Musical Monday: Strawberry Wine (Noah Kahan)

Yes, it's another strawberry wine song! I'd never heard this one until I listened to the playlist for Kate Davies' book  No Way, Rosé (book one in the POUR DECISIONS series, out now!). If you haven't read the book (or Kelly Jamieson's book, or mine) or listened to the playlist, you absolutely should. Kate's daughter Emily put the playlist together and it's really good. Of course, the book is, too, so she had some good motivation. lol

I did my own playlist, which is why mine is unedited and a million miles long. You see how it is. 

 

https://books2read.com/Pour-Decisions

Meet the Martinelli sisters: Rosa, Bianca and Allegra. These partners in wine have just inherited a once-storied winery in the heart of Napa Valley. They’re living the dream, right?

 

Not so fast! Because, as it turns out, not everybody is happy for them. And that includes their Uncle Geno who’d assumed the property would come to him.

 

There are hoops to jump through, barrels to get over, and a mountain of regulations they'll have to scale. But these sisters are crushing it—and we don’t just mean the grapes. They’re making wine, falling in love, and working together to restore their inheritance to its former glory, one pour decision at a time. 

Wine Wednesday: Invention Vineyards 2022 Viognier

 This might be my favorite Viognier. It smells and tastes like rhubarb, jammy and intense with hints of dried apricot and ripe strawberry. It's delightful. Light, crisp, with a touch of salinity. 

It's not tremendously complex and I think it would make a nice accompaniment to brunch or afternoon tea, rather than anything too overtly savory. 

The Heath family puts out some nice, understated white wines. This is a good example. 

Que Será, Syrah

Pour Decisions: Book Three

​

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.

 

https://books2read.com/Que-Sera-Syrah

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Spring Recipes ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "The weather is getting warmer! Share a favourite recipe that says "Spring" to you."

Ooh. That's a good one. But, I have to say that anything between Memorial Day and Labor Day counts as summer to me, so I'm going to go with a summer recipe. 

My mother and grandmother used to make the best pies. My favorite was always rhubarb. I'm the only one now (other than my sister) who really cares for it, so I rarely make a whole pie for myself. I'm too lazy for that. But I buy rhubarb whenever I see it and generally just stew it and eat it on everything. Scones, biscuits, toast, yogurt, ice cream, cocktails, even by itself. 

I also don't measure anything. But I think you could go with about one pound of rhubarb, a cup of sugar, some water (maybe half a cup) and possibly one or more of these other ingredients--a dash of salt, a quarter teaspoon of either almond or vanilla extract, a teaspoon of tapioca pearls, or the juice and zest of half a lemon. 

All of that depends on how sweet or thick you want it.

Chop the rhubarb, place all the ingredients into a saucepan, simmer until thick--maybe half an hour? And that's it. Enjoy it hot or cold. 

Now, hop on over to Brenda Margriet's page to find out what recipe says "Spring" to her. And don't forget to check out her book, Reserved For You.

RESERVED FOR YOU

4+ stars on GoodReads!

Jemma needs her job on a reality TV show to support her ailing grandmother. Paul needs the program to promote his struggling new restaurant. Fraternizing between cast and crew is strictly forbidden. But the only woman Paul wants is the one he can’t have.

“Settle in for a good read with your favorite wine and gourmet take out, and let the sparks fly!” Cora Seton - NYT and USA Today bestselling author

https://books2read.com/ReservedforYou

POUR DECISIONS

A New, Multi-Author Series Out Now!

Meet the Martinelli sisters: Rosa, Bianca and Allegra. These partners in wine have just inherited a once-storied winery in the heart of Napa Valley. They’re living the dream, right?

 

Not so fast! Because, as it turns out, not everybody is happy for them. And that includes their Uncle Geno who’d assumed the property would come to him.

 

There are hoops to jump through, barrels to get over, and a mountain of regulations they'll have to scale. But the sisters are crushing it—and we don’t just mean the grapes. They’re making wine, falling in love, and working together to restore their inheritance to its former glory, one pour decision at a time.

https://Books2Read.com/Pour-Decisions

Musical Monday: Acapulco (Jason Derulo)

 

So this song really perfectly captures the dynamic between Clay and Allegra (Que Sera, Syrah). He absolutely does think his Mama is crazy. Not always in a good way. And yeah, Legs probably reminds him of that chaos a little too much. There's definitely some mixed signals there. Although, honestly, I think that's more on his end. And she probably does wear Versace from time to time.

But, mostly, I just really like the song.

Que Será, Syrah

By PG Forte

https://books2read.com/Que-Sera-Syrah

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.

OR BUY THE SERIES:

POUR DECISIONS

https://books2read.com/Pour-Decisions

Meet the Martinelli sisters: Rosa, Bianca and Allegra. These partners in wine have just inherited a once-storied winery in the heart of Napa Valley. They’re living the dream, right?

Not so fast! Because, as it turns out, not everybody is happy for them. And that includes their Uncle Geno who’d assumed the property would come to him.

There are hoops to jump through, barrels to get over, and a mountain of regulations they'll have to scale. But these sisters are crushing it—and we don’t just mean the grapes. They’re making wine, falling in love, and working together to restore their inheritance to its former glory, one pour decision at a time.

New Release from PG Forte: Que Será, Syrah (POUR DECISIONS Book Three)

Que Será, Syrah

By PG Forte

https://books2read.com/Que-Sera-Syrah

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.

OR BUY THE SERIES:

POUR DECISIONS

https://books2read.com/Pour-Decisions

Meet the Martinelli sisters: Rosa, Bianca and Allegra. These partners in wine have just inherited a once-storied winery in the heart of Napa Valley. They’re living the dream, right?

Not so fast! Because, as it turns out, not everybody is happy for them. And that includes their Uncle Geno who’d assumed the property would come to him.

There are hoops to jump through, barrels to get over, and a mountain of regulations they'll have to scale. But these sisters are crushing it—and we don’t just mean the grapes. They’re making wine, falling in love, and working together to restore their inheritance to its former glory, one pour decision at a time.

Wine Wednesday: Meiomi pinot noir

So, apparently, this is a very divisive wine. At least on Reddit, where all the experts live. Some people like it, some people think it's shit. Rumors abound that the winery uses an additive called Mega Purple to enhance the flavor, which is ironic because I tried this wine shortly after writing a scene ( for Que Será, Syrah) which involved the possibility that someone was using this or something similar (a grape juice concentrate) to boost the flavor of their wine. 

In any event, I’m not a huge fan of pinot in general—we’ve discussed this—but I quite liked this wine. There was a lot of tobacco on the nose (cigar tobacco, to be exact) also lavender blueberry, sweet fennel and wet earth. I’d say it had good legs, but Reddit says I shouldn’t (cue eyeroll, because do I look like I care?). It’s off-dry with a silky mouthfeel and a lingering finish. Notes of cassis, black cherry, wild blueberries. 

Here's the scene in question:

 

I mostly listen while the others talk—eating and drinking and attempting to figure out what I don’t like about this wine. It’s dark, round, full-bodied. Maybe a little too round for a cabernet. And a little too off-dry, as well. A little too flabby. Of course, Geno might be blending it with something else—a merlot, perhaps (because Sideways isn’t entirely wrong about that) or even white zinfandel, although Vitto would have to know if it’s something like that. “Do you think Geno’s adding a concentrate?” I ask Leo, who’s seated beside me. 

And maybe I said it a little louder than necessary, because conversation instantly stops and everyone stares at me.

“What?” I ask, glancing around the table. “It’s not that uncommon, is it? I thought a lot of wineries did that?”

“Are you looking to throw down, Legs?” Gianni asks—and I’m pretty sure he’s joking, although not entirely. “’Cause those are fighting words.”

“Unless she’s right,” Leo says. “In which case…?”

And then we’re all looking at Vitto, who shrugs and says, “I mean, anything’s possible, I suppose. But no winery that wants to keep their reputation intact would even think of doing something like that. Even to suggest it is not good. That kind of talk that could ruin a winery. It’s only about one step above claiming that someone’s been adding wood chips to his chardonnay to give it more of an oaky flavor. Supermarket chains might do things like that but…”

“Unless she’s right,” Leo repeats.

 Vito nods. “Yes. Fine. Unless she’s right. I hope she’s not but…I just don’t know. I’ll try and find out.”

“It was only an idea,” I say again, in a very small voice. 

“You said what you thought,” Leo points out kindly. “That’s not wrong. It just never occurred to us before.”

I nod, to show I understand, but it’s clear they’re having strong thoughts about it now. And not happy ones. And I guess this makes it official. I am the family buzzkill. 

 

Que Será, Syrah

Pour Decisions: Book Three

​

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.

 

https://books2read.com/Que-Sera-Syrah

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Scents! ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "It's May. Do certain flowers or scents inspire you? Tell us how."

Flowers absolutely inspire me--in so many ways. Of course many scents evoke memories, and those memories find their way into stories all the time. 

The smell of Cecil Brunner roses takes me back to the years when my children were young and we had a HUGE rose bush in our back yard, and I helped my daughter create a hideout underneath the canes. Which in turn sparked memories from my own childhood--mostly books I had read. Various Rumer Godden books and Jean George's My Side of the Mountain series. 

Lavender recalls the tiny little farmers market in Cayucos where I first tasted lavender lemonade. I can't count the number of books that's appeared in!

Jasmine reminds me of sitting in the grass on my college campus, reading a book under a tree with a cup of tea, while waiting to listen to Robin Morgan read from her latest work. 

I've always loved daffodils and they inspired me to write a poem about them.  

Now, hop on over to Jenna Da Sie's page to learn what scents inspire her. 

IT’S RELEASE DAY!

Que Será, Syrah

POUR DECISIONS, BOOK THREE

Check out the final book in this new, Multi-Author Series.

It’s not every day that you and your sisters inherit a winery. I should be on top of the world, floating on Cloud Wine, as they say. Instead, I’m about to make some of the biggest mistakes of my life. And that’s saying something.

​

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? 

https://Books2Read.com/Pour-Decisions

Musical Monday: Watermelon Moonshine (Lainey Wilson)

Okay, this is not--strictly speaking--wine related, but it's teenagers drinking and falling in love and that's close enough. I'm not a big Lainey Wilson fan. I think "I got a heart like a truck" is/are some of the dumbest song lyrics ever penned. And that's even before you add in the "drug" as past tense for "drag" which--hell to the fucking no. 

But this song works for so many of my books. Especially Que Será, Syrah--which releases TOMORROW!
 

Que Será, Syrah

By PG Forte

https://books2read.com/Que-Sera-Syrah

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.

OR BUY THE SERIES:

POUR DECISIONS

https://books2read.com/Pour-Decisions

Meet the Martinelli sisters: Rosa, Bianca and Allegra. These partners in wine have just inherited a once-storied winery in the heart of Napa Valley. They’re living the dream, right?

Not so fast! Because, as it turns out, not everybody is happy for them. And that includes their Uncle Geno who’d assumed the property would come to him.

There are hoops to jump through, barrels to get over, and a mountain of regulations they'll have to scale. But these sisters are crushing it—and we don’t just mean the grapes. They’re making wine, falling in love, and working together to restore their inheritance to its former glory, one pour decision at a time.

Wine Wednesday: Spicewood Vineyards 2023 Louisa (Vermentino)

 

I wrote recently about the Duchman Family Winery in Driftwood, and how much I loved, not just the wine, but the winery itself. Well here's the second outstanding winery I've recently discovered. It's not as close as Duchman, but it's beautiful, it has a fabulous backstory, the wines...well, I've only had one to date, but it was delicious. AND they grow all their own grapes. 

Seriously, my next goal in life is to live on a winery, or at least in a house that's situated in (or adjacent to) a vineyard, and this is what I would want it to look like.

But, let's talk about the wine. I think I've mentioned before that I had my eyes opened to the joy of white wine during a trip to Temecula, several years ago. That was the first time I tried a Vermentino. It's not a Napa wine, or even a Paso Robles one. But for the kind of dry heat that you find in Temecula--and Texas--it's perfect. 

Louisa (that's the name of the wine. And I swear, I take back everything I--or any of my characters--have ever said about wishing more wines had cutesy names) is a pale straw color. It might have a slight greenish tinge, or that might have been the light (see picture). There's a lot of sweetness on the nose. The website tasting notes suggest lime zest, I thought it was more candied green apple with notes of ripe melon. 

This wine is medium bodied, with legs for days! It's very dry, but with distinct notes of caramel apple and just a hint of minerality. Definitely quaffable.

I'm not sure what I would pair it with. I'd just come from lunch at a semi-local Cajun restaurant. So, does it really go with fried oysters, or is that just what I want to think?

I would also like to try it with a pasta dish, maybe something with a pink sauce and sausage. 

Guess I'll have to buy a bottle and experiment...

RELEASING NEXT TUESDAY

Que Será, Syrah

By PG Forte

https://books2read.com/Que-Sera-Syrah

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.

OR BUY THE SERIES:

POUR DECISIONS

https://books2read.com/Pour-Decisions

Meet the Martinelli sisters: Rosa, Bianca and Allegra. These partners in wine have just inherited a once-storied winery in the heart of Napa Valley. They’re living the dream, right?

Not so fast! Because, as it turns out, not everybody is happy for them. And that includes their Uncle Geno who’d assumed the property would come to him.

There are hoops to jump through, barrels to get over, and a mountain of regulations they'll have to scale. But these sisters are crushing it—and we don’t just mean the grapes. They’re making wine, falling in love, and working together to restore their inheritance to its former glory, one pour decision at a time.