Angels in the Cellar
Notes from a French Vineyard
On the verge of a complete breakdown, Peter Hahn quit his globe-trotting corporate job and laid down roots in the French countryside—determined to make a go of winegrowing.
In 2002, Peter bought a run-down, four-hundred-year-old “pile of a house,” ten acres of woodland, and a neglected vineyard in the Vouvray region of the Loire Valley. Angels in the Cellar is his moving back to-nature story, chronicling the demanding but profoundly rewarding work of traditional winegrowing through the seasons—from pruning the vines to harvesting the grapes by hand to pressing and barreling them for fermentation.
An evocative, poetic account of a year spent working with nature, Angels in the Cellar is also a powerful repudiation of the global economy, hyper-consumption, and the impact of large-scale farming on the land and its ecosystems.
“A poetic diary of a year among the vines.”—Alice Feiring, author of To Fall in Love, Drink This
“[Peter’s] journey is real and visceral, and like Emerson he has the writer’s skill to invite us into his world and show us his heart, his passion, his journey. Unplug, and join him and his family in a world you will not forget.”—Tor Kenward, proprietor, TOR Wines; author of Reflections of a Vintner
Reviews & Praise
—Poppy Harlow, award-winning journalist; former CNN anchor; founder, Day 2 Media
“A poetic diary of a year among the vines.”
—Alice Feiring, author of Natural Wine for the People and To Fall in Love, Drink This
“Peter is a brilliant writer, a romantic (though he claims not) with the callus of a winemaker and, more important here, winegrower. His journey is real and visceral, and like Emerson he has the writer’s skill to invite us into his world and show us his heart, his passion, his journey. Unplug, and join him and his family in a world you will not forget.”
—Tor Kenward, proprietor, TOR Wines; author of Reflections of a Vintner
“Peter Hahn has written an engaging and richly evocative book about a year in his artisanal vineyard in the Loire Valley. Offering fascinating insights into the daily life of a vigneron, Peter’s close observation of the changing seasons invites us to slow down and connect to the beauty of the natural world.”
—Beverley Blanning MW, author of Wines of the Loire Valley
“In Angels in the Cellar, the author describes how he discovered another possible relationship with nature. It’s a ravishing, heartbreaking read that puts you in touch with your deepest unmet desires. Thoughtful and beautifully written, Peter Hahn’s attentive journey through four seasons on a French vineyard is an exquisite book.”
—Rana Dasgupta, author of Capital and After Nations