Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure

This book tells the story of French wine makers and wine during the Second World War. In the introduction, the authors point how important wine is to France. "It is not just a beverage or commercial product to be poured from a bottle. It is much more than that. Like the flag,...it goes to the country's heart and soul." That said, the history of World War Two in France cannot be considered complete without the tales of what happened to the wine and the winemakers.

The book is organized in chronological fashion, starting in 1939, the last pre-war grape harvest. Each subsequent year of the war is represented in one or more chapters of details and war stories. We read about wine makers who are sent to POW camps, the "weinfuhrers", Germans whose job it was to manage the wine industry in occupied France, and families of wine makers whose men-folk are away fighting or imprisoned. The authors point out how useful it could be to keep tabs on wine, such as when the Resistance was able to notify British intelligence about an imminent invasion in North Africa based on their tracking of wine shipments by the Germans.

At the beginning of each chapter is a picture of a wine scene related to the war. Unfortunately, the pictures are printed in extremely light shades of gray and white and virtually uninterpretable as a result. Captions for the pictures appear only in the List of Illustrations at the beginning of the book. The book includes an index, but no bibliography. (Much of the material for the book came from extensive personal interviews.)

For the most part, the book is informative, but it doesn't quite live up to the lofty promises of the introduction. Part of the problem is that a number of the stories from the wine makers that the authors uncovered aren't all that remarkable. In other cases, war histories of individual wine makers are chopped up to fit in the chronological organization of the chapters, which detracts from the overall coherence. Nonetheless, historians of the Second World War may find substantial material of interest in this book.

Wine & War is a socially-focused historical account of predominantly five families of prominent wine-producing regions in France (Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Alsace, and the Loire Valley) during the German occupation of France in World War II. This book profiles the courage of the French to not only survive during this time but to protect their national treasure from the glutony of the Third Reich. Through their cleverness and ability to outwit the Germans, the French are ultimately able to preserve much of their prized wine. This book takes you on an inspiring journey through that time via accounts of those who lived through it as well as their relatives. Fascinating and insightful, I highly recommend this book for wine aficionados, francophiles, and those planning to visit the remnants of Berchtesgaden or Kehlsteinhaus.

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.

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.

you will find this book cutting thru the fog of incomprehensible wine labels. Wines are made for people, consumed by people and ultimately resided in the soul of the people. Ever wonder why reference has always been made to wine in literature since time immemorial; from Plato to Omar Khayyam to Shakespeare. Read this book and you will understand the passion shared - even amongst enemies in the middle of a world war.