Don Kladstrup Quotes & Sayings

women, in some parts of France, were barred from the chai, or winery, during harvesttime. Their presence, according to superstition, would turn the wine sour. — Don Kladstrup

Wine makes us proud of our past," said one official. "It gives us courage and hope." How else to explain why vignerons in Champagne rushed into their vineyards to harvest the 1915 vintage even as artillery shells were falling all around? — Don Kladstrup

You had to deal with a situation you did not want. Once you are defeated, you have to do what you are told. — Don Kladstrup

The glorious hours sound not just for heroic action on the battlefield but also for those activities that occur in daily life, for it is when war is over that a soldier's heart and character are also revealed. — Don Kladstrup

Wine was one of the first signs of civilization to appear in the life of human beings," he said. "It is in the Bible, it is in Homer, it shines through all the pages of history, participating in the destiny of ingenious men. It gives spirit to those who know how to taste it, but it punishes those who drink it without restraint. — Don Kladstrup

To be a Frenchman means to fight for your country and its wine," he said. — Don Kladstrup

He always said that when you are hiring someone, look at the quality of the person. It is very easy to find a good technician; it's much harder and more important to have a good person. ~ Robert Drouhin repeating what his father Maurice told him — Don Kladstrup

After picking, grapes were crushed with bare feet. The must, or grape juice, was then poured into giant vats, followed by a process called pigeage, in which naked workers plunged themselves into the frothy liquid. Holding tightly to chains that had been fastened to overhead beams, the workers would then raise and lower themselves over and over again, stirring the must with their entire bodies so as to aerate the mixture and enhance the fermentation. — Don Kladstrup

In my meditations, I find that nothing in life counts more than the happiness we can give others, the good that we can do. This is what we must teach our children, to think of others more than they think of themselves, for it is in this way they will find the most noble satisfaction of all. ~ Maurice Drouhin writing to his wife from prison in 1941 — Don Kladstrup

As in 1914, the government mounted an extraordinary campaign to help. Winegrowers were granted delays in being called to active duty, military labor detachments were sent to the vineyards and farm horses of small growers were not to be requisitioned until the harvest was completed. — Don Kladstrup

Hitler's cave was much more than a wine cellar; it was a symbol of cruelty and greed, of Nazi Germany's hunger for wealth and riches. — Don Kladstrup

Bernard was stunned. He knew the Germans had hauled away millions of bottles of wine from his country; he had even seen some of it stolen from the village where he once worked, but a wine cellar on top of a mountain seemed incredible. To be the one who would open it was almost overwhelming. — Don Kladstrup

We know our land was here before we came and that it will be here long after we are gone. With our wine, we have survived wars, the Revolution and phylloxera. Each harvest renews promises made in the spring. We live with the continuing cycle. This gives us a taste of eternity. — Don Kladstrup