Yes, I’m about to inundate you with wine-and-reading selections. But I’m not very traditional; you should know that by now, dear reader. So what does that mean when it comes to a reading and wine-ing list presented by yours truly? Allow me to explain.

I’m dragging out the hasn’t-been-published-in-ages books; ones you need to hunt down in your local used book store treasure trove or thrift store. And I’m choosing some newer releases – those published in the last ten years. Maybe there will be something in here that you’ve never heard of.

Good reads should challenge us and our expectations – kind of like good wine does. Both are sensory and seductive, and both can take you a world away.

Enjoy.

Read: Robertson Davies, Leaven of Malice. This guy shoves us into a world of academics, tenure and compound sentences. His characters drink wine. I like that. This is one dude who doesn’t lead you around by the nose: he’s got witty, layered characters that keep surprising you, and he has an expectation you’ve a decent head on your shoulders. 

Drink: This says bubble all over it. Try Blue Mountain, Sumac Ridge’s Stellar’s Jay (after sleeping for a couple of years, it’s one mighty good bottle) or Gray Monk Odyssey White Brut. Not a bubble fan? Shame. But you can play along – with a bottle of Twisted Tree Syrah, or a Pinot Noir from Meyer Family Vineyards.

Read: Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman. Ahead of her time in so many ways. This is foodie Can-lit for foodies before there were foodies. Of course, there’s a glass or two of wine in here. I read this only recently, having put it off in a covet kind of way. I’m glad I did.

Drink: Margaret says unusual yet beautiful structure, and so must the wine. Think Mount Boucherie Ehrenfelser,  Inniskillin Dark Horse Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Lake Breeze Pinot Blanc or Road 13 Vineyards Jackpot Pinot Noir.

Read: Douglas Coupland, J Pod. I love him; he’s magnificent at loading a sentence with so much stuff. Plus, I want to meet Ethan’s mom. Think easy street meets the wrong side of the tracks, in a very Rice-Krispie-square kind of way.

Drink: More than meets the eye, this one. Makes me want Rollingdale’s Cabernet Sauvignon “La Gauche”, Township 7’s Chardonnay (not the reserve, but not the un-oaked for this one), Cedar Creek’s Platinum Reserve Chardonnay or Tinhorn Creek’s Oldfield Series Merlot – because there’s more going on than you would expect.

Read: Mordecai Richler, Barney’s Version. The guy writes a good story, hands down. These are characters that I not only want to drink with, but also want to go to Europe with. That’s good character development.

Drink: I recall the protagonist as a scotch drinker, but also one who enjoyed a bottle of wine. That being said – try something from Osoyoos Larose, or maybe Laughing Stock’s Portfolio. Perhaps followed by a nice fortified, like Sumac Ridge Pipe or Granite Creek Merlot.

Read: Zoe Whittall, Bottle Rocket Hearts. Maybe it’s because I met her brother in the parking lot of an Okanagan winery (true story), or maybe it’s because I had a summer of unemployed drunken fun in Montreal in the early 90’s (slightly hazy true story). It could be both, but also because this is one brilliant author. Storytelling stream-of-consciousness. I miss Eve.

Drink: Memories of misspent youth, character-building events that at the time are rip-your-heart-out experiences you don’t think you’ll ever recover from and the unmistakable sweetness of firsts. Try La Frenz Cabernet Sauvignon, Orofino Pinot Noir, Cassini Cellars Reserve Chardonnay or Desert Hills Gamay. 

The point is this: wine, like literature, is highly dependent on situation. I truly believe that. Reading the same book at different points in your life will bring out different qualities of that book – just like drinking wine with different people, or in different situations, will show you something new.

Mix it up. Experiment. Un*wine*d a little. Now excuse me while I go back to Timothy Findley’s Spadework and my glass of…well, I’m not going to tell you all my secrets – read it and tell me what you’d drink with it.

Cheers!

Jeannette

Tags: BC wine, Blue Mountain, Cassini Cellars, Cedar Creek, Desert Hills, Granite Creek, Gray Monk, Inniskillin, la Frenz, Lake Breeze, Laughing Stock, Meyer Family Vineyards, Mount Boucherie, Okanagan wine, Orofino, Osoyoos Larose, Road 13, Rollingdale, Sumac Ridge, Tinhorn Creek, Township7, Twisted Tree