A Journey in the World of Wine: From Operating in the Trade to Founding a Boutique Winery

In this fascinating memoir, Christopher Cannan reveals the realities of every niche and level within the world of wine, garnered from his personal experiences over the last fifty years. This starts with earning his keep in French cellars and bottling lines, then working for Bordeaux négociant Louis Eschenauer and New York-based importer Frederick Wildman & Sons, to setting up the highly successful wine merchant Europvin in Bordeaux, and finally building one of Spain's most well-respected wineries, Clos Figueras, in the reputable Priorat region.

Europvin was initially a brokerage company and later a négociant business, specialising in the selection of single-estate wines of the highest quality from all parts of Europe, but especially France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Cannan signed up several of Spain's most prestigious producers including Bodegas Vega Sicilia, La Rioja Alta S.A., and Emilio Lustau in Jerez for the US, Japan, and other significant markets, with all three producers becoming an important part of the future of Europvin. Other esteemed Spanish estates soon joined the portfolio, including the wines from Marqués de Griñón, Bodegas Mauro, and Clos Mogador.

With charming anecdotes and entertaining detail, Cannan describes the inspiring wine-world personalities he encountered and worked with, his considerable travels, and the conquest of various markets, most of them overseas and frequently visited with the owners of Europvin's most well-known estates. These included such legendary names as the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, E. Guigal, and the aforementioned Bodegas Vega Sicilia, among others. Journeys to countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Brazil, and Peru were pioneering ventures, since many of these countries were then only just beginning to take an interest in importing fine wines. On more than a few occasions, Cannan found himself ahead of his times.

After spending decades in sales, Cannan finally became a wine producer himself. He portrays the ups and downs of this significant role change with characteristic openness and honesty, outlining how the whole adventure has given him the opportunity to see the wine trade from a unique and different perspective. Twenty-five years later, the wines of Clos Figueras are present in twenty-three countries and have received numerous plaudits from the international wine press. With the rise of enotourism, Cannan has become a restaurant owner also, bringing a new set of challenges as well as illuminating insights to his ongoing experiences in the world of wine.

Always engaging and compellingly readable, Cannan's comprehensive knowledge and generous good humour shine through on every page, making A Journey in the World of Wine - From Operating in the Trade to Founding a Boutique Winery a delight to read, and accessible to all.