Tara Lain on Wine, one of her Fav Five Things and her new release ‘The Case of the Voracious Vintner (The Middlemark Mysteries #2)’ (guest blog)

The Case of the Voracious Vintner (The Middlemark Mysteries #2) by Tara Lain

Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Kanaxa

Release Date: January 29, 2019

Book Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41104641-the-case-of-the-voracious-vintner

Dreamspinner Press: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/the-case-of-the-voracious-vintner-by-tara-lain-10132-b

Kindle: https://amzn.to/2WdQFXN
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2S8KYLk

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-case-of-the-voracious-vintner-tara-lain/1129255065?ean=9781641081382&st=AFF&2sid=Goodreads,%20Inc_2227948_NA&sourceId=AFFGoodreads,%20Inc#/

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-case-of-the-voracious-vintner

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-case-of-the-voracious-vintner/id1440935141?mt=11

Five Faves from Tara Lain – Wine

Hi everyone! I’m so happy to be celebrating the release of my new mystery, The Case of the Voracious Vintner. As you can imagine from the title, the heroes of the book are both winemakers and the story is set in and around the major wine producing areas of California – the central coast and Napa Valley. I had a great time writing the book because I love wine. Though I’m not much of a drinker, when I do drink, it’s going to be wine (except for a very occasional margarita). I’m definitely no connoisseur, but I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite wines.

1. It’ll come as no surprise to anyone who reads my books that I love champagne (called sparkling wine in California since only wine made in the Champagne district of France can be called champagne) and you’ve probably encountered many of my heroes drinking champagne. I like a lot of sparkling wine, but the one I reach for first is a brut rose champagne made by Moet and Chandon. You can buy it very reasonably at Trader Joes’s.
2. A little harder to find, but super yummy is Roederer Estate sparkling wine from the “other” wine country of California, Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley. This region near the ocean is best known for pinot noir and chardonnay grapes, which are generally used in sparkling wine. You can find Roederer with a little hunt and it’s worth it.
3. Much harder to track down are the small batch zinfandels of the boutique wineries of California’s central coast. I have always gotten my bottles at the winery tasting rooms although you can also join their wine clubs and have the wines shipped to you and I think some of them may be at BevMo. My fave zinfandels, a red that manages to be both robust and subtle, are from Grey Wolf and Midnight Cellars. They also make amazing red blends of cabernet and zinfandel or syrah and zin.
4. One of my happiest wine memories is from my first trip to Portugal in my very early 20s. Lisbon was far less of a tourist area then and American women visitors were still unusual. When I think of that trip, I remember sitting in the small clubs where they sang the unique music called fado, eating langostino (itty bitty lobsters) with my fingers and drinking vinho verde. This is green wine, made almost entirely in Portugal. It’s become popular over recent years and has a light, fun taste that goes really well with seafood – especially around two AM.
5. Choosing a fifth wine to recommend was hard – there are too many. But I’ll share another story. When I was just out of college and barely old enough to drink I was taken to a restaurant where someone ordered Pouilly –Fuisse, probably by Louis Jadot. I was from the east coast and far fewer California wines were drunk. In truth, Pouilly-Fuisse is simple chardonnay from a particular region of Burgundy in France, but to a 21-year old girl, it sounded like the most sophisticated drink a human could consume. Every sip was filled with awe. While I’m not a big chardonnay drinker, to this day a glass of Pouilly-Fuisse is treated with reverence.

I’ve recently moved from California to Oregon. While I absolutely love my new State, I haven’t had time to delve into Oregon wine. It should be a fun adventure, but if I don’t find Oregon wine favorites, I only have to remind myself that Napa is less than five hours away.

I hope you enjoy some great wine while reading The Case of the Voracious Vintner.

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Case-Voracious-Vintner/Tara-Lain/9781641081382?id=7482908349026

Book Blurb:

A Middlemark Mystery

Where Bo Marchand comes from, gay men are just confirmed bachelors who never found the right girl. But now Bo’s a successful winemaker on the central coast of California, supporting his whole damned Georgia family, and all he really wants is the beautiful, slightly mysterious Jeremy Aames.

Jeremy’s vineyard is under threat from Ernest Ottersen, the voracious winemaker who seems to know all Jeremy’s blending secrets and manages to grab all his customers. Bo tries to help Jeremy and even provides a phony alibi for Jeremy when Ottersen turns up dead in Jeremy’s tasting room. But it’s clear Jeremy isn’t who he claims, and Bo must decide if it’s worth tossing over his established life for a man who doesn’t seem to trust anyone. When Jeremy gets kidnapped, some of the conservative winemakers turn out to be kinky sex fiends, and the list of murderers keeps dwindling down to Jeremy. Bo has to choose between hopping on his white horse or climbing back in his peach-pie-lined closet.

 

Giveaway

Giveaway: $10 Gift Card

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Series Info

Link above image to: https://www.goodreads.com/series/237216-the-middlemark-mysteries

Book I: The Case of the Sexy Shakespearean

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38371895-the-case-of-the-sexy-shakespearean

Dreamspinner Press: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/the-middlemark-mysteries-9784-s

Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2MD5ddX

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-case-of-the-sexy-shakespearean-tara-lain/1127915402?ean=9781641080156      

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-case-of-the-sexy-shakespearean/id1408817801?mt=11

BAM: http://www.booksamillion.com/product/9781641080156

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-case-of-the-sexy-shakespearean

About the Author

Tara Lain believes in happy ever afters – and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn’t believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her best-selling stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes — the beautiful boys of romance —  and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara’s characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara’s creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Likely a Gryffindor but possessed of Parseltongue, Tara loves animals of all kinds, diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her readers. She also loves to hear from you.   

Author Links:

Website:  http://taralain.com/

Blog: http://www.taralain.com/blog

Twitter: https://twitter.com/taralain

FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/taralain

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tara-lain

Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/2ICPcCZ

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4541791.Tara_Lain

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/taralain/

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/255111391312743/