Les gouttes d'or (Drops of Gold) is the name of the wine grown in Burgundy by Kate's family for centuries. Viticulture runs deep in Kate's blood, but the love of the family's terroir in France does not. Kate is a Sommelier in San Francisco and is studying for the Master of Wine exam. She has not set foot in France or on her family's vineyard for over a decade. Nevertheless, that is where she finds herself. Kate agrees to help her cousin Nico and his wife Heather with les vendages (annual grape harvest) and brush up on her knowledge. What she doesn't expect to find is a secret stash of wine hidden by her relatives during World War Two, a suitcase, clothes, and photos of an aunt she never knew Helene Marie Charpin. Although a pamphlet from the French Resistance is found in the cave, the family's reticence to speak of Helene and other information learned about her suggests that the line between cooperation, collaboration, and resistance was thin. Kate sets out to discover the truth about her family's actions in Vichy France and who they aided.
Mah's novel is a loving portrait of the Cotes d'Or region of Burgundy, the towns of Beaune and Meursault, and the river Bouzaize. Kate and her family are fictional, but Helene Marie Charpin and the family's experiences in Nazi-Occupied France were based in part on Resistance by Agnes Humbert, A Train in Winter by Caroline Moorehead, A Cool and Lonely Courage by Susan Ottaway and Resistance and Betrayal by Patrick Marnham. The characters are well-done and I felt strongly about all of them--either loved them or hated them. My feelings about the characters made the novel all the more compelling and believable. I read The Lost Vintage in one afternoon. Best enjoyed with your favorite beverage and some French cheese.
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