Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure
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———. French Peasant Against Fascism: Henry Dorgère’s Greenshirts and the Crisis of French Agriculture, 1929–1939. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
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Glossary
APPELLATION D’ORIGINE CONTRÔLÉE (AOC) Controlled place of origin. For French wine, it guarantees that the wine not only comes from the place listed (such as Burgundy or Bordeaux) but also meets the standards of quality for that area.
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ARRONDISSEMENT district or borough of a city.
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BLACK ROT a fungal disease that attacks grapevines, leaving black spots on the green parts of the plant and shriveling the fruit. Most virulent in warm weather and high humidity. Treatment is with copper sulfate.
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BOCHES derogatory name given the Germans.
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BORDELAIS a resident of Bordeaux.
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CAVE a cellar, generally a wine cellar.
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CHAMPENOIS a resident of Champagne.
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CHTEAU (PL.: CHTEAUX) literally, castle, but generally used to signify an entire wine estate–house (irrespective of whether it is a castle), vineyards, caves and other buildings. Most Bordeaux wine comes from châteaux.
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CHEMINOTS railway workers, derived from the French for railroad, chemin de fer, literally iron road.
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CHEVALIERS literally, knights; now frequently used for members of a wine society, in French a confrérie, or brotherhood.
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COMITÉ INTERPROFESSIONNEL DU VIN DE CHAMPAGNE (CIVC) the semi-governmental interprofessional body which regulates the Champagne industry.
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COMITÉ NATIONAL DES APPELLATIONS D’ORIGINE the governing body for the guarantees on place of origin and quality in French wine.
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COPPER SULFATE a copper salt, sometimes called blue stone, used to treat vines against fungus.
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CÔTE D’OR literally, the Golden Slope or Escarpment; the area of Burgundy between Dijon and Santenay where some of the greatest Burgundies are made. Both red and white wines are made here.
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CUVÉE contents of a wine vat or a special lot of wine.
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DORYPHORES potato bugs, or Colorado potato beetles, probably brought to Europe in shipments from America in the 1930s. Came to be a derogatory term for German soldiers.
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DOSAGE the sugar syrup made from champagne wine and sugar that is added to champagne before its final corking. The amount added determines the sweetness of the champagne. The drier the champagne, the smaller the dosage used.
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EAU-DE-SANTENAY a laxative; purgative water.
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EAU-DE-VIE literally, water of life, but the generic name for distilled spirits, including brandy.
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FEUILLES MORTES literally, dead leaves; used to describe the traditional color of bottles for Burgundy wine, a brownish-green color.
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FROGS a derogatory name for the French.
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GOLDEN ESCARPMENT see Côte d’Or.
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GRANDS CRUS the great vineyards.
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GRAND SIÈCLE literally “great century”; the name of Bernard de Nonancourt’s luxury champagne.
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HOSPICES DE BEAUNE the charity hospital in Beaune in Burgundy, founded in 1443. The hospital is funded by the sale of wine from its vineyards, which have been donated to the Hospices by area vineyard owners through the centuries. The annual auction of its wines in November is considered an indicator of prices for the vintage.
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INSTITUT NATIONAL DES APPELLATIONS D’ORIGINE (INAO) the administrative organization for guaranteeing place of origin and quality in French wine. The organization is based in Paris, but has technical experts in each of France’s wine regions.
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MADERIZED oxidized; a condition of older wines reflecting the gradual seepage of oxygen into the bottle as the space between the cork and wine increases.
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MAIRIE French term for town or village hall.
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MAISON DE TOLÉRANCE a licensed brothel.
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MAISON DU VIN a wine business, usually that of a wine wholesaler, who buys wine from growers and bottles it under the house’s own label or who buys grapes from growers and then makes and bottles the wine. A maison du vin may also own some vineyards and make wine from those grapes under its own label.
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MAQUIS literally, the Corsican bush. During World War II, a general term for the French Resistance, the underground.
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“MARÉCHAL, NOUS VOILÀ” song composed in honor of Marshal Philippe Pétain, France’s head of state during the Vichy years. Especially popular among children in the early years of World War II, when it was regularly sung in schools and even at religious gatherings of young people. Title means “Marshal, Here We Are.”
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MILDEW downy or false mildew that is the most ruinous of the fungal diseases that attack the vines. It originate
d in America and is spread by the wind, so it is difficult to contain once it attacks a vineyard. High humidity and heat are the key factors in its development. Most American vines are resistant to it, so do not have to be treated with the copper sulfate so necessary to the French vineyards.
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MONUMENT AUX MORTS a monument to the war dead of a community. In France every village, no matter how small, has one, usually bearing names of more victims of World War I than of World War II. Soldiers who died in battle are those who are mort pour la France, died for France.
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MUST grape juice before it ferments completely and becomes wine.
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NACHT UND NEBEL German for Night and Fog, but also the term the Third Reich used to designate prisoners it did not want to survive, that it wanted worked to death. They were to disappear within the system, buried in mass and/or unmarked graves, with no information given to families.
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NARQUER DES ALLEMANDS to taunt or make fun of the Germans.
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NÉGOCIANTS wholesale wine merchants who buy wine and/or grapes in quantity from growers and resell the wine. If they buy grapes, they will make the wine and sell it under the house’s name. Prior to World War II, they also bottled most of the wine they bought, frequently selling it with the name of the maker on the bottles. This was particularly so in Bordeaux where most of the châteaux did not begin bottling on the property until after World War II.
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OFLAG IV D the German prisoner-of-war camp for French officers in Silesia in Germany where Gaston Huet and more than 4,000 others were held for the five years of World War II.
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OIDIUM powdery or true mildew, another fungal disease of the vines which came to Europe from America. Finely ground sulfur is used to combat it.
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PANZERMILCH the derogatory term for the soy beverage prisoners of war got in camps instead of coffee or tea. Literally, panzer milk, the panzers being the German tanks that so effectively routed the French in 1940.
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PHONY WAR the period between when war was declared (September 3, 1939) and when fighting actually began (May 10, 1940). Known in French as le drôle de guerre.
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PHYLLOXERA a burrowing plant louse that destroyed the vineyards of France at the end of the nineteenth century. Another import from America, but the cure also came from America when native American vine rootstock was found to be resistant to the louse. All French vines had to be ripped up and burned, with new vines grafted onto the American rootstock.
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PIQUETTE wine made by adding water to the already pressed skins and husks of grapes. It is very low in alcohol and is usually given to vineyard workers as a daily ration. Also used as a derogatory name for any bad wine.
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RUE street
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ST. VINCENT the patron saint of French winemakers. His feast day is celebrated near January 24. He was chosen as the winemakers’ patron saint because the first syllable of his name is the French word for wine, vin. For winegrowers, there is one other point in his favor: January is about the only month when there is almost no work to be done in the vineyards; hence they can take the time to celebrate. This they usually do with a procession to the church, then a mass where the local priest blesses the wine and the statue of the saint is passed to the winegrower who will look after it for the coming year.
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SERVICE DU TRAVAIL OBLIGATOIRE (STO) the forced labor program set up by Vichy in 1942 to meet German demands for labor. It did more to recruit members for the Resistance than anything else. Those called up for STO generally preferred to go into hiding with the Maquis than to go to Germany to work for the Third Reich.
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TERROIR all the natural conditions influencing the vine and the grape (climate, soil, landscape).
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TOUR D’ARGENT, LA one of Paris’s best-known and oldest restaurants, especially famous for its duck. A favorite with German officers based in Paris during World War II. Owned then, as now, by the Terrail family.
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TRÈS ANCIENNE literally, very old. Old-fashioned.
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TRICOLORE literally, three-colored. The French flag with its wide stripes of blue, white and red.
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VIGNERONS winegrowers.
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VIN CHAUD DU SOLDAT literally, hot wine for soldiers, usually served at special canteens during the winter months. Considered a preventative against disease during cold weather. Kits for making hot wine were also sent to soldiers at the front lines.
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VIN ORDINAIRE literally, ordinary wine. Common wine with nothing special about it, drunk with routine meals at home.
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VINIFICATION winemaking.
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WEINFÜHRERS a German-sounding word made up by the French to designate the men sent by the Nazis to buy French wine and oversee its distribution.
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Acknowledgments
This book would never have been written, and certainly never finished, if it had not been for some very special people.
Among them, Gerry Holmes of ABC News and Jennifer Ludden of National Public Radio, who kept insisting we had to do it and who put us in touch with the people who helped make it happen.
One of those was their friend Stefan Fatsis, a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and the author of two books. “The best thing you can do,” Stefan told us, “is get in touch with my agent, Robert Shepard.” He was right. Robert has been far more than an agent. He is a friend, an advisor and a good shoulder to cry on when words and ideas are not lining up in the right order. He is, in fact, a very good shepherd.
Plus, he steered us to Charles Conrad, vice president and executive editor of Broadway Books. Charlie is a man who exercised the patience of Job and had the courage to let us “do our thing,” even when we were not exactly sure what that thing was. His assistant, Becky Cole, ran interference for us over and over again. Broadway copy chief, Harold Grabau, saved us from ourselves more times than we can count. We thank them all.
None of them, however, would have had anything to work on if it had not been for John Lally, who kept us on line and in line as we struggled with new computers. Without John, we would still be using the quills that fall off the ducks in our pond.
Others we would like to thank include James Lawther, Master of Wine, for his advice and ideas; Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, whose help is as graceful as their writing; Marie Carnot and Yves Fernique, who plied us with good wine and stories about the war when our energies were flagging; Cristel Kucharz and her family, as well as Renate Gozlan, who translated some nearly illegible letters from Old German to very clear English.
Then there is Leslie MacBee, a U.S. Foreign Service Officer who decided to buy an old station master’s house in Burgundy as a vacation retreat. When he cleaned the closets, Henri Gaillard’s logbooks tumbled out and with them, a rare glimpse of what working for the Nazis was like. Thanks, Les.
Our friend Doug Tunnell, who gave up the life of a foreign correspondent for CBS News to make wine at Brick House Vineyard in Oregon, did not leave behind his nose for news. When he heard Philippe Drouhin talk about his grandfather, Maurice, Doug called us and introduced us to the Drouhins. Doug has continued to be a wonderful supporter, and has he ever poured some great wine for us! (Does this entitle us to another glass or so, Doug?)
Debby Leff took part of her vacation to read the manuscript with a kind but critical eye, and gave us a boost when we needed it most.
Others who helped facilitate our work were Pascale Doussot at Maison Joseph Drouhin, Nicole Snozzi-Arroyo at Domaine Laurent-Perrier, Christine Riassa and Sophie Ferrer at Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande, and Marie-José Baudoin at Maison Louis Latour. They took innumerable phone calls from us, responded to hundreds of our requests and remained good-humored and helpful thro
ughout.
All of the wine people we have talked to, written to and called have been marvelous. They shared their time, their memories and their lives with us. Among them, the late Peter A. Sichel of Château Palmer, and his cousin Peter M. S. Sichel of Château Fourcas-Hosten, Jacques Chevignard of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, Louis Latour of Maison Louis Latour, wine writer and consultant Steven Spurrier of Decanter magazine, wine consultant David Cobbold, champagne maker André Secondé, Champagne historian Colonel François Bonal, Henri Brunier of Domaine Vieux Télégraph, Professor Claude Chapuis of the University of Dijon, Richard Dumbrill, the British Consul in Champagne, Burgundy winemaker Philippe Engel, writer Nicholas Faith, the late André Gagey of Maison Louis Jadot, Anthony Barton of Châteaux Léoville- and Langoa-Barton, Hervé Berland of Château Mouton-Rothschild, Bernard Pauzié of the World War II museum in Vraux, Christian Pol-Roger of Champagne Pol Roger, and German wine importers Heinz Bömers Jr. and Hermann Segnitz.