Publisher's Synopsis
The novel is about a community of winemakers in Southern California as they care for their vines, make wine, and struggle against critters, disease, drought, recession, wildfire, and government regulations. You'll learn why the winemakers decided to plant grapes and make wine with descriptions of their struggles, failures, and successes. Themes explored are survival, love, aging, immigration, theology, and racism. The novel blends elements of literary fiction with historical fiction, narrative nonfiction (winemaking), and a light touch of magical realism (talking vines, a talking snake, and miracles). Characters include Texas-transplant Cougar Karianne (a pharma sales exec), Joe the Wino (a Republican businessman), Miguel the Pirate (boss of the area's day laborers), Sheila (a homemaker who always dreamed of owning a vineyard), Jayne (an African-American Scent Sommelier), Bootlegger (a wannabe winemaker who can't smell) and his dog, Bluey. You'll explore: What inspired them to plant vineyards? Will they ever figure out how to make good wine? Will their marriages and friendships survive? Can generational racism be overcome? Will immigrant field hands find a better life? Will a presidential visit and Wine Summit bring the community closer together? Is there only one dog, and one puppy love, in your life? Will the Scent Sommelier help Bootlegger find his scents? What's that large white snake doing in the vineyard? Will swallows return to Capistrano? Will deceptively alluring vines destroy them all? Could Bluey, the clever Australian Shepherd, possibly be the Dog of God? This odyssey is a winemakers' War and Peace and Moby-Dick as viticulture, romance, wine, and survival are woven together. Anyone with a backyard, or even a pot of dirt, can plant a grapevine. This book may inspire you to plant vines or scorn them forever. One thing's for sure: Tasting wine will never be the same again. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll want to savor a glass of good Tempranillo. If you like wine, if you're curious about how wine is grown and made, you'll enjoy this thought-provoking, fictional romp through life in the vineyard.
