• "Reading this book for the first time, I was struck by how much the wine world has changed over the past half century, as well as by how much Broadbent still influences the way we taste and appreciate wine. Washington Post"\n• An essential book for all budding wine students\n• Demystifies the subject while bringing it alive\n• A wine book classic\nMichael Broadbent, wine critic, writer, auctioneer and much-admired expert revolutionised the wine trade with his first edition of Wine Tasting in 1968 and has continued to capture the magic of wine for over 50 years, bringing it to the page and to the public in compeling detail, always tinged with his uniquely wry sense of humor. Michael’s original text (from the 1975 edition) updated with the latest vintages and footnotes revealing Michael’s reactions to the changing wine scene. Personal tributes to Michael from Hugh Johnson OBE, Jancis Robinson OBE MW, Steven Spurrier, the late Gerard Basset OBE MW MS, and international wine auctioneers Paul Bowker and Fritz Hatton. “He had added what the wine trade had lacked; a veneer of scholarship, and a dealer of genius.” – Hugh Johnson “A must read” – Ian Harris, CEO of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust

Wine Tasting

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Broadbent, Michael

Beverages & Wine

Academie Du Vin Library Ltd

• An intimate portrayal of some great families who successfully do business together, making great wines, from someone who understands it from the inside\n• Perfect for every serious wine drinker but also the armchair traveler and those who want to understand how dynasties thrive\n• Written by one of the most well-regarded wine writers in the world\n• Beautifully designed with photography from Alexandre Rocca-Serra\nFiona Morrison, awarded the coveted Master of Wine in 1994, is a talented writer and winemaker who works closely with her husband, Jacques Thienpont, helping to make the wine and manage their three Bordeaux estates – Le Pin (Pomerol, home to one of the world’s most prestigious red wines), L’IF (Saint-Emilion) and Cha^teau L’He^tre (Co^tes de Castillon). Fiona has over 30 years' experience in the fine wine trade on both sides of the Atlantic. “Fiona Morrison Thienpont has written a book from a viewpoint no other writer, as far as I know, has ever possessed: a seat at the heart of the action.” – Hugh Johnson "It all comes down to succession: how a family can hold together over the course of generations, continuing to build on the success of their vines and their ancestors. Wine is one of the rare businesses in which this level of international fame and internal family politics plays out over centuries—unless you consider royalty a business. So, it makes for an unusual sociological study and compelling prose." – Joshua Greene, Wine & Spirits

10 Great Wine Families: A Tour Through Europe

Morrison MW, Fiona

Sherry: Maligned*Misunderstood*Magnificent!

• The essential guide to this underrated but increasingly popular fortified wine\n• Perfect for every serious wine drinker but also the armchair traveler and those who want to understand how sherries are made\n• Written by one of the most well-regarded wine writers on the subject\n• Beautifully designed and highly illustrated to tell the story of the wines, the makers and the region\nMade in a unique way, matured in cellars dating back to the age of the Conquistadores, and bursting with a panoply of sun-drenched flavors, Sherry has – due to a succession of scandals and bad luck in the 1970s – been maligned and misunderstood. But the Sherry scene is set for seismic change. With a series of new styles, new vineyards and a dynamic new crop of cellar masters, this wine is creating a revolution in the world’s restaurants that can’t be ignored. Ben Howkins, in colorful words and equally evocative pictures, delves deep into sherry’s fascinating story and reveals why it is set to come back into our lives with a magnificent flourish! “With over 3,000 years of history behind it, the future of Sherry lies in its past. Sommeliers admire it for its many varieties and Ben Howkins’ book will tell you why.” – Steven Spurrier

Sherry: Malinged*Misunderstood*Magnificent!

Howkins, Ben

• A perfect gift for any wine lover who revels in the stories about wine\n• Full of humorous, philosophical, literary and knowledgeable articles and extracts, all from great writers\n• A modern day tribute to Cyril Ray's - The Compleat Imbiber\nAn elegantly bound collection of fine wine writing past and present – the perfect gift for wine lovers everywhere (or the wine lovers in their life). With contributions from Michael Broadbent on good and bad vintages, Ian Maxwell Campbell on Bordeaux vs Burgundy, George Orwell and PG Wodehouse on the complementary pleasures of wine and tea, Randall Graham on the search for California’s ‘magic grape’ and Andrew Caillard MW on the art of the wine label, it brims with wit and wisdom from some of the most erudite wine writers ever to raise a glass. Also includes Steven Spurrier, Jason Tesauro, Jane MacQuitty, Giles MacDonogh, Philippe de Rothschild, Fiona Morrison MW, Dan Keeling, Charles Walter Berry and many more. Like Cyril Ray’s classic Compleat Imbiber before it, In Vino Veritas might rightfully be described as ‘the quintessential late-evening or bedtime book for those who like wine'. ‘Denied wine’s bridge to gregariousness, “cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in to saucy doubts and fears,” as Macbeth once complained, we need an antidote, and rummaging around in this anthology of wine writing is a good one: It’s a set of keys to open the windows and let some sun shine in.’ - World of Fine Wine

In Vino Veritas: A Collection of Fine Wine Writing Past and Present

• Chateau Musar is a cult wine and has many fans around the world\n• A truly great wine adventure story\n• Explores how this wine has been made by the same family since 1930\n• Beautifully photographed by Lucy Pope, capturing the splendor of the Beka'a Valley\nWinemaking is never easy – but in the case of Chateau Musar, the most famous wine to come out of Lebanon, there have been times when it has been almost impossibly difficult. Serge Hochar would say ‘in Lebanon, difficulties are our habit. We are addicted to difficulties!’ and he famously continued to make his wines regardless of the bombing and shelling attacks going on around him. This is his story, and the story of Gaston, Marc, Ralph and Tarek, the new generation that follows him, carrying on the tradition of making wines of charisma and character with minimal interference. It is a tale of our times; winemaking at its most instinctive and natural, inspired by Mother Nature, and resonating powerfully with the spirit of survival that has sustained the Hochars’ troubled homeland, Lebanon. With contributions from Kevin Gould, Elizabeth Gilbert, Catherine Miles, Edward Ragg MW, Fongyee Walker MW, Jancis Robinson MW, Michael Broadbent, Steven Spurrier, Andrew Jefford, Bartholomew Broadbent and Susan Keevil, Chateau Musar, The Story of a Wine Icon is the perfect read for those who want to learn more about this incredible wine and delve into the multi-milennia-tradition of Lebanese wine.

Chateau Musar: The Story of a Wine Icon

Product Description 
• Bordeaux is the world's most famous and arguably favorite wine region. This book tells its story\n• Articles and extracts from some of the most loved wine writers of yesterday and today\n• An essential wine book for every wine lover and wine student\n• Beautifully designed and illustrated to bring the region to life on the page\nWhen things turn out right for Bordeaux, as they frequently do, its wines are sublime. They inspire many thousands of tributes, from Samuel Pepys’ succinct reviews to the most rhapsodic of Michael Broadbent’s tasting notes – in short, over 300 years of wine writing. On Bordeaux is a collection of the best bits, from our best-loved wine writers, critics and commentators, set around 10 of the themes that make Bordeaux tick. As Jane Anson writes in her introduction: “multi-layered, clear-eyed, moving and often extremely funny [this] collection of stories… celebrates, illuminates and renews our understanding of Bordeaux.” * Hugh Johnson, Fiona Beckett and Baron Elie de Rothschild discuss dining out on Bordeaux: how best to serve it, with what and who with. * Mathieu Chadronnier, Christian Seely and Joe Fattorini shed light on the way we see claret today. * Ian Maxwell Campbell extols the virtues of 1871 and 1875, the last great vintages before the phylloxera plague. * Fiona Morrison MW explores Bordeaux’s great bounce-back and how the vintage of 1982 changed everything. * John Salvi, Bill Blatch and Peter Vinding-Diers reveal the wines that lead the way to Bordeaux’s future. * Joe Fattorini serves up everything you need to know on running the iconic Me´doc Marathon. * Hugh Johnson pays tribute to Bordeaux master Michael Broadbent. 
 About the Author 
Susan Keevil started her life in wine as a ‘cellar rat' cooling Chardonnays in Australia's Hunter Valley, none of which prepared her for the world of book publishing back in the UK where she honed her wine knowledge working with Hugh Johnson on six editions of his international best-seller, The Pocket Wine Book. Susan then landed her dream job as editor of Decanter magazine (the path to many worldwide wine adventures) and later became author of the Which? Guide to Wine as well as a regular magazine columnist and contributor. The launch of the Académie du Vin Library in 2019 saw a return to specialist wine books for which Susan is a writer and editor-in-chief.

On Bordeaux: Tales of the Unexpected from the World's Greatest Wine Region

• The ultimate history of wine by the master of the subject, an award-winning bestseller for decades now in a new edition;\n• New foreword by historian Andrew Roberts\n• Full of fascinating vignettes and side stories, a book to be read for hours or dipped into\n• Beautifully produced in a new flexibound volume that makes it easy to read\n“Who better to supply us with our first comprehensive historical survey than the wine writer with the magic pen, Hugh Johnson?” - Jancis Robinson MW\nHugh Johnson has led the literature of wine in many new directions over a 60-year career. His classic The Story of Wine is his most enthralling and enduring work, winner of every wine award in the UK and USA. It tells with wit, scholarship and humor how wine became the global phenomenon it is today, varying from mass-produced plonk to rare bottles fetching many thousands. It ranges from Noah to Napa, Pompeii to Prohibition to Pomerol, gripping, anecdotal, personal, controversial and fun. This new edition includes Hugh’s view on the changes wine has seen in the past 30 years. In his Foreword the celebrated historian Andrew Roberts writes: "The genius of The Story of Wine derives from the fact that it is emphatically not a dry-as-dust academic history – there are dozens of those – but an adventure story, full of mysteries, art and culture."

The Story of Wine: From Noah to Now

Johnson, Hugh.

• The memoirs of a legendary wine figure, full of his wonderful stories, experiences, the wines and the friends\n• A seat at the table with the world's greatest wine makers, judges and writers\n• Tributes from key people like Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson MW and Oz Clarke\n• Steven's obituary was seen in key newspapers around the world including the Times, Telegraph, FT, Die Welt, Corriere della Serra, New York Times, Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle - the wine world mourned his passing\nThe moment he was handed a glass of Cockburn 1908 vintage port by his grandfather at 13 years old, Steven Spurrier knew he would make wine his career. He traveled Europe in his red sports car (fitted with a compact wine fridge in the boot), working the vintage in Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne, before his first extraordinary move was to set up shop and sell wine to the French. As an Englishman in the heart of Paris, this seemed a remarkably bold (if not foolish) project, but the plan worked. Steven’s adventures in wine did not stop there. In 1976, he went on to mastermind the ‘Judgement of Paris’, the France v California blind tasting that changed the wine world forever. This memoir looks back on Steven’s life charting the incidents, adventures, ideas and discoveries that formed his wine journey. With tributes from Hugh Johnson, Miguel Torres, Oz Clarke, Jancis Robinson MW, Warren Winiarski and many more…

Steven Spurrier: A Life in Wine

Biographies & Memoirs

SPURRIER, Steven

Professionals & Academics

• The memoirs of an extraordinary wine figure, full of his wonderful stories, travels, the wines and the friends\n• Crucial experiments into vineyards' own wild yeasts, which has impacted winemaking worldwide ever since\n• Turning failing Bordeaux chateaux into wine powerhouses and restoring the glory of Hungary's great dessert wine, Royal Tokaji\n• Tributes from key people like Hugh Johnson, Miguel Torres, Peter Sisseck and NK Yong\nPeter Vinding-Diers is a Danish aristocrat turned roving winemaker who, on escaping his studies at the Sorbonne one summer found himself on Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune, suddenly besotted. Peter’s first foray into wine took him to the Cape (via a quick turn parachuting into the war-zone in Vietnam), where he learned vineyard ways and wine science. Next came a dazzling decade in Bordeaux, where his pioneering exploits began to catch the world’s attention. He then ventured to Bulgaria, Brazil, Spain, Chile and Hungary earning himself the title ‘Flying Winemaker’ (he was one of the first!). Along his wine journey, Peter has frequently had to call on his Viking ancestors for help – not least in taming his ‘Montecarrubo’ vineyards on the wilder side of Sicily – but whether by accident or by design (mostly the latter), he has always found himself at the forefront of vinous discovery…

Viking in the Vineyard: Stories from a revolutionary winemaker

Vinding-Diers, Peter

Review\nHands down the wine book of the year. ― The Washington Post\nBeautiful new highly collectible paperback series, with strong design, publishing the best of classic wine texts New foreword from Victoria Moore, of the Sunday Telegraph, for whom this is a favorite book Wonderful wine and social history of winemaking in Bordeaux at the end of the 19th Century 
Journeying through the Medoc in the autumn of 1891, Anglo-Irish cousins and traveling companions, Edith Somerville and Martin Ross (aka Violet Florence Martin) bring their distinctive mélange of wry wit, acute observation and unabashed horror at the barefoot treading of Cabernet Sauvignon to this delightful account of vendangeurs lofty and low-born as they bring in the harvest in time-honored fashion. Illustrated using Somerville's equally delightful sketches, this is a story of two feisty ladies for whom anything remotely pretentious is fair game. Better known for their tales of an Irish R. M. (resident magistrate), Somerville and Ross outraged their respective families – who referred to them ‘the Shockers' – by combining travel writing with the fight for Women's Suffrage. The contrast between the emancipated pair and the largely unreconstructed characters they encounter on their travels only serves to heighten the charm of an already indelibly charming book. The Classic Editions breathe new life into some of the finest wine-related titles written in the English language over the last 150 years. Although these books are very much products of their time – a time when the world of fine wine was confined mostly to the frontiers of France and the Iberian Peninsula and a First Growth Bordeaux or Grand Cru Burgundy wouldn't be beyond the average purse – together they recapture a world of convivial, enthusiastic amateurs and larger-than-life characters whose love of fine vintages mirrored that of life itself.

In the Vine Country (Classic Editions)

Ross, Martin

Somerville, Edith

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Academie Du Vin Library Ltd publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Academie Du Vin Library Ltd