When I first think about the word champagne it’s usually revolving around a tasty beverage that is usually drank to celebrate something. A new year, a wedding, a promotion, Christmas morning mimosas, etc. I realized that I never really thought about the history of champagne or some of the deeper contents behind it. Champagne comes from the region in France that shares the same name. Located just a little south of Reims, it was a region that was heavily effected by both World Wars. Though in World War II, Germans avoided bombing that area as they wanted to keep having champagne for themselves even if most of the workers at these vineyards had left to go fight. It’s in the fictional champagne vineyard of Maison Chauveau that our story takes place.
The Winemaker’s Wife follows three women who have a lot more connections than what we are initially led to believe. Jumping back and fourth between 1940s and present day, it is a story of war, betrayal, love and forgiveness. Ines is the wife of Michel, the owner of Maison Chauveau, one of the top champagne vineyards in the region. Ines has never caught onto being a vineyard wife. She doesn’t understand the system or often times the importance for what they are doing. Unlike the head winemaker’s wife, Celine. Celine, though she understands the work her husband is doing, is still finding herself lost for many different reasons. They don’t really understand each other and when a rash decision is made, it will not only destroy their friendship but will have deadly consequences as well. Jumping to present day. Liv is recently divorced and she has no idea what she is doing with her life. When her french grandmother arrives at her New York City apartment out of the blue and demands she comes back to France with her, her whole world gets turned upside down as she learns that the identity she believes is hers is not actually true.
I’m not going to lie, it did take me some time to get into this book. It was an interesting topic and allowed for me to do lots of research but I kind of kept thinking it was just another historical fiction novel. Wasn’t as wowed as I had hoped. Until I got to the final third of the book. The final third of the book has so many twists that I just could not put it down. It made it go from a so so book to a book I already want to reread. If you are in a book club and your group enjoys historical fiction books to discuss, this is a fantastic choice for your next read. A compelling story of when past and present collide.
Until Next Time, The Library Abroad
The Library Abroad 
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