Book 287 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title: Meaningful Work is Always Worth The Fight!

Book – Wine and War: The French, The Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure by Donald Kladstrup

Book Description:

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 those extraordinary individuals who waged a battle that, in a very real way, saved the spirit of France.

Reflection:

I’ve been blessed in my life to have been able to visit France and tour a few vineyards in the Burgundy region once in my life.

For a wine enthusiast like myself and my wife, it was like dying and going to wine heaven. I will never forget the memories of our day trip to Beaune, a small town in the heart of Burgundy wine country. Felicia and I disembarked our train from Paris at the small-town station on a random Saturday morning. Everything was quiet and there wasn’t a soul in sight. We started walking toward the town and didn’t come across a single person. We wondered where in the hell everyone was and if we were in the right place? We kept following the signs toward the city center and figured we’d come across something eventually, what we found blew our minds.

We turned around a winding street corner and heard an accordion playing and stumbled upon a few musicians making some music together on a street corner. Then we kept going past them and the town square opened up and we stopped dead in our tracks. There was a massive farmer’s market going on in the city center and people were everywhere. There was every kind of meat, cheese, olive, bread, and much more that you could imagine at each booth set up. Music was playing, people were laughing, eating, shopping, and playing…the city was alive and it was incredible.

It was honestly like a fairytale.

We spent a few hours at the farmer’s market, hopped in and out of a few tasting rooms, then we toured the famous Hospice de Beaune (a famous hospital from the middle ages), and finally decided it was time to eat. We found no less than 3 Michelin starred restaurants to choose from within spitting distance from where we stood, but ultimately choose to eat a charcuterie board and cheese plate with another tasting in a wine cave at a private table in an underground cellar.

My wife and I set out that morning for what we thought would be a normal day of wine tasting in a small village in Burgundy France, what we got was a magical day filled with culture, food, people, and yes…plenty of wine. It was a day I will never forget.

You can’t ever visit France and not be mesmerized by the history of the food and drink in this amazing country. It isn’t just calories and something to quench your thirst to the French, it is art and their meaningful work and contribution to the world.

In World War II, the Germans tried to take everything from the French after they seized their territory. They may have successfully stolen their land, cities, food, and other natural resources. However, it wasn’t until they tried to steal their wine that pushed a lot of the French people over the edge and led them to join the resistance even when they knew they were risking their lives. They French did everything they could to protect their most valuable wines and vineyards and keep them out of the hands of their occupiers.

This may sound stupid to some people, why risk so much for a glass of grape juice?

If you think that, then you really don’t understand the power of meaningful work. Your meaningful work and the art it produces is all we have to offer this world. It is our purpose, our legacy, and how we connect with the world around us.

Meaningful work is always worth giving everything you have to fight for the right to produce and share your art. If it isn’t, then it really didn’t mean anything to you in the first place.

Question: Is your work that you are producing today worth fighting for?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon

YOML Bookstore - Wine and War by Donald Kladstrup