Last week I attended a fabulous event that perfectly catered
to two of my longtime interests: wine and women’s fiction. Especially now, with
the publishing date of my eBook quickly approaching, I was particularly
thrilled to go to an author reading at the Book Passage in Corte Madera
organized by Chick Lit + Wine. Cline Cellars provided the wines.
Sisters Danielle and Sonya English launched
ChickLitandWine.com in 2010 to provide book reviews with wine pairings. What an
amazing concept for women who appreciate a great book and a wonderful wine.
(Like me!)
While sipping on Cline’s White Cashmere (a delicious blend
of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Muscat Canelli and Viognier), I listened to the
author readings by Meg Donohue (All the Summer Girls),
Gretchen Berg (I Have Iraq in My Shoe), Seré Princeton Halverson (The Underside
of Joy) and Libby Mercer (Unmasking Maya) and thought about two things….what
portion of my manuscript I will someday read to an audience and what wine I
would pair with my first novel, Where I
Want to Be.
With so many real wine references in my
novel, it’s hard to imagine picking just one wine that fits the entire story. The
main character, shy and insecure Olivia, has a thirst for wine knowledge.
With a little encouragement from her friends, she enrolls in a wine program in
the Napa Valley and starts trying new things like online dating, playing bocce
ball and sitting alone at a restaurant bar. She makes new friends and does a
lot of wine tasting while learning to embrace change and live her life more
fully.
Because I have enjoyed many different
wines while writing this novel, I am more likely to compare the characters to
specific wine varieties. Olivia is most similar to a young Cabernet Sauvignon,
a wine that needs a good amount of time to open up in the glass but has an
underlying strength and complexity. Winemaker and world traveler Charlie
resembles Cabernet Franc—luscious and forward with a spicy kick. Grace, who is
training to be a sommelier, is intense and effervescent like Champagne. And social media specialist McKayla is zesty and bright like Sauvignon Blanc.
I hope you will download my eBook and
read it while enjoying a nice glass of wine once it is available on Amazon. For
more info about the release date, please check out Facebook.com/AuthorCortney
and follow me on Twitter @AuthorCortney.
P.S. The Cline Cellars White Cashmere is only $18/bottle and it’s the wine that gives back. To date, Cline has
donated over $150K to breast cancer organizations. Drink up and read more women’s fiction!
