Among Vines and Turnips

Telling his own family’s story Andreas Wagner traces back the transformation of agriculture and viticulture over the course of five generations – wrapped in a captivating and nostalgic atmosphere

Andreas Wagners family has been running a farm near Mainz in Germany for more than 450 years. Agriculture, viticulture and livestock farming shaped the paths of all previous generations. Hard work in the fields and vineyards secured the family’s position in the village for centuries. Using individual protagonists from the previous five generations of his family, the author recounts about agricultural innovations of the 19th century and the rapidly accelerating structural change in the young Federal Republic. At the same time Wagner does not omit family calamities or each generation’s search for the right partner for their children. The courage to change has always been an indispensable prerequisite for maintaining the family business. Women in particular had a decisive influence on developments. Throughout all upheavals, one of the children always succeeded in continuing the business – voluntarily and with strong willpower.
Andreas Wagner’s book is an entertaining, accessible and historically well-founded family chronicle. Through this lively and captivating novel the ongoing fascination of the family farm can be experienced. Moreover Wagner illustrates the opportunities that social change can entail.


Andreas Wagner, historian, winemaker and author. He studied history, political science and bohemian studies in Leipzig and at Charles University in Prague. Together with his two brothers and their families, he has been running the family business on the slopes of the Selz Valley since 2003. Working in the vineyards serves as an inspiration for his books. In addition to scientific works, he has published several crime novels and short stories.