Jean-Charles Boisset launches $400, velvet-covered wine book

One of the wine world’s most flamboyant characters, Jean-Charles Boisset, has launched a $400 coffee table wine book finished in red velvet called Alchemy of the Senses.

Flamboyant Frenchman, Jean-Charles Boisset, has released an extravagant velvet-lined wine book priced at $400

The hefty 235-page tome is presented in a red box lined with blue velvet, and each copy comes with a gold pendulum in an ode to Boisset’s grandmother, who carried one with her at all times.

The book comes with a gold pendant

There are several opportunities in the book for readers to use the pendulum to choose different characteristics in order to create their dream bottle of wine.

A collection of 12 aroma samples enable readers to identify scents like tobacco, rose and mushroom in wine, while textures like leather, velvet and wood help explain the concept of mouthfeel.

Like its author, the book is multifaceted and hard to pigeonhole, though it’s largely autobiographical, charting his upbringing in France and family ties to wine.

Taking a light-hearted approach to wine, the book includes sections on decanting, terroir and tasting, a collection of recipes, music and wine matching playlist, and a guide on how to throw the perfect party.

It also features Boisset’s last supper

Keen for the book to be interactive, Boisset, who runs Raymond Vineyards and Buena Vista Winery in California, has included a number of 3D and glow-in-the-dark sections within the book.

The tome also includes a detailed description of the seven-course meal Boisset would indulge in if the Apocalypse were to arrive, and who he’d enjoy it with.

The lavish menu features over 60 dishes, including French delicacies like duck liver paté, foie gras, squab, caviar and quail’s eggs.

The section includes a Last Supper–inspired illustration of Boisset’s dream dinner guests, including Lady Gaga (wearing her controversial meat dress), Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí.