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A review by bookapotamus
The Lost Vintage by Ann Mah
5.0
I took a break from historical fiction for a bit and went on a thriller binge for awhile.. but oh boy am I back! I LOVED this book and I don't know why it took me so long to read it. It's historical fiction at its finest, with a really fun and intriguing mystery - so definitely incorporates 2 aspects I love to read about, while really heavy on another of my favorite things ... wine!
Kate's family has been making wine at their French vineyard for generations. And although it's been a long time since she has been back to visit, she still lives and breathes all things wine back home in San Francisco. As she prepares to take The Test to hopefully become a Master of Wine, she decides to return to France and help her cousins on the vineyard, enhance her skills to prepare, all while avoiding a life and love from the past.
When Kate unearths a secret room in the vineyard's basement, she uncovers more that just a few resistance pamphlets from the Nazi occupation, and rare bottles of wine from the WWII era. What she discovers is an aunt she never knew she had, and some potentially damaging secrets that could change everything she knew about her family.
I loved, loved, loved this book! It drew me out of a reading slump with it's elegant prose, it's layered storylines and fresh and endearing characters. The historical aspect was fascinating and so exquisitely detailed with aspects of the war I had no idea about. The mystery had me riveted and feverishly turning pages. And it was such a delight to learn about french culture, food, and of course the wine and winemaking. I felt transported to the vineyards in France and I never wanted to leave.
Kate's family has been making wine at their French vineyard for generations. And although it's been a long time since she has been back to visit, she still lives and breathes all things wine back home in San Francisco. As she prepares to take The Test to hopefully become a Master of Wine, she decides to return to France and help her cousins on the vineyard, enhance her skills to prepare, all while avoiding a life and love from the past.
When Kate unearths a secret room in the vineyard's basement, she uncovers more that just a few resistance pamphlets from the Nazi occupation, and rare bottles of wine from the WWII era. What she discovers is an aunt she never knew she had, and some potentially damaging secrets that could change everything she knew about her family.
I loved, loved, loved this book! It drew me out of a reading slump with it's elegant prose, it's layered storylines and fresh and endearing characters. The historical aspect was fascinating and so exquisitely detailed with aspects of the war I had no idea about. The mystery had me riveted and feverishly turning pages. And it was such a delight to learn about french culture, food, and of course the wine and winemaking. I felt transported to the vineyards in France and I never wanted to leave.