Champagne is at the heart of The Winemaker’s Wife, and the novel’s “hook” that sets it apart from other titles in the saturated market of World War II historical fiction. In the novel, it symbolizes culture, heritage, and resilience. Although “champagne” is often used to refer to any sparkling white wine, the term is properly an “AOP” or “appellation d'origine protégée,” which means a product with a legally protected origin. Thus, sparkling white wine can’t be labeled or marketed as champagne unless it specifically comes from the Champagne region. This cultural distinction creates the local pride and deep connection with Heritage and Identity that features so strongly in the novel.

The wine also symbolizes the French resistance. It is in high demand by the German army, which gives the winemakers, their workers, and families a modicum of protection not easily attained by others living across France. Like a talisman, the champagne appears to stand against the occupation: “The grapes themselves were the first to resist the Germans, dying on the vines or simply committing suicide in the middle of the night by falling to earth in the darkness” (40). The winemakers use their product to subtly undermine the Germans by supplying inferior vintages and by using it as leverage to have their men returned to work in the fields.