Peter Liem is an American wine writer, and author of ChampagneGuide.net, an award-winning and highly acclaimed online guide to the wines and wine producers of Champagne, as well as the book Champagne, recipient of both a James Beard Award and the André Simon Award. Following nearly a decade in the wine trade, he was a senior editor, critic and tasting director for Wine & Spirits magazine, and his writings on champagne, sherry and other wines have appeared in publications such as The World of Fine Wine, Decanter, The Art of Eating and The San Francisco Chronicle. Liem has also served as Champagne consultant for the 7th edition of The World Atlas of Wine, by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, and was formerly the Regional Chair for Champagne at the Decanter World Wine Awards.
He has authored, together with Jesús Barquín, Sherry, Manzanilla & Montilla, which Jancis Robinson has praised highly, and which Ray Isle of Food & Wine magazine says is “arguably the single best book ever written on sherry.” (A more recent Spanish-language edition can be found here.) In addition, he partnered with Rosemary Gray to create Sherryfest, one of the world’s largest sherry events, featuring sherry tastings, educational seminars and sherry dinners with participating winemakers.
In a similar vein, he has partnered with Daniel Johnnes of La Paulée de New York to create La Fête du Champagne, the most high-profile Champagne event in the United States to date. Making its debut in October of 2014, La Fête du Champagne features exclusive tastings, seminars and wine dinners with the Champagne region’s finest producers.
Liem currently resides in Épernay, in the Champagne region of France. He is also a GUE-certified cave and technical diver, a TDI-certified advanced trimix and technical sidemount diver, and a PADI open water scuba instructor, and he will likely be found somewhere underwater whenever away from the world of wine.
Photo by Gentl and Hyers