Andre Simon Prize shortlist announced

The shortlist for the 2004 André Simon Book Award was announced last week. The award is for the best books in the field of food and drink.

Decanter contributors Rosemary George and Andrew Jefford both make the shortlist: George for her book Treading Grapes (Bantam), about a 15-month walking tour of Italy, and Decanter columnist Jefford for Peat Smoke and Spirit, (Headline), about whisky production on the Isle of Islay.

Phylloxera: How wine was saved for the world, by Christy Campbell (HarperCollins), is the story of the parasite which almost devastated European viniculture, the scientists who managed to stop the spread of the disease, and the accompanying economic and social chaos.

Desserts and Wines (Mitchell Beazley) is an illustrated work by Olivier Poussier, wine director of French culinary centre Lenôtre, which contains 60 recipes and 120 wines to match desserts, sweet wines, liqueurs and spirits.

Nicholas Faith’s Cognac (Mitchell Beazley) is the story of the town and its most famous export, and also contains profiles of important producers and a tasting guide to styles from around the world.

A £2000 prize is awarded to the winner of the ‘Food’ and ‘Wine’ categories, with £1000 for the best book on an unusual or unconventional topic, and will be decided early next spring. Past winners include Michael Broadbent, Jancis Robinson, Clive Coates, Michael Schuster and Andrew Jefford.

Written by Frances Robinson