Books and Wine: Pairings You Might Not Have Considered

Can you believe that the kids are back in school and it is time to hit the books?  This month on our #WPW (Wine Pairing Weekend) I have taken an unconventional pairing by looking at some of my favorite books this year and pairing them with a glass of good wine. Thank you to our host Robin at Crushed Grape for her creative post this month!

Reading is my favorite pastime. Why?  What is better than a good book, besides a good book paired with a glass of wine?  Pairing books and wine makes perfect sense.  Some books are bubbly with good feelings and charm, some books are an acquired taste and even others are bold. I also believe all books should be consumed with wine, and I am going to share with you how I decide what wine I drink with books.

For books on the lighter side, like a good rom-com, I choose a nice sparkling wine. I love a good romance, all sweetness, and sugar, but my sparkling wine should be on the dry side.  My favorite genre is historical fiction and of course, I have to pair a wine with the country that it is set in.  The older the time period, the older the wine.  A good psychological thriller needs a big bold red.  Or a Blood Mary. It depends on how much of a thriller it is!  I like a good orange rose with Sci-Fi.  A literary fiction book deserves a bottle of good snobby wine, a top-of-the-line cabernet, or champagne. 

For this post, I will give you a quick book synopsis and then a wine I would pair with it, with a little description. 

1.  The Gryphon Heist by James R. Hannibal.

Talia Inger is a rookie CIA case officer assigned not to the Moscow desk as she had hoped but to the forgotten backwaters of Eastern Europe--a department only known as "Other." When she is tasked with helping a young, charming Moldovan executive secure his designs for revolutionary defense technology, she figures she'll be back in DC within a few days. But that's before she knows where the designs are stored--and who's after them.

With her shady civilian partner, Adam Tyler, Talia takes a deep dive into a world where criminal minds and unlikely strategies compete for access to the Gryphon, a high-altitude data vault that hovers in the mesosphere. But is Tyler actually helping her? Or is he using her for his own dark purposes?

The Wine: Pinot Noir, for something delicate, dark, and seductive

Resonance Pinot Noir

Wine Spectator-Williamette Valley, California - "" Vibrant and impeccably structured, with floral raspberry, crushed stone, and savory tea accents that build tension toward refined tannns. Drink and enjoy."

2.  For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa

"A sparkling romance...witty and lighthearted, with plenty of tender moments to keep readers invested, this work gets the enemies-to-lovers trope right."—Publishers Weekly

The Wine: Sparkling Rose, to bring out the bubbly sense of fun

Dom Carneros Rose Cuvee De La Pompadour

The wine's aroma has hints of wild strawberries and roses with notes of peach Although a pale pink in color, Brut Rose is not sweeter than our other wines. It is a true Brut..

3.  A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano

Tressa Harlowe's father kept his vast fortune hidden somewhere on his estate in the south of England and died suddenly, without telling anyone where he had concealed it. Now Tressa and her ailing mother are left with a mansion and an immense vineyard and no money to run it.

It doesn't take long for a bevy of opportunists to flock to the estate under the guise of offering condolences. Tressa knows what they're really up to. She'll have to work with the rough and rusticated vineyard manager to keep the laborers content without pay and discover the key to finding her father's fortune--before someone else finds it first.

The Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon, for a bold, stately drink 

Josh Cellars Cabernet Family Reserve North Coast

The bouquet of this North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon is bursting with dark fruits and roasted nuts. The wine is full-bodied and plush, showcasing rich flavors of black cherries and blackberries with subtle oak and vanilla.

4.  The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin

The wine:  Sauvignon Blanc, crisp and elegant

Dubourdieu Liaison Sauvignon Blanc And Semillon

An elegant wine from Bordeaux that has notes of peach, citrus, and hints of oak to give a rounded texture to the bright acidity. 

5.  Circe by Madeline Miller

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child -- not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

The wine:  Herdade do Racim

I found a wine in Temecula and thought it would be

amazing with this book!

My daughter, who wrote the review of this book.

Check out the other pairings for this month and learn something new!  Check out all the posts!

Here are the articles the #WinePW writers have in store for you!

• Camilla Mann of Culinary Adventures with Cam shares “Vite ad Alberello, Carricante, Caciocavallo, and Fiori di Zucca al Forno”
• Andrea Lemieux of The Quirky Cork shares “Liatiko and Çalkarası: One Grape, Two Nations”
• David Crowley of Cooking Chat Wine shares “Classic Wine Pairings and What They Teach Us”
• Wendy Klik of A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Red Wine with Fish? Let's take a look....”
• Terri of Our Good Life shares"Books and Wine: Pairings You Might Not Have Considered"
• Lori of Exploring the Wine Glass shares "Back to Basics: A Cabernet Franc Primer
• Gwendolyn Alley of Wine Predator will be sharing "Wine 101: Santa Barbara AVAs from Sta Rita Hills to Ballard Canyon and beyond"
• Robin on Crushed Grape Chronicles, is sharing "LODI RULES - Sustainability in Washington through the lens of Dineen Vineyards"