Wine and War

Title: Wine and War
Authors: Donald and Petie Kladstrup
ISBN: 0340766786
Publisher: Coronet
Price: £7.99

As a complete change to my usual diet of wine text books comes this life-affirming book that looks at the role played by France’s vignerons in the second world war. When Hitler’s personal cellar was opened at the end of the war, it contained half a million bottles of France’s very best wines, from Latour, Lafite, et al.


A stockpile of literally billions of bottles had been ammassed by the invaders to help finance the future of the Riech. The Kladstrups employ a style midway between historical novel and crime thriller to tell the tales of the ingenious ways the French fought, tricked and bribed their occupiers to retain this liquid gold, which was so vital to their economy. These range fro the owner of Paris’s Tour d’Argent restaurant, who built false walls to conceal his most precious bottles, to inventive cellarmasters who covered their cheapest vin de table with fancy labels, dust and cobwebs so the Germans would make a beeline for them.

Conclusions: Despite a writing style that is just occasionally a bit leaden, this book cracks along for the most part with amusing, poignant and sometimes mind-boggling tales of ingenuity and heroism. All in all it is a terrific read for the wine lover.