CHAMPAGNE
Award-winning book focusing on Champagne terroir and its grower-producers. Stunning edition with full-size Larmat maps of the region and superb aesthetics throughout. Scholarly, precise, and inspired. Excellent glossary, index, and bibliography. Extensively detailed soil and parcel descriptions (skim or dwell, to taste). Wine recommendations by region, emphasizing single-vineyard terroir-expressive cuvées. Informative producer profiles and a wealth of practical detail like associations, gatherings, wine bars. This is a must-have book for a budding Champagne enthusiast or indeed expert, and an absolute dream gift. Quotes from this book are marked PL.
See also champagneguide.net and lafeteduchampagne.com.
Champagne Portfolios by Terry Theise
Terry Theise's Champagne catalogs are legendary. Erudite and eloquent, these practical sales guides are educational, entertaining, inspiring, and lastingly memorable. They are also trailblazing. Peter Liem writes that Terry "was the first to select and market a portfolio that focused exclusively on high-quality grower Champagnes, immediately establishing himself as a champion and ambassador of these wines in a way that nobody had ever done before - indeed, in those early days, the concept of grower Champagne in the United States was virtually synonymous with the Terry Theise portfolio." Terry's descriptions of wines and winemakers are so creative and personal that his fans describe his writing as "poetic" and unlike anything else written about wine. He is also highly opinionated and does not shy away from firmly taking sides on thorny issues like growers vs maisons and the role of dosage. His fierce criticisms on lighter topics like stemware or alliums (hello, Chives) are hugely amusing. Immensely enjoyable and invaluably informative stuff! Quotes from these catalogs are marked TT.
The Champagne Guide by Tyson Stelzer
Five pounds of book! Producer profiles and detailed bottle writeups for 120+ producers (with some notable omissions like Bouchard, Laval, Margaine, Marguet). Memorable profiles of Leclerc Briant and Larmandier-Bernier. Tremendously useful, albeit tremendously heavy, reference when choosing a bottle in a shop. Producer rankings, bottle rankings, and lists by price category and by points. Chapter on vintages, on vinification, on deciphering bottle codes. There is no index. There is a glossary. Typos pop up here and there. The tone is at times sensationalist and the style can feel forced, e.g. "12 spheres" of Billecart Salmon. Larmat's maps aren't treated nearly as luxuriously as they are in Peter Liem's edition. Every photograph in this book is helpfully labeled and every review has a picture of the bottle. Quotes from this book are marked TyS.
Sparkling Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson and Essi Avellan
Only the first 200 pages of this book are dedicated to Champagne, with the rest of the globe occupying the rest of the volume, but nevertheless it is a useful third point of reference, especially for producers not included in the other two books. 60 or so pages describe the methods of production, terroirs, styles, serving recommendations, vintage descriptions, etc., leaving only 130 pages to producer profiles. And yet you'd be hard-pressed to find a champagne maker not represented here. Seems only the most recent entrants have escaped this world-encompassing 2013 book. Helpful "value" label highlights high-quality producers that are also a good deal. Quotes from this book are marked ToS.
Photography and writing by @gaiwanstyle.