Two women find themselves connected by one bottle of wine.

1942: Martine is only seven and already lost her mother, and now the Nazis have come for her father for the crime of being Jewish. The winemaker fears for his future and that of his daughter as he tucks her into an armoire in her bedroom to hide with her aunt’s address in Paris pinned to her dress and a very valuable bottle of wine to fund her future. When poor Martine finally leaves the armoire hours later, the frightened little girl drops the bottle on accident in the dirt and catches a train to Paris with the help of a neighbor. Unfortunately, her aunt is nowhere to be found, and a young Sister Ada finds her asleep on the porch of Hotel Drouot and brings her back to the abbey outside the city to care for her.

1990: Charlotte is one of very few female pilots in the commercial airline industry. Having recently made captain, she has seniority picking trips. Though based in Chicago, she has an apartment in Paris where she flies the most. Her latest love, the very French Henri, takes her to an auction house at Hotel Drouot as he is starting his wine collection. Together they leave with a crate with a few valuable bottles. They drink some and he gifts Charlotte with one of the inferior bottles. After returning from a trip and Henri ghosting her, Charlotte examines the bottle again noticing a peeling label. This anomaly sends Charlotte on a trek through France to discover the bottle’s origins and the girl referenced on the label.

Martine and Charlotte’s stories are ones of perseverance as they prove themselves in life and in their careers in industries dominated by men. Both women are pragmatists, who protect their hearts, but fate will find a way. This dual timeline novel reads very quickly and will likely make you want a nice glass of wine while reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Paperbacks, and author Loretta Ellsworth for the advanced copy of the book. The French Winemaker’s Daughter is out on December 10th! All opinions are my own.

An emotional, heartwarming story of how a bottle of wine started a woman on a journey to find out how the bottle ended up at a French auction house 40 years later. From a little Jewish girl that was hidden by her winemaker father from the Nazi’s to a modern day woman pilot on a quest to right a wrong this was a wonderful book. Thank you Netgalley and Harper Perennial for an early copy. This review is my honest opinion.

What a great WWII novel. I loved how Henri, thinking the wine was worthless left it with Charlotte. I loved how this sends Charlotte on a quest to find the original owners of the bottle Martine and her father.

The author takes us through the French countryside and vineyards. It makes you feel as if you are right there with them. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and was able to read it in one day. I couldn’t put it down!

A nice piece of historical fiction. Spanning over 50 years, two stories come together. It seems a bit unrealistic, but still romantic. An interesting story taking place in World War II and during the 90's. I enjoyed the 90's references and the character development of a female pilot trying to make it in a man's world. The end is really probably completely unrealistic, but that is acknowledged under the guise of serendipity.

Teetering between a 3.75 and full 4 stars rating. The story is moving, but lacked some depth. I do love a WW2 / France historical fiction read m, and this certainly checks those boxes.
Primarily FMC Charlotte fell flat for me, the singularity of being a female pilot / captain in the 1990’s left room to give her character depth through dialogue and thought, and I feel like that lacks in the authors writing overall. However, the alternate timeline set during the war is excellent. The story of Martine and the refuge she finds is well done. Every character in that timeline is important and beloved.
If you’re in it for the historical timeline - highly recommend.
All in all a worthwhile historical fiction read.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this historical dual timeline novel. In
The French Winemaker’s Daughter a valuable bottle of wine connects the lives of a young Jewish girl, Martine during WWII and a airline pilot, Charlotte during 1990.
It is a story of love, friendship and hardships.. Though the novel lacks depth in its characters and the times they live in, it is a fast read that kept my interest.

When I first started this book, I wasn't really sure how I felt about the plot or the characters. It did take me a little bit to get into the story, but once I was invested, I needed to know what would happened. I loved that this switched from past to present chapters. I liked that it captured what happened with a girl in the war who was jewish and hiding as well as a pilot who was looking for the story behind a wine bottle. I did find the book to be a little predictable and guessed what had happened to the girl, but I really loved this whole story overall. If you enjoy WWII historical fiction, then you will probably enjoy this one as well.

if there’s a historical fiction set during WWII that focused on a female protagonist, i’m going to read it and i’m going to enjoy it! this follows a split timeline, one during WWII and one in the 90s, and focuses on two women and how they are connected by a bottle of wine stolen by nazis. it’s a story where you know more than the main characters, so you’re waiting for them to catch up and realize how things are connected. it’s a beautiful story and i absolutely loved the characters. especially charlotte (in the 90s) who is a smart, successful pilot that made intelligent decisions which i always appreciate! definitely recommend for any fans of historical fiction or anyone that’s been wanting to try reading historical fiction, it’s a great starting point!

thanks to netgalley and harper perennial for my advance copy of the french winemaker’s daughter by loretta ellsworth. all opinions are my own.

The French Winemaker's Daughter is a dual-time line from 1942 and 1990. This follows the life of Martine Viner an 8 year-old who separated from her father when he's hauled off by the Germans. She escapes and ends up on the steps of an old Hotel--then found by a young nun and taken to an Abbey where she is hidden throughout the rest of the war. Never to return to the vineyard of her youth. And forced to leave the bottle of wine behind given by her father with a promise to "never give it up".

In 1990 we follow Charlotte. A rare female captain of commercial airlines who flies internationally regularly to Paris. Her favorite city. Her journey in the story starts when she's gifted an old "worthless" bottle of wine by a boyfriend as he tells her goodbye. Realizing she got left by the jerk, she examines this worthless bottle she was given by him--discovering a hidden label under the main label. It's written in French which she doesn't understand well enough to translate--after taking it in for translation, she finds it's a note from a father to his daughter dated 1942. And thus begins her adventure to find out more about the daughter of this father and what happened to her.

Martine and Charlotte's stories are part of a beautiful web of serendipity.

Clean? No. It's got some sex.
Language? it's got some swearing.
Violence? No.

The premise was good--but it matched other stories I've read with similar types of plots. It wasn't really unique. I've read so many WW2 books, I'm looking for unique stories or stories that suck me in.

This one was okay. Not great. Not terrible. Just average.

3 STars

*Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC. All opinions are 100% my own. :)

Thanks to Harper Paperback & Negalley for the ARC copy in exchange for a honest review.

In 1942, Martine has to hide in an armoire when the Nazis storm her family’s vineyard to take her father away. Her father pins an address to her coat and gives her a bottle of wine to keep safe. Afterwards, she drops the bottle of wine, never to see it again. Neighbors take her to the train station so she can join her aunt in Paris - however, the aunt is nowhere to be found. With nowhere to go, Martine wanders the city, eventually falling asleep at Hotel Drouot, where Sister Ada finds her and takes her to the abbey, and watches over her.

In 1990, Charlotte attends an auction where a rare Nazi taken bottle of wine is put up for sale. Henri, Charlotte’s boyfriend gives her the bottle of wine, unbeknownst to him that it’s a valuable bottle of wine. While cleaning the label, she finds a hidden label, which leads Charlotte down a rabbit hole of finding out the mystery behind the bottle of wine.

Absolutely devoured this book. I couldn’t put it down - the twists and turns kept me guessing along the way. Loved the historical part a lot - Martine, Ada and Andre’s stories tugged my heart. Charlotte, at times seemed whiny and childish, and I found myself skimming her sections, just wanting to get back to the historical parts. If you’re looking for a bit of a different historical fiction, I’d recommend this one. I enjoyed it and gave it 4 stars.

I enjoyed this dual timeline WWII novel quite a bit. The story combines the tale of Martine, a young French Jewish girl fleeing her family's winery after her father was taken by the Nazis with Charlotte's story of grappling with sexism, relationships, and family issues as she navigates life as a female commercial pilot in 1990.

The stories combine, as this genre of books typically do, in a bit of a predictable narrative. The two women's stories combine through a bottle of wine that Martine's father saved as her inheritance. I liked both women's stories - Martine's ability to survive despite the odds and the very real threat of persecution during the Holocaust, as well as Charlotte's unique story of succeeding as a woman in a male-dominated industry and navigating the difficulties of love and family alongside that. I will say that in many ways this book was more women's fiction/romance lite rather than a true World War II historical fiction novel, but the story was well written and accurate to the best of my ability to tell. It was easy to keep track of the characters and I found most of them very likable.

It was a good book to get me out of a bit of a reading slump, and I would read more by this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

I love any book that has a dual Pov in different timelines. This book historical fiction was written with grace and respect for the historical aspects. It was mid provoking, and sad, and beautiful. A great, and fast read for me.

If you enjoy World War Two historical fiction you will want to grab The French Winemaker's Daughter. This a dual timeline story sharing the suvival of a little Jewish girl during the war and Charlotte searching for information on a bottle of wine where she discovered a hidden note, a note to a child.

Experience the challenges of an eight year old girl, Martine, trying to reach Paris all on her own after her father was taken from his vineyard. He gave her her legacy. She has to flee in fear after hearing the Germans. She accidentally leaves it behind as she ran. She would never forget leaving it behind. Experience the coldness she experiences instead of the compassion she needed. I did a happy dance when she was found by the right person. Martine's life gets very interesting. I couldn't wait to see how her life would be going forward.

Charlotte's search for the owner of the wine takes the reader through wineries in 1990. Her conversations with villagers illustrate how things have changed and how some things have remained the same. I was left thinking about the justice of land and homes that were confiscated during the war. This story is a reminder that many of those that survived the war refuse to talk about the war. Those of us in the present time need to learn as much as we can by reading and asking those that were there to tell their stories.

Another entry in the new sub-genre of Holocaust romance. Not as offensive as most of them and the author at least attempts to get the Jewish parts right, which impressed me. This time we have two parallel stories. Martine is a small Jewish child forced to flee from her home and the family vineyards as the Nazis take over; the town. Before the Nazis snatch him, her father hands her a special bottle of wine and tells her to guard it; it is her legacy. Of course she is a small child on the run so she loses it. She eventually finds herself in the care of an order of nuns, one of whom is secretly a Jewish resistance fighter. The other track takes place in Paris in the 1990s, where Charlotte, a commercial pilot, receives a bottle of wine as a gift from her boyfriend, a faithless Frenchman she soon dumps. She realizes the bottle is something special and begins researching the winemaker, which leads her to a better romance. No spoilers here, but the final outcome is pretty predictable long before the end of the book. The characters are pleasant but not complex. The writing is smooth, and the book offers a couple of hours of escapism while avoiding any graphic horror of the Holocaust. It is foremost a romance, after all. Mine main quibble is the writer never ties of the thread about Charlotte's grandfather -- an unsuccessful winemaker who was traumatized by his experience fighting in France in WW2. This thread is never really tied off and it doesn't add anything to the story. I would have advised the author to cut it out completely if she wasn't going to finish it off.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. The story starts when Martine is a little & it is about all the turmoil that she lived when her father was taken by the Nazi’s.

Loved this book! It had me hooked from start to finish. I enjoyed the characters, the setting, the push and pull. All of it… couldn’t put it down!

Historical fiction at its best. The French Winemaker's Daughter combined mystery and history to create this amazing story of an old, hidden bottle of wine and the search for the girl who lost it.

When Martine was 7, the Nazi's invaded her family vineyard. She managed to hide with the help of her father in an armoire with an address in Paris pinned to her dress and a bottle of wine. When she was able to, Martine ran to the neighbor's house, but lose the wine in the process. Her neighbors send her to Paris. She roams the streets, an orphan, until she if found by a nun and raised at the abbey.
Fast forward 50 years, Charlotte comes across this bottle of wine in a wine auction from the German occupation. Her boyfriend, Henri, gives her an unassuming, inferior bottle of wine from their winnings. While cleaning up her bottle of wine, Charlotte discovered a false label on the bottle. This bottle sends her on a journey into the past filled with sadness, hope, and love.

I absolutely loved this book. It is a beautiful story weaving the past and present together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for this ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Paris, 1990, where Charlotte attends an auction with her boyfriend to watch him bid on a box of valuable wine bottles. When he successfully wins the box he takes the valuable bottles and gives her one he deems to be worthless. Jump back to 1942 where Martine, a small girl whose father owns a vineyard, is forced to run for her life when the Germans come and take her father away. In her haste to get away she drops the precious bottle of wine her father has given her, never to see it again. This book of historical fiction weaves the two women's stories while showing the cost of both the Holocaust and the cost of all the art and property seized by the Nazis during the French occupation.

A dual timeline, which I like.

1942, Burgundy, the French countryside. Seven-year old Martine, hides in an armoire with her bunny, Arabella [who plays a key role], and a bottle of wine. Her father, a vintner, instructs her to hold on to the bottle as it is her heritage and to stay in the armoire "until it is safe." Her father is taken away by the Nazis, and when she exits the armoire, she cannot find their vineyard caretaker, Damien. Martine is left to her own resources [at 7 years old!] to make her way to Paris to her aunt's--whose address is pinned to her dress. She ultimately ends up in an abbey, where Sister Ada [and the other nuns] takes her under her wing and instructs her in Christianity so as to hide her being Jewish. She meets Gabriel, a young boy/neighbor on another vineyard, who becomes her great friend,

1990, Paris. Charlotte, a US-based commercial airline pilot [with many flight to Paris], whose grandfather is a vintner, and whose father also is a pilot. Charlotte attends a wine auction with her boyfriend Henri; he gives her a "seemingly inferior bottle" [of wine], found inside the box of wine he has successfully bid on. The wine was saved from the German occupation [which bothers her conscience]. Charlotte soon discovers that this bottle is quite valuable--the label at auction was pasted over another label [a far more valuable bottle of wine]--setting her on a quest that takes her back to the 40s. Addendum/another plot line--Charlotte would like to buy her grandfather's vineyard; her father wants to sell it.

Family, war, friendships. the resistance, sexism.

Charlotte and Henri break up. Charlotte meets Julien and his mother, Elisabeth. Although Julien is a lawyer, he leaves to law to help his mother with her vineyard. Charlotte is a conflicted career woman who also wants a loving relationship; this takes up a lot of space in her narrative.

Martine and Charlotte intersect in the all too obvious way [for me]. Martine's story was FAR MORE INTERESTING; I didn't really care for Charlotte; I found her quite whiny.

An easy enough, simplistic read, but far too predictable and the "mush" [though thankfully not prevalent] was offputting. I correctly guessed every trajectory and the neat and tidy ending this novel would take [huge detraction].

A bottle of wine worth $125,000?

What could make it so valuable and where did it come from?

Present Day - Charlotte and her friend bought a case of wine that was from WWII at the famous auction house, Hotel Drouot.

They took it home and drank two of the bottles, but one looked too interesting to drink.

Charlotte's curiosity was piqued when she found out its value from an appraiser and especially because of a note under the label that said "this is my daughter's inheritance - keep her safe until I can find her."

She had to find out why it was worth so much and what that note meant.

France, WWII - We meet Martine whose father was taken by the Germans and had hidden her with that bottle of wine and the note.

We follow both characters in this lovely, but heartbreaking read as the story unravels during both time periods.

You will love both characters and their stories.

You won’t be able to put the book down. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.