The Winemaker's Wife

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-8

Chapters 9-17

Chapters 18-27

Chapter 28-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Background

Authorial Context: Kristin Harmel’s Historical Fiction

Kristin Harmel is an American author best known for her historical fiction. As of 2023, she has published five novels that take place in France during the years of World War II (WWII): The Sweetness of Forgetting (2012), The Room on Rue Amélie 2018), The Book of Lost Names (2020), The Paris Daughter (2023), and The Winemaker’s Wife (2019). All told from the perspective of brave and complex women, these novels each use a different lens to examine the horrors and heroism of the Second World War. The Sweetness of Forgetting was Harmel’s first WWII novel, which became a bestseller and cemented her name as a contemporary historical fiction writer. It follows an American baker who goes to France to uncover the secrets of her French grandmother’s past. Like The Winemaker’s Wife, this novel uses multigenerational stories and food and drink to tell a story across time. The Room on Rue Amélie tells the story of a newlywed woman who joins the resistance effort and assists Jewish refugees. The Book of Lost Names explores similar themes, connecting the story of a librarian to forged identity documents for fleeing Jewish children. The Paris Daughter takes an interpersonal look at everyday people, and in particular mothers, affected by the horrors of war. Through her work, readers can absorb a wide scope of the realities of World War II and the strength of the everyday people who lived through it.

Historical Context: The Champagne Region in WWII

Because of the German soldiers’ reliance on wine and Champagne production, the Champagne region was in a unique position to offer subversive aid against the German occupation. Ironically, Hitler himself drank alcohol very rarely; however, he amassed a great quantity as a symbol of status and power. Although the central characters of The Winemaker’s Wife are fictional, they are inspired by the heroism and resistance of several winemaking houses during this period.

During the occupation, German forces requisitioned up to 400,000 bottles of Champagne per week, which put enormous agricultural and personal strain on the region. In response, winemakers began undermining German authorities by mislabeling poor bottles of wine and hiding their best vintages in secret caves and passages underground, much like Michel and his team do in The Winemaker’s Wife. Unfortunately, Otto Klaebisch, the weinführer who features in the novel, is educated enough in winemaking to tell the difference and jails several winemakers for the insubordination. During the war, several winemakers also became involved in the resistance effort and helped deliver information, such as when German soldiers requested wine specially packaged and protected from intense heat. This information was passed on to British intelligence shortly before Nazi soldiers attempted to claim Egypt.

During her research for The Winemaker’s Wife, Harmel interviewed several local people from the Champagne region and found that many had stories about friends or family members who had helped in the resistance in some small way.