Named one of the New York Times Best Wine Books of 2023
Named one of the Washington Post's Best Wine Books of 2023
In the late 1980s, while working for his family's real estate and parking business in Washington, DC, Alex received a life-changing case of wine as a gift that uncorked a new opportunity. In 1993, he and his family moved to Burgundy, France. They were welcomed as the Gambals, not as interloping Americans, into a community of distinguished winemakers.
Over the next 26 years, Gambal straddled the Atlantic while creating Domaine Alex Gambal, a boutique Burgundy winery that included some of France's greatest vineyards. He produced 35 appellations, including Grand Cru Batard Montrachet. A hard-nosed-businessman in a community steeped in tradition, Gambal defeated the odds by buying some of the most coveted French vines and creating a successful brand.
His American's sensibility gave him a special place in the hearts and minds of Burgundy's vignerons.
Climbing the Vines in Burgundy is a sensory experience that you won't soon forget. It's also a touching family memoir and an accessible, incredibly detailed look at the worlds of gastronomy and oenology. Gambal's book is populated with fascinating characters, stunning locales, and delectable depictions of meals and glass after glass after glass of wine.
Industry Reviews
This is a must-read for anyone who has ever wanted to chuck the office for a vineyard, especially if that dream involves moving to France. * The Washington Post * Alex Gambal was leading a successful family business in the Washington, D.C., area in the late 1980s when he became smitten by wine. So ensued an early midlife crisis that resulted in Mr. Gambal, his wife and children moving to Burgundy to experience life in France, first as a wine broker's intern, then as a wine student. He subsequently built the wine estate of his dreams, but practically exhausted himself trying to make it work. This book documents that experience. It's an engrossing story that, unlike similar books, focuses not on the romance of vineyards and winemaking, but on the gears and grease of creating and maintaining a business without a vast reserve of wealth in perhaps the world's most storied wine region. * The New York Times * Written in a very engaging style, Alex Gambal tells the story of how he moved to France and built a highly successful wine business. A compelling read, where you will learn about the challenges, for him and his family, of working in France and discovering the complex eco-system of Burgundy. -- Jamie Ritchie, former Chairman, Wine & Spirits, Sotheby's Alex Gambal has written a wonderfully engaging book on Burgundy from an insider's perspective packed with details ranging from making wine in Burgundy and keenly-observed nuggets of life in France to his roots in Washington D.C. and his early years working with Becky Wassermann. Weaving together the deeply-understood strands of French culture, winemaking, and entrepreneurship with the absorbing story of his loves, his triumphs, and his losses, Alex has crafted a work that will have something to charm every reader. -- Charles Curtis, Burgundy correspondent / Decanter magazine, Founder, WineAlpha In page-turning detail, Alex Gambal highlights the ups, downs, twists, turns (and weather!) of what so many Burgundy fans only talk about-moving there to make wine. Part adventure, part manifesto, Climbing the Vines in Burgundy shows how Alex became a vinous Indiana Jones-chasing a dream and creating a legacy that reawakens every time one of Alex's wines is uncorked. -- Doug Heye, Political Commentator, CNN
