“Sweetbitter meets The Nightingale in this page-turner about a woman who returns to her family’s ancestral vineyard in Burgundy to study for her Master of Wine test, and uncovers a lost diary, a forgotten relative, and a secret her family has been keeping since World War II.”
Another book that switches from the present to the past almost seamlessly. Gives you and eye to the past and how it connects to the present. I really connected to the characters in both eras.
What a wonderful story of survival, betrayal and courage. I loved every word.
Terribly slow. I’m trying to slog my way through it, but it just seems like work.
While there was some World War II history incorporated this was very light reading. It did test my high school French, which I enjoyed, but would probably be an irritant to those who don’t know any French. I finished it, but it was not memorable.
I loved this story with the mystery and intrigue mixed with some everyday life. And in France!
Beautiful story, just enough mystery to keep me hanging on. Characters were well developed and believeable. Really enjoyed this book.
I loved the characters in this book, and the way the author wove their tales between two eras. Beautiful!
Loved this story, setting and characters!
Learning more about wine farming France, WWll hardships, and love missed was a great read.
Nancy Lewis
Historical fiction one of my favorite genres – this took an interesting take on WWII
Throughly enjoyed it . Historical, credible storyline told in a way that you feel for the characters who have so many hidden secrets!
Interesting. Taught me a lot about wine making/ caring about wine. Also, went back and forth betw the WWII in France, and today – and gave a different view of what it was like in occupied France.
Easy to read –
There was only one place where I felt the story lagging (developing Part I), otherwise I couldn’t wait to finish it. The piece I enjoyed the most was at the end of Part I: we are left hanging about whether Helene was a collaborator or resistance fighter because we have seen parts of her journal. I also really enjoyed the final letter JL shows Kat. W can easily predict the romantic resolution; but the other reconciliations and ways to remember were much less predictable.
Really enjoyed this book, the wine was a nice change from all the bakers you usually find in this genre.
Pretty good, it’s always interesting to me to read different perspectives from World War II. I had a bit of a hard time staying interested so it took me longer then usual to read.
WWII, Wine and Family. Gripping mystery, compelling historical fiction. Mah beautifully weaves the past and the present in a tale of buried secrets and family shame. Wrapped in luscious food and wine, this is a feast for any aficionado.
My only negative comment would be, being a non-French speaking person, the use of French throughout was a distraction.
Kate returns from San Francisco to her family’s vineyard roots in Burgundy to join the wine harvest and brush up for an upcoming, very demanding Master of Wines examination. While there, she helps clear a long-neglected cellar and unearths family secrets from WW2: a hidden cache of the family’s most valuable wines and a Great Aunt who shamed the family as a Nazi collaborator. Kate’s search deepens, for missing rare bottles in the wine collection, and for the truth about her family’s WW2 activities, but competing treasure hunters and family shame complicate her efforts. There is much to like here with a writing style that deftly conveys the breezy way in which Kate passes through life, and passionate descriptions of great wines and wine tasting, and of the wine harvest, but I couldn’t help feeling that one too many romantic twists and hidden treasures were layered in.
Was this review helpful? I am an avid world war based fiction reader and author. You can read more of my takes at https://brodiecurtis.com/curtis-takes/.
Ann Mah’s The Lost Vintage instantly transported me to a beautiful family vineyard in France which holds a secret from WWII that could either completely shatter or bring the family together. I flipped through the pages late into the nights until I couldn’t stay awake anymore following along as the secret unfolded.
Here’s a fast-paced novel about wine, women, and World War II.
Author Ann Mah is a food and travel writer, known more as a writer of food-related books than as a novelist. But in this novel, she offers up a fairly compelling story, in addition to a bit too much detail about protagonist Kate’s efforts to pass the notoriously difficult Master of Wine test. For me, a devotee of historical fiction, the part of the story that explored French life during the World War II German Occupation was MUCH more interesting than learning about either winemaking or a wine test.
Kate’s family has been making unique wines in France for generations, though she now works as a sommelier in San Francisco. During a visit to help her French relatives with the grape harvest, she comes across both her former fiancee AND a series of family secrets involving a mysterious ancestor (Helene) who no one in the family will talk about. Add in a cellar full of old books, one personal diary, a few false walls, and some coded messages and letters– and you have plenty to keep the plot moving along.
But without question, the most fascinating aspect of this book was the brief description of the “épuration sauvage” (translation: wild purge) –a brutal and humiliating public retaliation French mobs (usually men) enacted on thousands of French women toward the end of the war, accusing them (often falsely) of collaborating with the Germans. In what was actually a violent case of overt sexism (male collaborators were NOT punished in this way), these women were stripped, shaved, beaten, spat upon, and, in about 6,000 cases, murdered. Some of these victims had been raped by German soldiers: others had simply been trying to keep their children alive during the war. Not surprisingly, a shameful story I had never heard before. And one that I will now read more about.
Loved this book! Great story telling and wonderful characters.