Books

Chateau Musar

The Story of a Wine Icon

Chateau Musar, The Story of a Wine Icon, is a multi-author title – the perfect read for those who want to learn more about this incredible wine and delve into the multi-millennia-tradition of Lebanese wine.
  • The fifth title from the Académie du Vin Library
  • Story of a world wine treasure: Chateau Musar’s red and white wines have gained a cult following since their discovery by Michael Broadbent in 1979
  • A year-by-year breakdown of how Musar survived the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990)
  • Vintage notes – charting the journey of these remarkable wines from 1951 right up to the winery’s latest release – from Jancis Robinson MW, Michael Broadbent, Steven Spurrier and Bartholomew Broadbent
  • How these wines came to be: from the limestone terroir of the Bekaa Valley to the Mediterranean splendor of the winery at Ghazir
  • Musar’s place at the birthplace of viticulture – charting Lebanon’s 8,000-year wine history
  • Featuring an intimate portrait of Serge Hochar – wine lover, philosopher and survivor – by best-selling US author Elizabeth Gilbert
  • Over 100 stunning, specially commissioned photographs by Lucy Pope
  • Taking on the World: how Musar found fame in the UK, the US and in Asia
  • Tributes to Serge from our favorite wine commentators
  • Wise words from Serge: a list of classic ‘Serge-isms’

Wine Tasting

by Michael Broadbent

The first title from the Académie du Vin Library – a new publishing house dedicated to the sheer pleasure of reading about wine. First published in 1968, Michael Broadbent’s Wine Tasting laid the foundations of the modern wine industry—by providing a structured approach to the business of tasting and a common vocabulary by which different wines could be compared and rated. Fifty years later, Michael’s words still ring true.

Over the years, countless students of wine, enthusiastic amateurs and writers on the subject have come to regard Wine Tasting as their ‘bible’ –as the book by which all others are benchmarked, and the one they turn to again and again for advice. Now the Académie du Vin Library invites you to join them, by purchasing a special Commemorative Edition of the book that started it all.

This Commemorative Edition includes the 1975 edition of the original, along with these new and exciting additions:

  • Updated with the latest vintages of wines from the original book
  • Footnotes on how times have changed since 1975
  • Expanded glossary of tasting terms.
  • Preface by Ian Harris, CEO of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust
  • Personal tributes from Hugh Johnson OBE, Jancis Robinson OBE MW, Steven Spurrier, Gerard Basset OBE MW MS, and international wine auctioneers Paul Bowker and Fritz Hatton.
  • Essay by Hugh Johnson on the history of wine writing though the ages
  • An illustrated review of Michael’s work as a graphic artist by acclaimed museum designer Charles Marsden-Smedley
  • A portrait of Michael as an accomplished musician by Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood CBE, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music.
  • Recollections from Michael’s son Bartholomew and his grand-daughter Leaf on what it has been like to live with the man who helped transform the wine business into the thriving and lucrative global industry it is today.