In the opening scene of my upcoming book, Que Será, Syrah, my main character is drinking a glass of Albariño (AKA Alvarinho). She's in Gibraltar, so it fits; this being very much an Iberian grape. This is also another wine that I'm not overly familiar with, so of course, whenever I see it offered, I have to indulge.
Imaginada is a Texas wine--from Invention Vineyard, in Fredericksburg. And, as I mentioned before, the cutesy wine names are on full display. So that's two things I've noticed during my three years in Texas. The winery websites have improved GREATLY since I first started following them, and the wine names keep getting more and more random. But I digress.
Anyway, I very much enjoyed this wine. It's very easy to drink. Definitely a great summer wine. I paired this with lemon chicken and asparagus, but I think it would probably go even better with a light pasta dish. It's very light bodied, a pale straw in color. The flavor is crisp and slightly herbaceous with a hint of salinity. The nose has a lot of fruit notes--ripe pear and tangerine, maybe a little cantaloupe, along with the faintest tinge of something that I swear reminds me of candied bacon.
Here's a sneak peek at Que Será, Syrah:
“C’mon, c’mon,” I mutter impatiently as I frown at my phone, which is taking forever to connect. “Let’s do this already! I can’t miss this call!” I’m reaching for my glass of Albariño, hoping the wine might calm my nerves when—thank you, Jesus! —my sisters’ faces appear on the phone’s small screen.
“Hey, Bee! And Rosy Posey,” I say in greeting forgetting, until I register her slight grimace, how much Rosa’s always hated that nickname. “Sorry I couldn’t make it back,” I find myself babbling. “How are you holding up, Rosy?”
“I’m fine,” Rosa says. “I’m sorry you two couldn’t be here, either.”
I squirm uncomfortably. “You know how it is. I’ll try to be there for the memorial.”
Full disclosure? I’m totally lying. Having been forced to attend my father’s and grandfather’s funerals at far too young an age, I’m really not anxious to go through another family grief circus.
“You’ve got time,” Rosa says, continuing to push. “We won’t hold it until after harvest season at least. But you really should be here for it, Allegra. After everything Grandma did for us. Pay our respects.”
My lips fold in. “Sure. Of course. I’ll see what I can do.” After harvest season? Fuck me, that’s like…six months away. How can I avoid going back with that kind of lead time? I’m going to have to get creative.
Rosa’s eyes flicker away from the screen as someone clears his throat—our Uncle Geno, I’m betting. And then I do pick up my glass, wishing I’d thought to order something a whole lot stronger. I’d somehow forgotten that I was going to have to deal with my entire family. My sisters. My cousins. My uncle. Ugh.
Que Será, Syrah: Pour Decisions, Book 3
They may be keeping secrets and telling lies, but a little white wine never hurt anyone.
Allegra
It’s not every day that you inherit one-third of a winery. I should be on top of the world, floating on Cloud Wine, as they say. Instead, don’t you just know it? I’m about to make one of the biggest mistakes of my life. And that’s saying something. My family has always viewed me as something of a screw-up, not always fairly. But in this case? They’re not only dead right about me messing things up; they don’t even know the half of it. Yet.
Complicating my quest to redeem myself, earn my sisters’ respect, and help them turn our winery into a straight fire success, is my low-key relationship with Sheriff’s Deputy Clay Romero. Sure, there are risks involved in sleeping with the enemy, but ‘what’s meant to be will find a way,’ right? And whether Clay believes it or not, I know we’re fated. With a capital F.
Clay
We’re Capital F somethin’ all right; but I don’t think it’s fate. Ever since Legs (AKA Allegra Martinelli) blew back into town, I’ve been flirting with disaster. Literally. I doubt that woman’s ever met a rule that she didn’t want to at least bend. And, as luck would have it, it’s my job to try and stop her. I love my job, and I think I love her. But there’s not enough wine in Napa to convince me that I’ll be able to hang on to them both.
Legs keeps likening us to Romeo and Juliet. And as I keep trying to remind her; that kind of story tends not to end well. I’m sure there are exceptions, but are we gonna be one of them? I guess we’ll find out.
Releasing May 27, 2025
