The Lost Vintage

Kate returns to her family's vineyard in Burgundy to study for the Master of Wine examination and help with the annual harvest. While organizing the basement of the property, she discovers hidden World War II resistance documents and a collection of valuable wines, leading her to investigate her family's wartime past. The narrative moves between present-day France and the 1940s occupation, revealing the story of a lost relative through documents, letters and local memories. As Kate works in the vineyard and studies wine, she begins to piece together the connections between her family's secrets and the bottles aging in the cellar. The parallel timelines explore themes of family loyalty, identity, and the impact of war across generations. Set against the backdrop of French wine culture, the novel examines how people navigate moral choices during conflict and how the past continues to influence the present.

Readers call this a breezy read that blends wine, family secrets, and WWII history. The dual timeline structure and French wine country setting appeal to fans of historical fiction and food writing. Liked: - Educational details about wine certification and French vineyards - Strong sense of place and atmosphere in Burgundy - Integration of wartime resistance history - Satisfying resolution of family mysteries Disliked: - Modern timeline less compelling than historical sections - Romance subplot feels forced and predictable - Some find the pacing slow in the middle - Several readers note historical accuracy issues Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (19,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (1,100+ ratings) "The wine details were fascinating but the protagonist came across as whiny" - Goodreads reviewer "Perfect blend of history and wine culture, though the love story was unnecessary" - Amazon review "Expected more depth from the WWII storyline" - BookBrowse review

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🍷 Author Ann Mah is a food and travel writer who lived in Paris for several years, lending authenticity to the book's French wine country setting and culinary details. 📚 The book was inspired by the author's experience studying for the notoriously difficult Master of Wine examination, which has a pass rate of only 10%. ⚜️ The novel's wartime storyline draws from real historical accounts of French wineries during World War II, when many vintners worked to hide their best wines from Nazi occupiers. 🗝️ The tradition of keeping detailed wine estate records in burgundy notebooks, which plays a key role in the plot, is a real practice dating back generations in French wineries. 🌿 The book's fictional Domaine Chauveau is set in Meursault, a real commune in Burgundy famous for its white wines made from Chardonnay grapes.