Downloadable Bordeaux Book Recommendations
“The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss
While we can’t physically travel to the destinations we have been dreaming about, we can be mentally transported by engrossing ourselves in a good book. So why not pick up a book and travel somewhere new? To help you do just that, we have compiled a list of books all about Bordeaux – the wine, the food and the history – all of which are downloadable via Kindle. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure
by Don & Petie Kladstrup
The remarkable untold story of France's courageous, clever vinters who protected and rescued the country's most treasured commodity from German plunder during World War II.
In 1940, France fell to the Nazis and almost immediately the German army began a campaign of pillaging one of the assets the French hold most dear: their wine. Like others in the French Resistance, winemakers mobilized to oppose their occupiers, but the tale of their extraordinary efforts has remained largely unknown-until now. This is the thrilling and harrowing story of the French wine producers who undertook ingenious, daring measures to save their cherished crops and bottles as the Germans closed in on them. Wine and War illuminates a compelling, little-known chapter of history, and stands as a tribute to extraordinary individuals who waged a battle that, in a very real way, saved the spirit of France.
As the authors state, “although this is a book about wine and war, it is not a wine book, not really, nor is it a book just about war. It is about people, people who indeed exude wit, gaiety and good taste, and whose love of the grape and devotion to a way of life helped them survive and triumph over one of the darkest and most difficult chapters in French history.”
The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine
by Benjamin Wallace
The rivetingly strange story of the world's most expensive bottle of wine, and the even stranger characters whose lives have intersected with it.
The New York Times bestseller, updated with a new epilogue, that tells the true story of a 1787 Château Lafite Bordeaux—supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson—that sold for $156,000 at auction and of the eccentrics whose lives intersected with it.
Was it truly entombed in a Paris cellar for two hundred years? Or did it come from a secret Nazi bunker? Or from the moldy basement of a devilishly brilliant con artist? As Benjamin Wallace unravels the mystery, we meet a gallery of intriguing players—from the bicycle-riding British auctioneer who speaks of wines as if they are women to the obsessive wine collector who discovered the bottle.
Suspenseful and thrillingly strange, this is the vintage tale of what could be the most elaborate con since the Hitler diaries.
Game of Spies: The Secret Agent, the Traitor and the Nazi, Bordeaux 1942-1944
by Paddy Ashdown
This is an untold, beautifully-written spy story set in wartime occupied France with a brilliant but ruthless British secret agent at its heart. A spy story like no other.
Game of Spies uncovers a lethal spy triangle at work during the Second World War. The story centers on three men – on British, one French and one German – and the duels they fought out in an atmosphere of collaboration, betrayal and assassination, in which comrades sold fellow comrades, Allied agents and downed pilots to the Germans, as casually as they would a bottle of wine.
In this thrilling history of how ordinary, untrained people in occupied Europe faced the great questions of life, death and survival, Paddy Ashdown tells a fast-paced tale of SOE, betrayal and bloodshed in the city labelled ‘la plus belle collaboratrice’ in the whole of France.
Thirsty Dragon: China's Lust for Bordeaux and the Threat to the World's Best Wines
by Suzanne Mustacich
An inside view of China's quest to become a global wine power and Bordeaux's attempt to master the thirsty dragon it helped create
The wine merchants of Bordeaux and the rising entrepreneurs of China would seem to have little in common―Old Europe versus New China, tradition versus disruption, loyalty versus efficiency. And yet these two communities have found their destinies intertwined in the conquest of new markets, as Suzanne Mustacich shows in this provocative account of how China is reshaping the French wine business and how Bordeaux is making its mark on China.
Thirsty Dragon lays bare the untold story of how an influx of Chinese money rescued France's most venerable wine region from economic collapse, and how the result was a series of misunderstandings and crises that threatened the delicate infrastructure of Bordeaux's insular wine trade. The Bordelais and the Chinese do business according to different and often incompatible sets of rules, and Mustacich uncovers the competing agendas and little-known actors who are transforming the economics and culture of Bordeaux, even as its wines are finding new markets―and ever higher prices―in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong, with Hong Kong and London traders playing a pivotal role.
At once a tale of business skullduggery and fierce cultural clashes, adventure, and ambition, Thirsty Dragon offers a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges facing the world's most famous and prestigious wines.
French Country Cooking: Meals and Moments from a Village in the Vineyards
By Mimi Thorisson
A captivating journey through off-the-beaten-path French wine country with 100 simple yet exquisite recipes, 150 sumptuous photographs, and stories inspired by life in a small village.
Readers everywhere fell in love with Mimi Thorisson, her family, and their band of smooth fox terriers through her blog, Manger, and debut cookbook, A Kitchen in France. In French Country Cooking, the family moves to an abandoned old château in Médoc. While shopping for local ingredients, cooking, and renovating the house, Mimi meets the farmers and artisans who populate the village and learns about the former owner of the house, an accomplished local cook. Here are recipes inspired by this eccentric cast of characters, including White Asparagus Soufflé, Wine Harvest Pot au Feu, Endives with Ham, and Salted Butter Chocolate Cake. Featuring evocative photographs taken by Mimi’s husband, Oddur Thorisson, and illustrated endpapers, this cookbook is a charming jaunt to an untouched corner of France that has thus far eluded the spotlight.
The Bordeaux Kitchen : An Immersion Into French Food and Wine, Inspired by Ancestral Traditions
By Tania Teschke
More than a cookbook, this is a comprehensive cultural and culinary journey into the world of traditional French cuisine and French wine (adapted for paleo enthusiasts), and tips for ancestral living. Author Tania Teschke, food and wine gourmet, photographer, and lifelong student of French culture, brings you over 160 sumptuous and easy-to-follow recipes for seasonal and traditional French dishes that deliver not only the nutrition, but also the satisfaction we have been missing in our modern diet. Tania takes you on a French culinary journey to reclaim your primal connections to food and health and to each other through personal stories, striking photography and colorful tutorials.
From classics like rich Beef Burgundy and succulent slow-cooked leg of lamb, to modern takes on nutrient-dense organ meats, the recipes from The Bordeaux Kitchen will bring the timeless wisdom of past generations to your cooking and meal planning. You'll experience the beautiful simplicity of authentic French cuisine, gain a practical education about French wine (including wine pairing guidelines for each recipe!), and how to share a French-style meal with family and friends.
The Bordeaux Kitchen chronicles Tania's journey through wine school in Bordeaux, a butchery apprenticeship, and the gathering of her vast treasure trove of recipes inspired by French chefs, friends and grandmothers. Tania transports you to the culinarily-rich French Southwest and demonstrates how "ancestral," nutrient-dense, grain-free French recipes are optimal for nourishing your body and mind. Highlighting the latest research in ancestral health, The Bordeaux Kitchen enlightens you about the path to healing many modern-day, chronic maladies caused by nutrient-deficient diets. The Bordeaux Kitchen also serves as a practical guide to using the right kitchen tools for the disappearing arts of filleting a fish, carving a chicken, and rendering fat, and how to gain a thorough understanding of the various cuts of meat.
The beautiful illustrations and rich descriptive text will make you an expert in French wine and cuisine in no time--and keep you aligned with the primal/paleo/ancestral health principles that have exploded in popularity across the globe in recent years. Every home cook who loves food and sharing it with family and friends will be inspired by The Bordeaux Kitchen.