The Winemaker's Wife by Kristin Harmel

Champagne, 1940: Inès has just married Michel, the owner of storied champagne house Maison Chauveau, when the Germans invade. As the danger mounts, Michel turns his back on his marriage to begin hiding munitions for the Résistance. Inès fears they’ll be exposed, but for Céline, the French-Jewish wife of Chauveau’s chef de cave, the risk is even greater—rumors abound of Jews being shipped east to an unspeakable fate.

When Céline recklessly follows her heart in one desperate bid for happiness, and Inès makes a dangerous mistake with a Nazi collaborator, they risk the lives of those they love—and the vineyard that ties them together.

New York, 2019: Recently divorced, Liv Kent is at rock bottom when her feisty, eccentric French grandmother shows up unannounced, insisting on a trip to France. But the older woman has an ulterior motive—and a tragic, decades-old story to share. When past and present finally collide, Liv finds herself on a road to salvation that leads right to the caves of the Maison Chauveau.

Paperback, 432 pages

Audiobook, 11 hours, 32 minutes

Published March 17, 2020 

by Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster Audio

3.5/5 stars

Here is a book that has been sitting on my bookshelf probably since close to publication day. I have to be in the mood for a WW2 story, and apparently I was last week.

The Winemaker‘s Wife is a dual timeperiod story. In 1940 Ines, a recent newlywed is married to the owner of a famous champagne house. She is naïve, insecure, and second guesses herself at all times. In New York, 2019 Liv has just finalized her divorce when her grandmother shows up. She flies her back to her home in France. There is a story there that grandma wants to share, but she struggles.

I’m usually drawn to one storyline over the other, with this book I was intrigued with the present day story and how it connected to the past.  I found Ines's story to be intriguing as the German invade. Revolving around the champagne house I found the little tidbits of the operation interesting as well as the caves and how the different houses work together.

I am not new to Kirsten Harmel, her books usually show a side of the war that I am unfamiliar with, her writing style that is comfortable and holds my interest. 

The Winemaker‘s Wife is a story of resilience, betrayal, heartache, and guilt. The ending is not one I saw coming, which just made the present day story all the more compelling.

I’ll continue to slowly read my way through Harmel's books as I've enjoyed some of her other books.

This book was part of my 2025 reading off my shelf challenge and is booked # 25.