I’ve spent the summer amidst boxes, trying to fit a large apartment’s stuff into a smaller apartment’s more – ahem – petite footprint. It’s been a slog at times, but I’m getting there. I owe my stamina to Gabe’s eternally good nature, a glass of tasty wine at the end of the day, and the comfort of a great book before I hit the sack.

A compelling narrative allows me to ignore the piles calling for organization, the boxes that need to be broken down. Storytime, take me away!

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Head to Dublin for this multigenerational family saga chock-full of intrigue, angst, aspiration, and regret. Each chapter presents the personal narrative of a particular character, allowing us access to their thoughts, fears, and dreams. Murray goes so far as to write exactly as the character speaks. For example, one woman, who talks non-stop in a torrent of words, appears in the text as several very long, unpunctuated paragraphs. Weird at first, but after a chapter it’s just the character speaking. Didn’t love the ending, as I thought it was a bit of a cop-out, but still enjoyed the story so much.

Wine: 2023 Acquiesce Vineyards Christina’s Outlier Albariño

An unusual variety for Lodi, this Albariño has all the peachy freshness of the wines from Rías Baixas, perhaps a little riper and a hint of bitter almond on the finish. Sip this wine on the porch, after dinner, as you get lost in the family drama.

The Crane Wife: A Memoir in Essays by C.J. Hauser

A beautiful journey of self-discovery highlighting the joys of the unexpected, the necessity of opening oneself to new paths, and the importance of self-reflection. While our individual journeys may differ from the ones Hauser describes, we can all certainly relate to life’s lessons of fear, determination, and regret that ultimately culminate in growth.

Wine: 2022 The Meeker Vineyard HONE #3 Hooky Carbonic Dolcetto

Meeker’s HONE series is devoted to honing the craft of winemaking. The Hooky is a light yet serious red wine, with effusive red fruit and mild tannins. Deceptively simple at first taste, it has a depth that makes you stop and think. Just like this book.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

My favorite book of the year! Hands down, the most intriguing story I’ve jumped into in a while. Told completely from the main character’s point of view (except for one chapter at the end; you’ll have to read to understand why) it’s a tale of the fall of Saigon – but so much more. Our narrator is a half-French, half-Vietnamese idealist who ends up in California working for a U.S. intelligence agency. The story takes us from Vietnam to Los Angeles, then to Thailand and back. It’s thrilling (spies and moles), chilling and, at times, very funny. (you’ll never forget the squid scene). If you were turned off by TV series adapted from the book, don’t let that dissuade you: the book is far superior. It won the Pulitzer, after all!

Wine: NV Castello di Cacchiano Metodo Classico Spumante Rose

A brut sparkling wine from Chianti? Okay, my first thought was hmmmmm. One sip brought me around: cherry-berry fruit, biscuits, palate-tickling bubbles. Sort of the same reaction I had to this book: unsure if it was for me, I read one chapter and fell hard.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

A three-pronged story that weaves together narratives from 15^th century Istanbul, present-day Idaho, and a future generation traveling from Earth to a more habitable planet – a trip so long that only the youngest aboard will survive to the destination. Super-imaginative and engaging! My favorite part was the library on the spaceship: as someone who always saw books as a ticket to travel out of my reality, it blew my mind! Orders of magnitude away from his blockbuster All the Light We Cannot See, this is another homerun, albeit of a different sort.

Wine: 2022 Hibou Lodi Assyrtiko

I scored this gem from Last Bottle Wines: a Greek variety grown in the Clements Hills area of Lodi, California? Sign me up for six! Now I wish I had bought a case, seeing that it’s no longer available. A heady cocktail of fruit and mineral flavors, it’s moderately high in acidity, with a long finish. I couldn’t have imagined how good this wine would be. Same way I felt about this beautifully strange intergalactic tale.

Stay tuned for Part II, more wine and summer book pairings!