Wine and War or Charcuterie

Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure

Author: Donald Kladstrup

The remarkable untold story of France’s courageous, clever vinters who protected and rescued the country’s most treasured commodity from German plunder during World War II.

"To be a Frenchman means to fight for your country and its wine."
–Claude Terrail, owner, Restaurant La Tour d’Argent

In 1940, France fell to the Nazis and almost immediately the German army began a campaign of pillaging one of the assets the French hold most dear: their wine. Like others in the French Resistance, winemakers mobilized to oppose their occupiers, but the tale of their extraordinary efforts has remained largely unknown–until now. This is the thrilling and harrowing story of the French wine producers who undertook ingenious, daring measures to save their cherished crops and bottles as the Germans closed in on them. Wine and War illuminates a compelling, little-known chapter of history, and stands as a tribute to extraordinary individuals who waged a battle that, in a very real way, saved the spirit of France.

Publishers Weekly

Both contributors to Wine Spectator, the Kladstrups Don, a distinguished journalist and former TV news correspondent, and his wife, Petie, a freelance writer have unearthed and compiled an array of facts and anecdotes about the significance of French wine to the French and to their enemies and the role of French winemakers during WWII. Basing their account on interviews with survivors and other research, the authors focus on the activities of five winemaking families in Burgundy, Alsace, Champagne, Bordeaux and the Loire Valley. When France fell to Hitler, the Reich sent German wine merchants (whom the French referred to as weinf hrers) to buy as much good French wine as possible and resell it at a large profit. Some Frenchmen, such as Louis Eschenauer (who, after the war, was tried for economic collaboration with the enemy, found guilty and sent to prison), were more than willing to do business with the enemy, but most not only resisted German occupation but also refused to give up their prized vintages to the Germans. For example, though displaced from their ch teau by German soldiers, the Miaihles family made painstaking efforts first to relocate and then to hide some Jewish friends and later helped them escape to Argentina. To get even with the Germans who stole his wine, Jean-Michel Chevreau siphoned wine from barrels that were being shipped to Germany and refilled them with water. Although their book makes for an engaging read, the Kladstrups have organized their material in a rambling manner, which, unfortunately, makes the many names and events discussed easy to confuse. (May 15) Forecast: There will be major review coverage; the authors will make appearances in the San Francisco Bay Area and NPR's Morning Edition has fallen into line. Yet one wonders whether any but the most dedicated oenophiles will care for a book-length account of how France's wines were saved from the Nazis. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Husband-and-wife journalists and contributors to Wine Spectator, the Kladstrups recount the dangerous and daring exploits of those who fought to keep France's greatest treasure out of the hands of the Nazis. Whether they were fobbing off inferior wines on the Germans, hiding precious vintages behind hastily constructed walls, sabotaging shipments being sent out of France, or even sneaking people out of the country in wine barrels, the French proved to be remarkably versatile when it came to protecting their beloved wine. The authors craft a compelling read that shifts back and forth between individual tales of bravery, including those of five prominent wine-making families, and the bigger story of how World War II affected the French wine industry. This history should prove popular with readers who appreciated other books detailing the Nazis' looting of treasures, such as Tom Bower's Nazi Gold (LJ 5/15/97) and Hector Feliciano's The Lost Museum (LJ 8/97). Recommended for public and academic libraries. John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Internet Book Watch

This unusual survey of the French wine industry might sound initially like a food book; but Wine & War provides an in-depth examination of the French's conflicts with the nazis and the battle for its wine industry. Three years of eyewitness interviews and research lend to stories of the men and women who risked their lives to save their industry from Nazi ruin.

Table of Contents:

	List of Illustrations	viii
	Introduction	1
1	To Love the Vines	13
2	Nomads	35
3	The Weinfuhrers	57
4	Hiding, Fibbing and Fobbing Off	91
5	The Growling Stomach	109
6	Wolves at the Door	137
7	The Fete	155
8	Saving the Treasure	173
9	Eagle's Nest	195
10	The Collaborator	205
11	I Came Home Not Young Anymore	223
	Epilogue	240
	Glossary	250
	Notes	257
	Bibliography	270
	Acknowledgments	275

Look this: Essentials of Strategic Management or Macroeconomics

Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing

Author: Michael Ruhlman

The only book for home cooks offering a complete introduction to the craft.

Charcuterie—a culinary specialty that originally referred to the creation of pork products such as salami, sausages, and prosciutto—is true food craftsmanship, the art of turning preserved food into items of beauty and taste. Today the term encompasses a vast range of preparations, most of which involve salting, cooking, smoking, and drying. In addition to providing classic recipes for sausages, terrines, and pâtés, Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn expand the definition to include anything preserved or prepared ahead such as Mediterranean olive and vegetable rillettes, duck confit, and pickles and sauerkraut.

Ruhlman, co-author of The French Laundry Cookbook, and Polcyn, an expert charcuterie instructor at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan, present 125 recipes that are both intriguing to professionals and accessible to home cooks, including salted, air-dried ham; Maryland crab, scallop, and saffron terrine; Da Bomb breakfast sausage; mortadella and soppressata; and even spicy smoked almonds. 50 line drawings.

Publishers Weekly

Without the faintest hint of apology, Ruhlman and Polcyn present an arsenal of recipes that take hours, and sometimes days, to prepare; are loaded with fat; and, if ill-prepared, can lead to botulism. The result is one of the most intriguing and important cookbooks published this year. Ruhlman (The Soul of a Chef) is a food poet, and the pig is his muse. On witnessing a plate of cold cuts in Italy, he is awed by "the way the sunlight hit the fat of the dried meats, the way it glistened, the beauty of the meat." He relates and refines the work of Polcyn, a chef-instructor at a college in Livonia, Mich., who butchers a whole hog "every couple weeks for his students." Together, they make holy the art of stuffing a sausage, the brining of a corned beef and the poaching of a salted meat in its own fat. An extensive chapter on p t s and terrines is entitled "The Cinderella Meat Loaf" and runs the gamut from exotic Venison Terrine with Dried Cherries to hearty English Pork Pie with a crust made from both lard and butter. And while there's no shortage of lyricism, science plays an equally important role. Everyone knows salt is a preservative, for example, but here we learn exactly how it does its job. And a section on safety issues weighs the dangers of nitrites and explains the difference between good white mold and the dangerous, green, fuzzy stuff. Line drawings. Agent, Elizabeth Kaplan. (Nov. 21) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.