A Funny Thing Happened On My Way To Yountville is a brief compilation of wine-centric stories pecked out during breaks in development of the final plot gadgets for Dance, the sequel to Desire in the Frank Mire political thriller series. As the subtitle explains, these stories are Wine-Induced Tales Of A Journey To The Napa Valley Nexus Of Mind, Body and Sip. They represent a half-dozen colorful lessons and experiences out of the hundreds that inspired me to inject the world of wine into my writing. Pulling a cork and pouring a glass is recommended just prior to reading.

For those who have never been, Yountville is a very real and wonderful place in the approximate geographical center of Napa Valley. The town occupies less than two square miles, but is home to some of the finest restaurants, tasting rooms, art galleries, shops and hotels in all of Northern California wine country. Many of the most prestigious wineries and vineyards in Napa Valley are within ten to fifteen minutes drive. When you’re there, enjoy. When you leave, take a little bit of Yountville with you to refresh your spirit in times of need. It is my spiritual center of mind, body and sip.

I embarked on my personal wine journey decades ago when, armed with no useful knowledge of wine, wine making or wine lingo, I landed in Napa Valley for a weekend getaway and stopped in Yountville for a bite between tastings. It was love at first sight. Many wine experiences have been enjoyed since then and I’ve tried to capture some of the more meaningful (alright… funny and ridiculous) episodes in My Way To Yountville. Now that I live in Northern California wine country and incorporate spies, crime and always a lot of wine into most of my writing, I’ve tried to add a little more depth to my wine knowledge. For that, I thank the many wine professionals who have shared the art and science of their passion with me, plus the crew at Napa Valley Wine Academy for their international award-winning WSET training.

Here is a brief synopsis of each story:

• Initiation – Antics, real and imagined, and tasting lessons during a first visit to a Napa Valley tasting room.
• Questions – A Napa Valley winery tour… where adults say the most interesting things.
• That Cork’s Not Going To Pull Itself – Sharing wine and serving lessons with a newly-minted wine enthusiast.
• The War Of The Rosés – Wine, relationships and finding true happiness.
• Wet Dogs and Armpits – Napa Valley bars are informal places where strangers become quick friends and you can pick up useful wine knowledge in the process. Seriously.
• Rutherford Roulette – I invented this wine tasting contest as an extension of the simple blind tasting. What could go wrong?