{"product_id":"champagne-charlie-the-frenchman-who-taught-americans-to-love-champagne-9781640123946","title":"Champagne Charlie: The Frenchman Who Taught","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Best Wine Book of 2021\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChampagne Charlie\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of a dashing young Frenchman, Charles Heidsieck, who introduced hard-drinking Americans to champagne in the mid-nineteenth century and became famously known as Champagne Charlie. Ignoring critics who warned that America was a dangerous place to do business, Heidsieck plunged right in, considering it “the land of opportunity” and succeeding there beyond his wildest dreams. Those dreams, however, became a nightmare when the Civil War erupted and he was imprisoned and nearly executed after being charged with spying for the Confederacy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Only after the Lincoln administration intervened was Heidsieck’s life saved, but his champagne business had gone bankrupt and was virtually dead. Then, miraculously, Heidsieck became owner of nearly half the city of Denver, the fastest-growing city in the West. By selling the land, Heidsieck was eventually able to resurrect his business to its former glory.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e For all its current-day glamour, effervescence, and association with the high life, champagne had a lackluster start. It was pale red in color, insipid in taste, and completely flat. In fact, champagne-makers, including the legendary Dom Pérignon, fought strenuously to eliminate bubbles. Champagne’s success can be traced back to King Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour, Napoleon Bonaparte, countless wars and prohibitions, and, most important to the United States, Charles Heidsieck.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChampagne Charlie\u003c\/i\u003e tells the history of champagne and the thrilling tale of how the go-to celebratory drink of our time made its way to the United States, thanks to the controversial figure of Heidsieck.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Don and Petie Kladstrup offer not only a fascinating portrait of the 19th-century founder of the Charles Heidsieck Champagne house but an evocative sketch of America and the wine business around the time of the Civil War.\"—Eric Asimov, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A fascinating portrait of an audacious French wine merchant during his travels around mid-19th-century America.\"—Moira Hodgson, \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eChampagne Charlie\u003c\/i\u003e is the dimensional, captivating biography narrative of a man who lived his life with vision and conviction—and who brought champagne to the US.\"—Amy O'Loughlin, \u003ci\u003eForeword Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The Kladstrups weave a wonderful narrative, rich in history both well-known and obscure.\"—Eric Annino, terroirist.com\u003cbr\u003e“A high-spirited romp through the world of French champagne and antebellum America, chronicling the exploits of wine-merchant sensation Charles ‘Champagne Charlie’ Heidsieck. Don and Petie Kladstrup are storytellers with a keen eye for a good yarn and with an even keener appreciation of the rich history of the world’s favorite beverage.”—Tilar J. Mazzeo, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Like an effervescent de Tocqueville, Heidsieck himself was a keen observer of all things American. \u003ci\u003eChampagne Charlie\u003c\/i\u003e is U.S. history paired with a primer on champagne. We learn that George Washington employed a wine advisor, that America was once lousy with counterfeit champagne, and that, for a while, cotton was an acceptable currency for purchasing bubbly. Deeply researched, elegantly written, \u003ci\u003eChampagne Charlie\u003c\/i\u003e goes down as smooth as a glass of Heidsieck’s finest. Here is a book worth savoring—and celebrating.”—Eric Weiner, author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e best-seller \u003ci\u003eThe Geography of Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eChampagne Charlie\u003c\/i\u003e is a fascinating, fast-moving narrative of Heidsieck’s remarkable story and the tumultuous times in which he lived.”—Lesley J. Gordon, Civil War historian and Charles G. Summersell Chair of Southern History at the University of Alabama\u003cbr\u003e“From raging success to humiliating scandal, from creating international thirst to losing all in the jaws of a harrowing Civil War, \u003ci\u003eChampagne Charlie\u003c\/i\u003e is a true original—and with effervescent prose and connoisseurs’ savvy, our guides don’t miss a moment. As much a history of the maturation of American taste as of self-promoting European sophistication, this entertaining story will have you gently popping a cork in no time! Cheers!”—Joseph Spellman, named world’s best sommelier in French Wine and Spirits competition, 1997\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003e Introduction\u003cbr\u003e 1. The First Sip\u003cbr\u003e 2. Young Charles\u003cbr\u003e 3. Discovery of the New World\u003cbr\u003e 4. Reading the Stars\u003cbr\u003e 5. The Panic\u003cbr\u003e 6. The Lion of New York\u003cbr\u003e 7. Southern Comfort\u003cbr\u003e 8. “It’s War”\u003cbr\u003e 9. The Beast\u003cbr\u003e 10. Into the Jaws\u003cbr\u003e 11. “We Are Not in Venice”\u003cbr\u003e 12. The Homecoming\u003cbr\u003e 13. The Man Who Never Forgot\u003cbr\u003e 14. “War Seems to Follow Me”\u003cbr\u003e 15. The Denver Miracle\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index","brand":"Potomac Books Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50114036859223,"sku":"9781640123946","price":26.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781640123946.jpg?v=1741174965","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/champagne-charlie-the-frenchman-who-taught-americans-to-love-champagne-9781640123946","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}