than he bargained for! This book contains the full text of Chapter 21 in English and Latin with a full analysis leading to a conclusion that will surprise the French as much as the Italians.
Tom Stevenson is a British author who has been writing about wine for more than 30 years, during which time he has won 33 literary awards, including Wine Writer of the Year three times and The Wine Literary Award, America’s only lifetime achievement award for wine writers and in 2011 he was inducted into the New York Wine Media Guild’s Hall of Fame. Stevenson is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on Champagne, he has written 25 books, the most important of which have been published internationally by more than 50 publishers and translated into over 25 languages. His Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia has sold over 700,000 copies worldwide.
