Rating: 
Summary: The French love of wine.
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: If you drink and collect French wines, this is must reading.
Review: I was very impressed with the gatheing of stories about winemakers and their families, many of whom I know. As a member of the Tastevin , I was delighted to read near the end of the book about the first Chapitres after the war. I was so impressed with this book that I ordered eight copies . Some of the copies I will send to friends in Burgundy
Rating:
Summary: Breezy Anecdotes
Review: I wasn't looking for some grand new revelations about WWII when I bought this book and I didn't get any. What I did get was an easy-to-read series of inspirational stories and breezy anecdotes about how French vignerons managed to keep their livelihoods and some of their wines at a time when the outcome of the war was very much in doubt.
There is a decidedly pro-French slant to the stories, most of the Germans are made to look like bumbling Colonel Klinks and the French are mostly portrayed as patriotic tools of or members of the Resistance, cleverly hobbling German designs at every turn. To be fair, some Germans are singled out as "righteous gentiles", but these are never Mein Kampf-believing Nazis.
What I like is what I learned about the wine business. There are all sorts of little tidbits about how winemakers can adulterate wine, mislabel wine, and generally fool the general wine-consuming public, not to mention the Wehrmacht. But the book is also filled with tales of winemaking as a craft and a labor of love.
The climax of the book is foreshadowed in the beginning, when French troops were racing to be first to Hitler's Eagles Nest to get a crack at repatriating the fine wines they knew were there.
American readers who were there might well be annoyed by the feeling that the French High Command thought more about rescuing the wine than they did about helping to finish off the Nazis.
That aside, if you love wine as well as stories of good guys outsmarting the bad, then you should enjoy Wine and War.
Rating:
Summary: Delicious Read
Review: I'm not a true blue wine drinker. I do love and appreciate wine, but that wasn't why I bought this book. Instead, I am a 30-something woman who has always had an interest in WWII. When I came across the description for this book, I had to have it. While France wasn't the only country to be overrun by the Nazis, this book gave a refreshing view of the people who lived through their occupation. The War through the eyes of wine lovers was a mix of quiet resistance and clever sleight of hand. I loved it!
I do wish more had been written about the Alsatian region though. The Hugels were the only family that were covered, whereas the regions of Champagne and Burgandy got the most coverage. You would think such a fought over area would have been written about more since it too is prized wine country. Still, this book deserves the 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Great summer read, yes! Great historical book, no . . .
Review: If you are "into" wine, this is a great summer read. You'll have heard of most (if not all) of the major wine estates (if not people) mentioned, and it's a diverting, enjoyable story, especially if read with a glass of the appropriate wine. BUT if you are looking for serious historical facts . . . forget it! This is "history-lite" and contains too many factual errors to be taken as History.
Rating:
Summary: Wine lovers won't believe this incredible story
Review: If you have ever visited any of the wine region(s) of France, you will find this book incredible. I have visited them all and now I want to go back and see the Chateaus, caves and fields from a totally different view - not so much how they make or store their wine - but see where all these (never before known to me) things happened. I want to see the bullet holes in the walls, the boarded up tunnels where people hid, the lake where they hid the wine and the city streets were a lot of bad things happened. And, if you have not been to France, just your knowledge of the wine you like will shed a brand new appreciation on the winemakers, their history and how they survived to make this for you to now drink and enjoy. This is a must read for anyone who has any appreciation of wine.
Rating:
Summary: Wine lovers won't believe this incredible story
Review: If you have ever visited any of the wine region(s) of France, you will find this book incredible. I have visited them all and now I want to go back and see the Chateaus, caves and fields from a totally different view - not so much how they make or store their wine - but see where all these (never before known to me) things happened. I want to see the bullet holes in the walls, the boarded up tunnels where people hid, the lake where they hid the wine and the city streets were a lot of bad things happened. And, if you have not been to France, just your knowledge of the wine you like will shed a brand new appreciation on the winemakers, their history and how they survived to make this for you to now drink and enjoy. This is a must read for anyone who has any appreciation of wine.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting albeit insubstantial story
Review: If you want a good World War II history, then this is not the book for you. In fact, if you don't love wine, you won't find this book to be all that interesting at all. In the larger context of history, one could charitably call this a history of one of the many dimensions of the German occupation of France & the French resistance.It is a fascinating portrayl of the wine-making industry & its subculture, and is an intriguing example of how far some people were willing to go to protect, in the final analysis, a bunch bottles of fermented grape juice. The french & the germans involved in this story are patriots, collaborators & sympathetic occupiers. There stories can be found by the thousands outside of the world of wine. The only distinction is that the french attach such importance to their wines, which give them a sense of their national identity. As befits a largely insubstantial topic, the book is a quick and easy read. The authors are not trying to impart some Great Message, but are simply trying to tell a pretty interesting tale. It is enjoyable enough to merit 4 stars, but would need more substance for a 5th star.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting albeit insubstantial story
Review: If you want a good World War II history, then this is not the book for you. In fact, if you don't love wine, you won't find this book to be all that interesting at all. In the larger context of history, one could charitably call this a history of one of the many dimensions of the German occupation of France & the French resistance. It is a fascinating portrayl of the wine-making industry & its subculture, and is an intriguing example of how far some people were willing to go to protect, in the final analysis, a bunch bottles of fermented grape juice. The french & the germans involved in this story are patriots, collaborators & sympathetic occupiers. There stories can be found by the thousands outside of the world of wine. The only distinction is that the french attach such importance to their wines, which give them a sense of their national identity. As befits a largely insubstantial topic, the book is a quick and easy read. The authors are not trying to impart some Great Message, but are simply trying to tell a pretty interesting tale. It is enjoyable enough to merit 4 stars, but would need more substance for a 5th star.
Rating:
Summary: History Made Fascinating!
Review: In an era when books and movies and TV specials about World War II abound, it is refreshing to find a book with a very different focus. By telling us stories of different wine growers and wine makers in France during World War II, the Kladstrups give us a balanced picture of war, and what it does to all human beings and their various enterprises. I am not quite finished with the book yet, but I am enjoying it. Savoring it, and sharing bits of it with my husband; much as I would a good bottle of wine. Definitely a book I will recommend to others.
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