Our Académie du Vin Library collection is specially curated for those who cherish the rich narratives of wine.

Discover the Essence of Wine with the Great Books of Académie du Vin

Embark on a journey of vinous enlightenment with the esteemed collection from Académie du Vin. Our library is a treasure trove of knowledge, offering an array of books that delve into the intricate world of wines. From the historic vineyards of Burgundy and Bordeaux to the sparkling allure of Champagne, each book is a testament to the art, science, and romance of winemaking. Authored by renowned experts, these volumes are not just books but passports to the world’s most celebrated wine regions, inviting you to explore the stories, traditions, and flavors that make each bottle unique. Whether you’re a connoisseur or a curious novice, the Great Books of Académie du Vin are your guide to understanding and appreciating the timeless allure of fine wine.

10 Great Wine Families

FIONA MORRISON MW An up-close and personal account of 10 wine families and their trials, tribulations and successes. Not just any wine families: the likes of Frescobaldi, Gaja, Torres, Perrin, Niepoort, Knoll and Torres, known and revered across the world. Fiona Morrison was welcomed into the homes of each (with her photographer) and was able to capture the ‘behind the scenes’ excitement of wine making in the kind of vivid detail impossible to achieve in a magazine article.

The South America Wine Guide

The South America Wine Guide by Amanda Barnes is the result of a decade of research and interviews conducted by the author while travelling around and living on the continent. In collaboration with over 60 regional specialists, The South America Wine Guide comprehensively details over 70 wine regions and maps out in stunning detail 40 wine regions — many of which have never before been mapped or documented in the English language.

Wines of the French Alps

After years hidden away in the craggy mountains, wines from Savoie and Bugey are now offered worldwide. This book tells the story of the men and women who make these characterful wines, how they have tamed the steep hillsides to plant the vines and mastered their unusual grape varieties.

Wine Tasting

Michael Broadbent’s seminal guide to wine tasting is an award-winning classic, as he brought an appreciation of wine’s true qualities to a much wider audience. Few experts are as skilled as Broadbent in the subject, and he guides readers through the first principles of tasting, providing detailed explanations of the influences of grape variety, soil, and climate.

The Story of Wine: From Noah to Now

Hugh 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 humour how wine became the global phenomenon it is today, varying from mass-produced plonk to rare bottles fetching many thousands.

The Life and Wines of Hugh Johnson

In this unique approach to understanding wine, Hugh Johnson, the world’s best-loved wine author, weaves the story of his own epic wine journey with an embracing view of everything he has discovered along the way. Almost without realising it, the reader is drawn into a fascinating world; with each page turned, knowledge is gained and wine wisdom absorbed. Hugh takes us from the teetering ledges of the Mosel and majestic châteaux of the Médoc to the sylvan slopes of Windsor Great Park with a spring in his step and a tasting glass at the ready.

The Bordeaux Club

The story of 12 friends who gathered to share and celebrate the extraordinary wines of Bordeaux. Like-minded in their love of wine, they differed wildly (often alarmingly!) in their personal wealth, life and circumstances – their opinions, always voiced, had the power to ignite anger and divide friendships just as easily as they bound them together.

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Steven Spurrier: A Life in Wine

The incidents, adventures, ideas and discoveries that have formed Steven’s remarkable wine journey. The moment he was handed a glass of Cockburn 1908 vintage port by his grandfather at 13 years old, Steven Spurrier knew there was no turning back. Family holidays to France and Italy, and a first job working for Christopher’s – London’s oldest wine merchant – only confirmed that no other career would do.

Oz Clarke On Wine

Oz Clarke On Wine is a fast-paced, informative and witty romp around the world of wine. Crammed with Oz’s encyclopaedic knowledge and personal tastes, it explores the grape varieties key to the world’s major wine styles and the vineyards and regions where a vast trove of wine treasure lies waiting for discovery

On Champagne

In On Champagne the thoughts, opinions and conclusions of the world’s finest champagne writers gather to reveal this wine’s action-packed trajectory from the myth of its accidental discovery – not in France, we find, but in the cider cellars of England – to the development of a high-tech champagne fit for space travel.

On Burgundy

From teeth-gnashing outrage to tonsil-tickling euphoria: burgundy can baffle with its unwillingness to charm in the glass, then dazzle and astound us when we catch it at its best. It is elusive yet addictive. Those who know burgundy frequently never love another wine – not least the authors and experts in this book, whose insights here embrace the two grapes (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), the two slopes (the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune) and the hillsides that surround this region.

On Bordeaux

JANE ANSON (AUTHOR), FIONA MORRISON M.W (AUTHOR), HUGH JOHNSON (AUTHOR) When 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.

Jura Wine

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In Vino Veritas

A Collection of Fine Wine Writing, Past and Present MICHAEL BROADBENT, GEORGE ORWELL, STEVEN SPURRIER, RANDALL GRAHM For wine lovers, this elegantly bound book reflects wine writing both past present, making it a perfect gift for the enthusiast in your life. Learn from some of the most knowledgeable writers on the art of tasting, what makes a good (or bad) vintage, the search for California’s magic grape and the many complimentary pleasures of wine.

From Bordeaux to the Stars: The Reawakening of a Wine Legend

From Bordeaux to the Stars: The Reawakening of a Wine Legend by Jean-Michel Cazes is a captivating journey through the revival of Bordeaux's esteemed vineyards. This insightful book delves into Cazes' visionary leadership and innovative approaches that breathed new life into the legendary wine region. Perfect for wine enthusiasts and history buffs alike, it offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of fine wine and the enduring legacy of Bordeaux.

Ethos Priorat

Ethos Priorat is an experience, a journey into the life within the wines of the Priorat. Despite its isolation it has quickly become one of the most important wine regions in the world. The reasons for this are explained in three simple chapters: Nature, Spirit and Wine. Nature provides an in-depth look at the Priorat terroir as well as growth and sustainability. Spirit is the human part of the story recollecting history through the formation of the villages along with the people’s relationship with the vines through the seasons.

Drinking with the Valkyries

Andrew Jefford is, in the words of winemaker Randall Grahm, ‘the most thoughtful person we have writing about wine’. Discover why in this selection from Jefford’s work, celebrating the limitless beauty of wine difference. This book anatomizes the pleasure that awaits every drinker while simultaneously furnishing a philosophy of wine – one founded on astonishment, and drawing on personal discovery rather than hierarchy and mastery. There is no other wine writing like this.

Academie du Vin Library – Marchesi Antinori

Marchesi Antinori are a Florentine wine family and at the same time one of the most innovative and important wine dynasties of the world. Their wines fascinate enthusiasts and connoisseurs on all continents. Wine icons like Tignanello and Solaia have their origin in the singular way in which the house of Antinori sees its role in wine culture.

Chateau Musar

Chateau Musar’s story is one of war, hardship, and utter determination in the face of chaos and destruction. Serge Hochar, the heroic Lebanese winemaker who stood by his wines through the 15 years of civil war (1975–1990) dodging shells and road-blocks to get his precious grapes to safety, knew that his wines were among the brightest stars in the world wine firmament. Today we look at the uniquely complex (and often miraculous) wines he created and begin to understand how and why Serge worked in the way he did. Only now, in a new era of ‘Natural Wines’ do we fully appreciate what he was trying to achieve…

Academie du Vin Library – Klein Constantia

‘The Constantia Valley is far more than the cradle of wine culture in South Africa, just as Klein Constantia is not merely the present embodiment of a long-forgotten estate, or Vin de Constance the modern incarnation of a wine of legend.’ So writes Michael Fridjhon in his foreword to this beautiful book which tells the dramatic and inspiring story of Klein Constantia through its people, vineyards and wines – most notably Vin de Constance, truly a modern icon in the world of fine wine.

Academie du Vin Library – Georgia

With Georgian wine, it is one of, if not the most ancient wines made in the world. For 8,000 years this small country has continually produced wine within their borders making for a fascinating crossroads of viticulture. A storied past, including being one of the republics of the USSR, this band of green valleys and mighty rivers on the Black Sea is finally getting recognition for its unique and wonderful wines.

A Viking in the Vineyard

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.