A fantastic collection of English books on wine and winemaking, the majority first editions in publisher’s bindings. The collection includes the first and only edition in English of André Jullien’s scarce Topography of All the Known Vineyards, the first great ‘terroiriste’ work which recognised the importance of soil and environmental factors on the quality of wine produced in different winemaking regions. Other highlights include a lovely association copy of James Richard Sheen’s popular guide to Wines and Other Fermented Liquors inscribed to ‘W. J. Young, Esq. with the author’s sincere regards’, and James Denman’s comprehensive history The Vine and its Fruit, which is illustrated with two colour-printed folding maps. The oldest work in the collection is Peter Shaw’s The Juice of the Grape, printed in 1724, which deals with the medicinal qualities of wine, whilst prose works by Evelyn Waugh and Hilaire Bellock make-up the modern contingent.
