Thought-provoking reads Wine Edition 2024

Top Wine/Spirits reads from 2024.

Thanks for reading this year. Happy Holidays and happy drinking in 2025.

As we head to the end of the year, it's time for top reads of the year. Last year I added a wine/spirits version of my favorite books list. While WSET diploma studies kept me rereading the textbook much of H1, a few other reads still stood out, both non-fiction and fiction. They are listed below along with some I’m planning for 2025. What did you enjoy? What should I read next year? (editor’s note: If you want to make sure to see my everything but wine list, let me know or watch my Ziemba Insights blog.)

The Widow Cliquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled it (2009). Tilar Mazzeo’s book was a fascinating dive into the story Barbe-Nicole Cliquot Ponsardin, the Veuve Cliquot. She was so important in creating modern branding of champagne. The book is also fascinating read about how members of the bourgeoisie navigated the years following the French revolution, especially in textile and wine trade. There’s even trade sanctions evasion in the context of the Napoleonic war blockades and good discussions on role of women, especially widows in the champagne trade. I was underwhelmed by the movie, out this year, which had hard-to-follow flashbacks and didn’t do a great job identifying the key characters.

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty (2007). Julia Flynn Siler’s tale, which I listened to this summer, surveyed the complex family dynamics of the Mondavi family and thus the development of the Californian wine industry. Fascinating take on many of the key players and the evolution of US wine consumption. As a journalist, the author covered many of the later courtroom dramas involved in the competition between branches of the family - and the challenge faced by cheaper higher volume production.

Rebel School of Wine: A Visual Guide to Drinking with Confidence (2024). Tyler Balliet’s colorful image-laden guide to wine will be great for many wine lovers, especially those that feel judged. It pulls together so many tidbits and regions and is incredibly comprehensive across varietals, regions and wine making trends. Balliet has worked across the wine industry and it shows. It’s earned a place next to my Wine Folly Wine bible.

Who’s Afraid of Romanee Conti? (2024) Dan Keeling of London’s Noble Rot wine bars is out with a collection of wine essays that dive into interesting wine regions, both historic and new. This book graced many wine writers lists this year and is worth dipping into. His focus in regions and subregions that are distinctive, flavorful and unique – also some good lists of producers to watch.

Wine/Spirits related Fiction

Vile Spirits (2022) This mystery, the latest in John MacLachlan Gray’s series of mysteries set in 1920s British Columbia, is set around the province’s expanding Liquor Control Board, which emerged following short-lived prohibition. The plot takes place in mid-1920s Victoria and Vancouver at a time when the settlements that became the city of Vancouver were developing and police forces merging and provincial legal and political powers evolving. It’s an interesting reminder of how regulation can benefit new interests and a window in a time where illegal drugs like cocaine were still widely prescribed. His other books are less wine/alcohol related, but still interesting.

Vintner’s Daughter (2015) and sequels. Kristen Harnisch’s series of three historical romances start in a Loire valley vineyard in the 19^th Century and cross the Atlantic over many eventful decades to focus on the early development of Napa’s wine region. Light reads but great way to absorb some history of a section of the immigrants who drove the development of the US wine industry, including early efforts to sell California wine in France. I tore through the two sequels also – the California Wife and Vintner’s Legacy.

What’s up next:

I have my eye on a few books that I didn’t get to in 2024.

Brian Freedman’s Crushed: How a Changing Climate is Altering the Way We Drink (2022) tackles the important issue of wine and climate change, which I’ve been tracking for some time. He travels wine regions to understand how producers are adapting.

Many people have recommended Pascaline Lepeltier’s One Thousand Vines: a New Way to Understand Wine. The book is a comprehensive look at how wine is grown, made and more. It looks to be a great resource to dip into.

I’m also reading up ahead of a planned trip to Napa and Sonoma in mid January – if you have any favorites, or wineries I must visit, please reach out. And expect a trip report later in the new year. What’s on your reading list this holiday season or next year?