The Wharf of Chartrons

Jean-Paul Malaval was a journalist before turning to a career as a writer of local photography books and later fiction. In 1982, he began what would become a long-term relationship with the publishing house Éditions Milan, in Toulouse. To date, Jean-Paul Malaval has written ten works of historical fiction, mainly based in the region where he grew up, the Cerezze, which is near the Dordogne. Five of his ten novels have been published by Presses de la Cité. He is loyal to his home region and has been mayor of the town of Vars-sur-Roseix in Corrèze since 1995. His Publishers Square sales are over one hundred thousand combined.

A family brought together by wine and old rivalries sets out for new territory during the turmoil of World War I David and Gaspard are cousins bonded not only by blood, but by an allegiance to their shared winemaking heritage. Breaking with tradition and moving their vineyards near Bordeaux threatens to upset the family—and that’s only the beginning of their troubles. Short on funding, the two are forced to team up with a wealthy but morally bankrupt engineer—an alliance that may come at too high a price.Despite the odds, David and Gaspard succeed in making a new wine, which they call Clos-Marzacq. Along the way, each of them falls in love—not always under the best of circumstances. And now, to cement their victories, the cousins need to secure a stronghold at the Wharf of Chartrons, the gateway for export into England and America.The Wharf of Chartrons exalts those with a love of the land—and a passion for producing great wine.