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From Amazon.com
Liberty, equality, and fraternity are all well and good, a champion of French culture once remarked. But, he continued, what made France truly superior to its neighbors was the French passion for wine, which "contributed to the French race by giving it wit, gaiety, and good taste, qualities which set it profoundly apart from people who drink a lot of beer."
The commentator may have had a point; after all, write Don and Petie Kladstrup, it was a well-known fact that Adolf Hitler did not like wine. Still, their leader's teetotalism notwithstanding, the Germans showed no distaste for French wine when they invaded France in 1940. Indeed, among the first acts of the occupying army was to seize great stores of wine, sending tens of thousands of barrels to the Third Reich and ordering the conversion of thousands of hectares of vineyards into war production.
Some French vintners, the Kladstrups write in this enjoyable study, went along with orders. Many others, however, including the heads of distinguished houses like Moët et Chandon, engaged in daring and dangerous acts of resistance wherever they could. Some lied about their yields; others built false walls to hide precious vintages; and still others concocted elaborate ruses, such as sprinkling carpet dust into inferior grades of new wine to give it a musty, distinguished flavor. Not every German was fooled, and some partisans of the grape died for their troubles. But some Germans, at considerable risk to themselves, also looked the other way. The Kladstrups fill their pages with memories of the wine war from both sides of the struggle, stories sometimes somber, sometimes amusing, that commemorate those "whose love of the grape and devotion to a way of life helped them survive and triumph over one of the darkest and most difficult chapters in French history." --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Husband-and-wife journalists and contributors to Wine Spectator, the Kladstrups recount the dangerous and daring exploits of those who fought to keep France's greatest treasure out of the hands of the Nazis. Whether they were fobbing off inferior wines on the Germans, hiding precious vintages behind hastily constructed walls, sabotaging shipments being sent out of France, or even sneaking people out of the country in wine barrels, the French proved to be remarkably versatile when it came to protecting their beloved wine. The authors craft a compelling read that shifts back and forth between individual tales of bravery, including those of five prominent wine-making families, and the bigger story of how World War II affected the French wine industry. This history should prove popular with readers who appreciated other books detailing the Nazis' looting of treasures, such as Tom Bower's Nazi Gold (LJ 5/15/97) and Hector Feliciano's The Lost Museum (LJ 8/97). Recommended for public and academic libraries. John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
IT WAS LATE AUGUST 1939, AND FRENCH WINE-makers were fretting about the harvest. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
IT WAS LATE AUGUST 1939, AND FRENCH WINE-makers were fretting about the harvest. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Of patriotism and wine,
This review is from: Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure (Paperback)
This book was an unexpected delight! The truth of the exploits of the French to save their wine, their livelihood, and their country's identity during the Nazi Occupation of WWII is told from very individual perspectives. We learn of winemakers struggling to keep their vineyards alive despite a shortages of able-bodied men and copper sulfate, trampling by troops, blackouts, droughts, and raiding Nazi soldiers. even if your knowledge of wine is minimal, names like Chateau Lafite-Rothschild and Moet are likely to ring a bell. To understand the struggles that these families endured and often overcame becomes very real and understandable in the writings of the authors. The human toll of war as well as the economic costs are played against the unflagging spirit of the people and their love of the land, the wine, and their country. Not only is this a great story of wine and war but of patriotism as well. It has been convenient to belittle the French in recent times relative to their attitude about war, but this book reminds us that they endured something we were fortunate never to have to deal with -- enemy occupation and the resultant destruction and demoralization.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting but not well written,
This review is from: Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure (Paperback)
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it anyone interested either in wine or WW2. One really annoying error was to say that an American soldier in France was a life long Baltimore Oriole fan! There were no Baltimore Orioles until after the move from St Louis in 1954!! There are a lot of fascinating episodes and amazing curiosities that more than make up for that, however.
3.0 out of 5 stars
The French love of wine.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure (Paperback)
I thought this was an original concept of a war story. The authors tell of the French love of the national drink of wine and the German Occupation. The Germans took a portion of the output of the vineyards, and the French were starved for wine. Various stories of the burgundies/champaynes and other assorted wines were told in this conglomoration of a book about wine and WWII. French POWs in a Stalig camp throw a wine party after accumulating wine. Resistance figures siphon off wine from casks bound for Germany. Bad wine is sent to the German occupation authorites. Collaborators sell the drink to the German authorities. Jews are hidden in the vineyards. These are all stories included in this short book. The concept of this book was interesting. This collection of stories does not lead to a very coherent book, although many of the stories are very interesting. This is more of a fluff book, unless you are interested in wine.
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