This summer I have been pleasantly surprised by the books on my summer reading list, and I have been reading more than ever because these books are keeping my attention, one after another.
Today I’m recommending The Lost Vintage: A Novel.
I admit this book initially caught my attention because it’s about wine!!
Kate is trying to earn her Masters of Wine (M.W) which is awarded after an extremely strenuous and comprehensive exam; only around 300 people in the world hold a M.W. She will have to identify wine blindly naming the exact region it is from and its vintage. Ironically, she is doing well in identifying all varieties except for wine from the region of her family’s vineyard (Burgundy). It’s almost like she has something against Burgundy…
Alas, Kate will need to visit her family’s property in Burgundy to study this wine. And conveniently her first love runs the neighboring winery. This part of the story did not disappoint. But there was a whole other aspect of this story I was not even expecting:
What Kate also finds at her family’s vineyard is a false wall in the basement that leads to a secret room with a cot and Resistance literature and clues about an aunt she never knew she had. The secret room also holds a hidden stash of vintage wine worth millions.
During the book she figures all of these family secrets out while coming to terms with her own choices and future; it is a great read that I am happy to recommend.