Words of Wine, War & Champagne
We are having incredibly unseasonal weather here in Burgundy, heavy clouds, rain, and temperatures about 10 degrees below the norm. Brrr!
Weather more suited to sitting by an open fire reading a book, than sitting in the courtyard sipping pinot or chardonnay, and trying to fix the world’s problems.
Here are two books we highly recommend. ‘Wine and War’, and ‘Champagne’ both written by Don & Petie Kladstrup.
They are hugely interesting and informative, written in a an easy style which make them very suitable for holiday reading.
‘Wine and War’ is set in the major wine producing regions of France during the second World War. It tells how the German military set about controlling the French wine industry and the resultant movement of millions of bottles of quality label wine being shipped, or rather ‘trained’ to Germany.
Against that, the French viticulteurs set about preserving as much of their stock as possible within a number of inventive hiding places.
There are also a number of sub-plots that run alongside the principal story. The German wine ‘Commissioners’ were often friends of the French winemakers; some French families were protecting Jews; there were vignerons amongst some of the French resistance groups; and a degree of insight is provided of the Vichy government.
As an aside, the line of demarcation between Vichy France and Occupied France in this part of Burgundy was the Saone river at Chalon-sur-Saone just a few kilometres to the south of us.
‘Champagne’ is an equally fascinating and educational read. It traces Champagne -the wine and the region - back to its early beginnings. It covers the Champagne ‘uprising’; life on the front line during WW I; the failed and the glorious vintages; the dramas behind many of its famous labels.
A number of the personalities who created or strengthened the flamboyant Champagne image are presented, from Dom Perignon to the celebrated Veuve Cliqouot to the so named Champagne Charlie.
Above all you acquire a real sense of how passionate and committed the French are in producing Champagne. To them, risking their lives while harvesting in 1914-1918 just happened to be something that one does.
Both books are worth tracking down. English language editions are also available at the Athenaeum shop in central Beaune.
A Bientot, Bruce.