NEW BOOK · FIRST EDITION 2026
Inside Champagne
From brands of consistency to a living landscape of terroir and season.
Hardback - English - Shipped worldwide
WHY THIS BOOK
Champagne is sold as a brand. A growing number of growers bottle the opposite.
One village, one named vineyard, one year. Inside Champagne is the reference work for that Champagne: every cru of the appellation described and rated on data, and every vintage since 1900 assessed against the same five criteria.
320
crus profiled
40+
terroirs mapped
127
vintages rated
400+
detailed maps
>1100
terroir producers listed
THREE CHAPTERS
Place, year and the hand of the grower.
The Terroir
All 320 crus, village by village. Soils, slopes, exposure and lieux-dits, rated as Terroir d'Exception, Remarquable or de Caractère. All terroir producers and their lieu-dit Champagnes listed.
The Vintages
Every year from 1900 to 2026, assessed on its growing season and rated from one to five stars. The chart shows one of the data series behind the ratings: the start of harvest in each year (dots) and its 15-year average (line).
The Winemaking
The decisions of the terroir growers in vineyard and cellar that decide whether a lieu-dit can still be tasted in the finished wine.
THE METHOD
Is every Grand Cru a great terroir?
The échelle des crus was a price scale. Inside Champagne rates every cru on what can be measured: heat and frost balance, soil and water balance, and mesoclimate.
9
Terroir d’Exception
73
Terroir Remarquable
239
Terroir de Caractère
LOOK INSIDE
672 pages to keep beside an open bottle.
Three things set this work apart.
Analytical, not anecdotal.
Every rating comes from named datasets, and the sources are transparent, so a reader who disagrees can go back to the original material.
Independent.
No grower and no house has paid to appear. There are no producer portraits and no scores for individual wines.
Complete.
It covers the whole appellation, including the many villages that the standard guides pass over in a line.
THE AUTHOR
Clemens Schwaiger
Clemens Schwaiger spent nearly twenty years in management consulting, most recently with McKinsey & Company. In the early 2000s he lived in Paris, ninety minutes from Champagne, and spent his weekends driving from village to village and knocking on growers' doors.
When he left France he founded Aux Bulles, through which he has imported grower Champagne for more than twenty years. Today he is CEO of a leading European media group and lives in Vienna. Inside Champagne took five years to complete.
ORDER
Inside Champagne
Format
Hardback, linen
Pages
672
Language
English
ISBN
978-3-200-11551-4
From brands of consistency to a living landscape of terroir and season. 320 crus profiled, 127 vintages rated, more than 400 maps. Hardback, linen, 672 pages, English. ISBN 978-3-200-11551-4.
STOCKISTS
Also available from selected wine merchants
Stockists in Europe, North America and Asia will be listed here as they confirm.
Until then, the book ships worldwide directly from Europe.
Wine merchant or bookshop?
Trade terms, sample copies and point-of-sale material on request.
Notes from Champagne
One cru, one vintage, one idea. An occasional letter from the author.