The fascination with wine begins with the land, which year after year has the potential to produce something different and original from the same vineyard.

So it is with wine writers, who each year plow more or less the same terrain, finding novel and provocative ways of presenting their material. Here are five of the most interesting books on wine that were published in 2017, which would make excellent gifts for friends, loved ones or yourself.

Few regions have undergone so fundamental an evolution in the last few decades as Champagne, and the nature of the transformation has been little understood. In “Champagne: The Essential Guide to the Wines, Producers and Terroirs of the Iconic Region” (Ten Speed Press, $80), Peter Liem beautifully details the region’s renewed focus as a producer of wines rather than a creator of luxury goods.

In transparent prose, Mr. Liem looks back on the winemaking history of the region, which has been obscured in effervescent mythology. He makes a compelling case for the historic importance of place and terroir in Champagne, a departure from decades of marketing that focused on the cellar work of master blenders rather than on the land.