“The books that taught me about wine were about places and people. It’s the history and stories about a wine that bring it to life and make it worth talking about.”
– Steven Spurrier
Taking our lead from Steven, our aim at the Académie du Vin Library is to bring you the very best wine writing of the past, the present and the future. Some of our books are undisputed classics – refreshed for today’s reader but without losing any of the charm, or wisdom, of a more innocent time. Our new titles are, we believe, destined to become the classics of the future: easy to read, easy on the eye, and all with something new and important to say.
We like to think of ourselves not just as publishers and booksellers, but as a community of wine lovers, united by a passion for learning more about what makes the wine world so special. We hope you will join us. Happy reading!
When first published in 1989 The Story of Wine won every wine award in the UK and the USA. It is widely regarded as Hugh Johnson’s most ambitious and enthralling book. Packed with compelling vignettes and captivating characters, The Story of Wine takes us on a journey from Noah to Napa, from Pompeii to Prohibition, from Plato to Pomerol. It allows the reader to understand the wine world as it exists today, and explains how great wines have their roots in the customs, traditions and history of their individual countries. It is available to buy now here.
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Books for wine lovers
–by those
in the know
CLASSICS OF THE PAST…
Re-issues of some of the finest wine books of the past, specially selected, updated and enhanced by the Académie du Vin Library. Elegantly bound and printed, each of our classics offers a treasure-trove of knowledge and wine wisdom that now demands a new audience.
…and CLASSICS OF THE FUTURE
New titles, covering every aspect of the wine trade that have been selected for their uniqueness and readibility. They include a new series of specially commissioned guides to grape varieties and wine styles written by acknowledged experts in their fields.
Steven Spurrier
The Story of Wine From Noah to Now
£30.00‘Who better to supply us with our first comprehensive historical survey than the wine writer with the magic pen, Hugh Johnson?’
Jancis Robinson MW
Chateau Musar The Story of a Wine Icon
£30.00“Dynamic yet charming, always good company, plus a superb vigneron and winemaker, Serge Hochar put the wines of Lebanon on the map. It is wonderful to note that the family are keeping them there.”
Michael Broadbent
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LATEST NEWS // FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Sherry: Raise a glass together
Ben Howkins - As we move seamlessly from fino and manzanilla into autumn’s call of amontillado and palo cortado, do our minds turn south to Jerez where today’s temperature is 30˚C as opposed to the UK where it is 15˚C? Do we yearn for Andalucía, flamenco and every day stretching into mañana? You bet. Covid 19 has prevented […] Read more >>
Important Reminders
Ben Howkins - That most readable of wine wordsmiths, Johnny Ray of the Spectator, caught my eye (again) last month. Empty wine bottles were the subject. Recycling was the context. Putting on a different spin, as it were, I used to jettison the bottle straight into the blue topped recycling bin, but such was the explosive crescendo of […] Read more >>
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