The best wine books for discerning wine lovers

19 February 2021 by Rebecca in Classic Wine Library

Last month the 28th title in The Classic Wine Library, Wines of the Rhone, was published. Each new title increases the series’ reach and opens up another region for wine-loving readers. This year we will be bringing you more titles that aim to expand your knowledge across continents, including The wines of California and The wines of Australia as well as a new book on the sparkling wines of the world, called Fizz!, and more coverage of France with The wines of Roussillon.

The Guardian found our growing series ‘impressive’; so what is it that makes The Classic Wine Library so special?

To start with, each book provides the most up-to-date information on its given country or region. Authors go out of their way to taste the most recent wines from the place in question and bring you information on new producers, the best wines of the moment and what’s happening in the region now. Some, like Jessica Dupuy (The wines of Southwest U.S.A.) and Konstantinos Lazarakis MW (The wines of Greece) live in the region they write about, while others have been visiting for many years and make multiple trips while writing their book. Some even move their entire life to another country just to bring you the best book on the subject. Here, you can read Matt Walls’ account of his two years in Provence writing Wines of the Rhône.

Our authors are chosen because they are acknowledged experts in the wine region they write about. They are in demand when it comes to wine tastings, with eight of them taking the role of Regional Chair at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2021 and series co-editor Sarah Jane Evans MW being one of the event’s co-chairs. As well as writing for the Classic Wine Library, our authors, many of whom are Masters of Wine, have written extensively on wine in other publications and are adept at sharing their wine expertise with the public. Listen to these recent interviews with Jessica Dupuy, author of Wines of the Southwest U.S.A. and series co-editor Richard Mayson, author of Port and the Douro and The wines of Portugal.

The wines of Germany (which also received a glowing review from the New York Times’ wine critic) and OIV Awards for The wines of Bulgaria and Luxury Wine Marketing. We currently have our fingers crossed for Lisa Granik MW’s The wines of Georgia, which has been shortlisted for this year’s André Simon Awards.

If you are aiming to expand your wine knowledge, head over to the Classic Wine Library shop and browse the entire series.