About a month ago, I received an email from a fellow USC
Trojan alum. Although we had not met prior, when Brittany Deal asked if I
would be interested in reviewing her new book about wine, I immediately agreed to
take a look at it.
Savvy Girl: A Guide toWine is a cute and contemporary handbook for wine novices. Written in a
sassy and conversational tone, this 87-page paperback is filled with useful
tips, quirky comparisons, and “wino buzzwords”. After reading it—with a glass
of wine in hand, of course—I asked Brittany a few questions…
Thank you for contacting me to review your book! What
motivated you to start Savvy Girl?
In 2010, I
took a sabbatical to travel the world and reflect on what I really wanted out
of life. I have always been a lover of
learning and a lover of how-to books. But one day while reading a book on my
Kindle in the middle of the Bolivian Amazon I realized that most non-fiction
books were full of fluff and repetition. I remember thinking, what if I wrote a
book series that made getting savvy quick, effortless and fun? What if I made
books that were beautiful to look at, and written in a way that felt more like
a conversation than a book?
So I set out
to create Savvy Girl, a go-to source for rich, yet concise, knowledge on the
topics women care about.
I think your debut book is perfect for women who want to
learn more about wine that don’t have enough time on their hands to, for
instance, enroll in a wine class. What inspired you to write the first Savvy
Girl Guide about wine?
I chose wine because women
love wine, yet many wish they were more wine savvy.
Ultimately, my goal for the wine book was to cut through the
clutter and make learning the basics of wine simple and fun so a reader could walk
away feeling more comfortable talking about wine, buying it, and reaching for
that wine list!
Plus, researching
wine was a lot of fun.
Yes, haha. Research and development is always fun when wine
is involved! Who are your wine mentors?
I absolutely love
Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan. I love that she took a risk to follow her passion in
wine and I also admire her drive. Before I pulled the plug at my banking job
(and long before I decided to make the first Savvy Girl guide wine related), I
saw an article about her in Fortune
Magazine. It talked about how she went from “leverage” (from a banking
career) to “corkage” (to being the 4th woman in the U.S. to get the
Masters of Wine title). [The] courage [she had] to go after her dream was inspiring.
What’s your favorite wine?
I’ve tried so many
good wines it’s impossible to pick a favorite!
Good answer. Your favorite winery?
Favorite winery—Del
Dotto. Their cave tour is the most memorable wine tasting experience I have
ever had.
I can relate! I was at Del Dotto last month (see picture to the right) and might feature their caves in my second
novel in the Wine Country Series... You mention quite a few wine-growing regions
in your book (Napa, France, Italy, New Zealand, etc.), what’s your favorite?
Napa!
Good answer. What’s next on your Savvy Girl agenda?
Savvy Girl is growing fast. The next two new titles are
scheduled to publish in the Fall of 2014. Our long-term goal is to have over
100 guidebooks in the brand.
We’re also launching a YouTube Channel in 2014. Sign up for
our email list at www.savvygirl.net or follow us @SAVVYGIRLguides to stay in
the loop.
That sounds
fantastic. Best of luck to you, Brittany!
Brittany Deal is a Los Angeles resident and a
Seattle native. She graduated from USC with a degree in business and began
working for a bank. After a couple of years of two-hour LA commutes, Brittany
gave up her job and traveled. She started Savvy Girl shortly thereafter and
published her debut book in October 2013. Savvy Girl: A Guide to Wine is available on
Amazon in ebook andpaperback.
***Want to win a paperback copy signed by the author? It would be my Valentine's Day present to you! Send me
an
email now to enter!***
