My recommendations for pairing books and wine
Are you a wine lover? Do you love books? Did you know wine pairs excellently with your favorite books? There's nothing that says you can't pair any wine with any book, but here are some of my recommendations for picking the perfect bottle of wine to curl up with and get lost in a book:
Horror:
Recommended Books:The Haunting of Hill House, Dracula, or any Stephen King Novel.
Horror books pair perfectly with my absolute favorite red wine, Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon. Think about the last time you had a fruit-forward inky Cabernet and multiply that by 10. This is one of the richest full-bodied Cabernets to come out of California, which makes it the perfect pairing for a suspenseful thriller.
Mystery:
Recommended Books: Gone Girl, Sharp Objects, Big Little Lies.
I’d pair a good mystery novel with a nice Rhône style blend like Skylark’s Red Belly, which is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. This is not your typical red blend; flavors of cherry, leather and chocolate blend seamlessly with black pepper, Italian herbs and clove. This wine has a lot of complexity to it, just like that mystery you’re trying to solve.
Science Fiction:
Recommended Books: Divergent, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hunger Games or any Star Wars novel.
Do you want to try a wine that seems out of this world? You’ve had rosé, but you probably haven’t had orange wine before.
Contrary what one might think, orange wine has nothing to do with oranges. The wine is actually made from white grapes that maintain their skin contact during fermentation, making the wine more similar in body to a red wine. These wines can be really funky and out there, but a great bottle to start out with is Skins from Field Recordings winery. This one is very approachable with balanced acidity and not too much of an orange hue.
Romance:
Recommended Books: Me Before You, Outlander, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and any Nicolas Sparks or Sarah Dessen book. Personally I'm about to go purchase Midnight Sun.
Few things go together better than romance novels and rosé. I highly recommend a bottle of Gold Rosé from Bottega winery, a sparkling Italian rosé made from 100% Pinot Noir. This wine is delicate with flavors of raspberry, strawberries and cream, and peach, with a low acidity and full mouthfeel. Balances nicely with those especially frustrating will they / won’t they storylines.
The Classics:
Recommended Books: Pride & Prejudice, Little Women, Jane Eyre.
Now is the perfect time to re-visit some of those classic novels that you had to read in high school but might not have fully appreciated. Personally, when I re-read Pride & Prejudice as an adult, I couldn’t believe how much I loved it. I’d recommend pairing a classic with Melville’s Estate Pinot Noir, one of my favorite California Pinot Noirs on the market. This bottle is medium bodied bursting with red fruits like cherry, raspberry and strawberry, with oaky notes of vanilla, cola and cinnamon. This is a perfect comfort wine to curl up with a classic.
Memoirs:
Recommended Books: Why Not Me?, Becoming, Eat, Pray Love.
Memoirs can be great to read with an influx of downtime to help you feel more connected with humanity, help inspire you, and maybe even get some creative juices flowing. I’d recommend pairing a lighthearted memoir with a bottle of Hive & Honey Gewürztraminer, which is going to be semi-sweet with a low acidity and fruits like peach, pair, apple and honey. For those more serious memoirs, I’d recommend a bottle of J Vineyards Chardonnay, which is a great bottle of Chardonnay for even those who don’t love Chardonnay. This one has notes of citrus and stone fruits to balance nicely with some of the heavier characteristics like vanilla and brioche.
Do you have any favorite book and wine pairings?