Susan Keevil – författare

Winemaking 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-millennia-tradition of Lebanese wine.

An 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 Grahm 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

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.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 Médoc Marathon.* Hugh Johnson pays tribute to Bordeaux master Michael Broadbent.

"A standout among the drink books published this year, which ought to be on the Christmas list of every wine lover, even if they don't think they have much interest in American wine."  —Victoria Moore, The Telegraph"This is a book for novices and geeks interested in the significance of California through America’s wine history, from the swashbuckling era of Agoston Haraszthy through modern Napa’s cult cabernets and today’s despair over wildfires and drought." —David McIntyre, Washington Post"New York Times picks On California for their "This Year’s Best Wine Books": ". Its short selections from nearly three dozen writers offer impressionistic, thought-provoking views of the state and its winemaking history."—New York Times"There is something for everyone here." —Sommelier IndiaOn California explores the grapes and the people who have made California wine great. The pioneers, the boffins, the whizz-kids and scientists, many of whom tell their stories on its pages – some in precious archive material, others have set down their thoughts mid-pandemic in 2021: Randall Grahm, Gerald Asher, Steven Spurrier, Paul Draper and Warren Winiarski take a bow….Includes:California wine and the future: where will the ‘California spirit’ lead next?The ‘Hollywood Grape’: our authors chart the path of Cabernet Sauvignon, from the wish-list of Thomas Jefferson to the hallowed hillsides of Stag’s Leap and Screaming Eagle1976? Of course it was a competition! Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher look back at the motivations behind the famous Paris wine tastingTop New York sommelier Victoria James tells of her near-death introduction to the whacky world of winemaking in SonomaWill the real Zinfandel please stand up? Paul Draper seeks out the true heritage of California’s versatile orphan grapeContributions from top California writers: Elaine Chukan Brown, Mary Margaret McCamic MW, Karen MacNeil, Esther Mobley, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Liz Thach MW, Clare Tooley MW, and Kelli WhiteHugh Johnson, Jane Anson and Fiona Morrison MW introduce California’s intrepid wine pioneersRex Pickett’s Sideways heroes, Jack and Miles, clink glasses over the Central Coast’s finest Pinot NoirA–Z: from ‘Bob’ Mondavi to Xylem sap-sensors and pink Zinfandel – California wine in bite-size

The ultimate collection of your favourite wine books by your favourite writers, the Cellar Edition sits in a beautiful Wibalin cloth-covered slipcase with foil embossing. It is the perfect way to display and store titles that every good cellar or library should include.Enjoy Hugh Johnson’s exploration of the long and fascinating history of wine, along with the work of other writers including George Orwell and PG Wodehouse. The father of formal wine tasting, Michael Broadbent, guides you through the knowledge you need to get the most out of what you drink. Learn about glorious wines including sherries, clarets and the extraordinary Lebanese wines made by Chateau Musar. Meet the legendary wine commentators, including Steven Spurrier, and get to know some of the noblest winemaking families of Europe with Fiona Morrison MW.The titles featured this collection include:The Story of Wine 9781913141066 A Life in Wine 9781913141073 On Bordeaux 9781913141059 Chateau Musar 9781913141042 In Vino Veritas 9781913141035 Sherry 9781913141028 10 Great Wine Families 9781913141011 Wine Tasting 9781913141004

"On Champagne is the wine book that every lover of the world’s most famous bubbles has been waiting for – whether they realised it or not." — Club O Enologique"...if you love champagne, this is another must-buy. And apologies for the terrible pun, but it is genuinely true – this book fizzes with wonderful stuff." — Jancis Robinson"Presenting the story of the iconic French fizz from its accidental beginnings to the present day and looking to the future, there is plenty for Champagne-lovers to enjoy."  — DecanterChampagne is never a simple glass of fizz… As soon as the cork flies, the first sip reveals a wine of fascinating complexity. For even the most modest non-vintage cuvée, a bevy of blending decisions, multi layers of history and the incalculable climate of this northern corner of France all come into play. 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. It’s a journey that starts and ends with capturing that sparkle in a bottle and along the way beguiles us with the nuances of its chalky terrain, the determination of rebels from Ambonnay to Avize, and the mystery of a champagne cellar under the sea. We meet the pioneers who created the great champagnes of the past and the personalities who are ‘greening’ this landscape, nurturing it through climate change to shape the exquisite champagnes of the future.

"You might not be able to afford the top wines, but you can still read about them." — Decanter"It’s a book full of all the grand gestures – sweeping statements, effusive adoration, intense emotion, hyperbole and predictable clichés. Few authors have held back. But somehow, because it’s burgundy, it’s OK. Thank goodness for drunken wolves." — JancisRobinson.com"...a compilation that delivers on the title. Did you know there were once wolves in Burgundy?" — Bloomberg"Some anthologies preserve, some embalm; this one’s exuberantly alive, a divergent parliament, a busy talking place with no whispers." — World Of Fine WineBurgundy is France's most prized and prestigious wine region today as well as being one of its oldest and most traded, if not always by the English. Its wines, to quote Jay McInerney who contributes, are "for lovers, lunatics and poets…" and are the textbook definition of what terroir is all about. Villages mere metres apart produce wines of startlingly different personalities, and it is one of the rare regions in Europe whose red and white wines are equally celebrated. For all of its precious history it is also a region at the forefront of vinous innovation, with many winemakers certified as biodynamic. It is home to some of the world's most famous wine estates, and its top wines are all made from just one red and one white grape, yet the range of wine styles across the region, from Chablis in the north to Beaujolais in the south is significant.  On Burgundy explores all of these themes and ideas with contributions from many of the world's top wine writers, looking at the kings, popes, mavericks and pioneers who have made wine in this region for generations.