Reading Between the Wines

Lenni was only 17 when she was brought to Glasgow’s hospital for medically hopeless cases and met Margo, who was 83. They got to know each other in art class, and when they realized they had 100 years between them, they decided to commemorate this fact by creating 100 pieces of art together while telling the stories of their lives. These friends will have you considering what makes a life well lived and how important relationships are while sharing the tender moments of their lives with them. It’s a great story of getting life in, before it’s too late, and we learn about what makes wine get better (or worse) with age. We tempt fate and drink a mature bottle of 2005 Château Berlière Montagne Saint Emilion, which smells of leather, black fruit and hay. After talking about Merlot, we discuss ideal storage conditions and which wines age the best. Also learn what not to do when storing wine. Savor each moment and enjoy the anticipation of beautiful things to come.

In 1906, Sophie Whalen found an ad seeking a wife and mother and took the chance at a fresh start in San Francisco. Martin, her new traveling salesman husband, and Kat, her silent, step-daughter, abruptly began a life together that soon unraveled when a pregnant woman named Belinda came knocking at their door recognizing Martin’s photo as her husband. Before the matter can be settled, the historic earthquake struck the city that destroyed Sophie’s home leaving her in charge of Kat and searching for any other survivors. The resilience of these women and their daughters in the wake of a natural disaster and the discoveries that they make in this difficult time make this a story for the ages. The San Andreas fault-line runs through San Francisco and the Central Coast of California causing seismic shifts and creating the perfect coastal winemaking region for the 2017 Mt. Eden Chardonnay we are enjoying today. The aromas bring flinty, green apple and buttery, toast notes, while evoking hints of anise and cardamom on the palate. You be the judge, but both this novel and this lovely Chardonnay may make the earth move for you.

Meet Joy and Stan Delaney, parents of 4 adult children and Australian tennis trainers extraordinaire. Everything’s great, except that the kids won’t produce children for their mom to dote on or tennis awards for their dad to be proud of and a mysterious damsel in distress shows up on their doorstep and moves into their lives. The facade slowly caves in on itself while we watch the outbursts, walking away from rage and the accusation of abduction or murder. Find out who’s at fault and whether love will find a way. Tennis puns aside, Australia has entered the world stage in sports and in wine exports. Sydney is located within the state of New South Wales, which is what we focus on today. We sample a 2020 Giant Steps Chardonnay from Yarra Valley, with the scent of bright, tropical fruit like peaches or pineapples. This wine is perfect when paired with fried fish or popcorn, which will be perfect when Apples Never Fall is adapted to the big screen!

When Dolly Parton and James Patterson come together to write a novel you might expect a country-western romp with a mysterious back story, and you wouldn’t be disappointed with Run Rose Run. Annie Lee Keys is running away from Louisiana like her hair’s on fire, and she is getting to Nashville by hook, crook or stolen 18 wheeler! Ethan Blake sees her singing for her supper in the Cat’s Paw Saloon and quickly tells his boss, Ruthanna Rider, a country star in her own right, to take a listen. Will Annie Lee rise in the music world fast enough to outrun what’s chasing her? You’ll have to read (or better yet, listen to Dolly herself on the audiobook!) this delightful story yourself. In the book, Ruthanna enjoys a Willamette Valley Rosé, and we decided to get in on that action. We are sipping a lovely 2021 Garageland Rosé, with scents of cranberry and strawberry pie. Both the wine and the book are suitable for a lovely day on the back porch.

Caroline has the misfortune of going on her 10th anniversary trip alone to England, after discovering her husband’s affair. She goes mudlarking, and she soon discovers a centuries old apothecary vial. This vial is from a special apothecary owned by Nella who created tinctures and potions. When Eliza’s boss comes to Nella’s shop, Eliza finds herself with time and curiosity about this tiny apothecary on her hands. Orders for tinctures are beyond Nella’s ability to meet them, so she takes on Eliza as an apprentice of sorts. Women watching out for each other and taking the time to notice what doesn’t belong are a thread running through this story. By the time you find out how this vial ended up at the bottom of the river, you will care deeply for these women and the truth they each dredged up. What does Strom Thurmond have to do with your wine drinking experience? Listen to find out! Join us for an exploration of sulfites, tannins and histamines as we sip a Domaine Viret Syrah called Energie and here the tale of this Rhone winery.

Anna Hart has had more than her fair share of loss, including her mother, her siblings, her foster mom and dad and her childhood friend Jenny, so it comes as no surprise that she decides to solve violent crimes against children as a detective. After yet another devastating blow, Anna heads back to her hometown of Mendocino, CA to recuperate and touch base with her longtime friends including Will Flood, the new sheriff in town. When 15 year-old Cameron Curtis goes missing, the third girl to disappear, Will seeks Anna’s help plunging her into her past and the current mystery. Heartbreak and motives are everywhere. Can Anna and Will find Cameron alive? Keep turning the pages to find out.

Jenny, Anna’s childhood friend who was killed as a teenager, worked at Husch Winery in Mendocino, part of a growing NoCal wine scene, so today we are sampling a Husch Gewurztraminer in honor of this novel. "Gewurz" means spicy in German, and this wine does not disappoint on that front; you will taste ginger, white pepper, pear, peach, citrus fruit and lychee. This white wine is almost as complex as the whodunnit in this story.

When magazine journalist Monique Grant is summoned to the home of Hollywood legend Evelyn Hugo to discuss a charitable donation, she has no idea that the former starlet has selected her to pen her memoir. Evelyn warns her that she will hate her before their time together ends, but also predicts that it will make Monique very rich. We are taken on a jaunt through movie history in chapters divided by her 7 husbands, who each  brought something new  into her life and caused her lifelong drama. Some she married for opportunity, some for convenience and some for love but the longest, most profound love affair of her life didn’t involve any of these men. As Monique learns the twists and turns of Evelyn’s life, she learns why she was selected to write her memoir, and she does indeed hate her subject. It is worth the wait to find out why. We predict that you will not hate the lovely red Bordeaux we will be sampling today, a 2019 Chateau Le Puy Duc des Nauves. It is a red blend featuring cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Chateau Le Puy has been making wine for 15 generations since 1610, so they have figured out just how to blend their wine. This wine begins with the scent of leather, leaves and earth and progresses to black cherry and plum notes. The first sip brings an acidic, fresh, smooth flavor served well with pork and chutney, stew or a charcuterie board.

If you’ve ever wondered how real reality shows actually are, this is the book for you. Join the 5 stars of ‘Goal Diggers’, Brett, Kelly, Stephanie, Jen and Lauren, their families and the show runners to see all the drama in front of and behind the cameras. The book begins with the death of one of the stars and the clock winds back to let us see how everything careened so horribly off track. We are left wondering where the illusion of perfection and the lack of all values except production value ultimately lead. When all of the action is manipulated by someone for ratings or a specific character arc, is there anything real left to learn? Do these women deserve their outcomes? Do we care enough about them after seeing behind the curtain to want to intervene? It is a fascinating look into the lives we love to lead vicariously. None of the hijinx on the show would be possible without the ‘truth serum’ that is chemical alteration- xanax, valium and wine figure prominently in Goal Diggers, so we raise a glass of 2018 Jean Reverdy Sancerre in their honor, but there is no pretense in this white wine! The distinct minerality comes honestly from the limestone, flint and clay soil in the Sancerre region of the Loire Valley in France. This frisky, flinty, floral wine pairs well with goat cheese, mussels and other seafood or savory crepes. Enjoy this authentic wine from a region that’s been making wine since 1650 while you ponder the foibles of modern entertainment.

Anders Caldwell has writing in his blood, so he decides to pursue his story-telling ways through a podcast about a tiny island off the coast of Maryland called Frick Island. The 94 residents on the island only come and go via Bob Dan’s boat, and there is no cell tower or internet, so Anders can take the liberty of sharing all of the islanders’ quirks with the outside world without fear of reprisal. Nothing changes on Frick Island, not the inedibly sweet cake they’re famous for or its lack of alcohol. The folks who live here support each other and even pretend to see dead ex-residents when the need arises. Close knit doesn’t begin to describe their enmeshment. What will happen as the island finally gets a cell tower? Will outside influence tear them apart or draw them together? Hop onto Bob Dan’s boat and see for yourself! Today, we are drinking two non-alcoholic wines that would fit right in on Frick Island and one that is only 10.5% alcohol. The first non-alcoholic wine is a bubbly rose from Gruvi, that reads more like a jolly rancher or a sweetart than a wine, and the second is a Mosel Riesling from Leitz, redolent of acidic apple. The lower alcohol sip is COS Nero d’Avola, a dry Sicilian wine with notes of red cherry and tomato leaf that pairs well with beef stew, lentils, mushrooms or barbecue. See for yourself whether you miss the alcohol.

Maggie Holt had been to Bainberry Manor 25 years before, when she was only five years old. In fact she had lived there for 20 days before the ghosts, and tales of fathers killing daughters on the premises drove her family away and inspired her father to write a telling novel of their harrowing ordeal. Now, Maggie has inherited the old mansion and, against her mother’s wishes, she’s headed back to fix it up to sell. Some stories are best kept in the past, and when Maggie enters the house a former occupant, Martha, the housekeeper, Elsa and Walt, the caretaker all have their own version of events. Who can Maggie trust, and how much of her father’s book was true? Listen and find out! What could we sip over ghost stories but wine from a haunted winery? Today we are tasting a 2017 Korbel Brut Natural sparkling wine that is fruit-forward, acidic, and yeasty with notes of toast. This house-style bubbly is 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay and 100% spooky. Aaron Heck, the Korbel winery owner’s son, based the movie Altergeist upon the haunted winery and suicides that happened on the property. That is not the sort of spirit you enter the wine aisle looking for!