With a background in wine retail, Liem began his career in wine writing when he and Kirk Wille founded a bi-monthly e-magazine titled
Riesling Report, which was published from 2000 to 2002. Liem joined
Wine & Spirits in 2004 in a capacity as a senior editor and tasting director, and critic covering the wines of
Alsace,
Austria,
Germany and the
Loire. In 2006 Liem moved to the
Champagne village
Dizy, Though not claiming to have invented it, Liem was in 2008 commended by
Eric Asimov for discovering the word "gob-less" as a term for wines of grace, balance and finesse, in response to the trend among wine critics such as
Robert Parker who frequently apply the word "gobs" to describe wines of overwhelming power and fruity sweetness. Similarly in 2009, Asimov expressed appreciation of a Liem column comparing wines made from
ungrafted vines with cheese made from
unpasteurized milk. ==Published works==