Guest Post - Avery Aames

With Valentine's Day being this week, I am so excited to have Avery Aames with us. She has a New Book out with a Fantastic title and cover. Days of Wine and Roquefort was released on February 4th!


Avery is here today talking about Wine, Perfect for this week! Welcome Avery, I am so glad you are here with us today.

Shelley, thanks for having me on your blog. I’m so excited about the launch of DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT. Lucky me, I get to do yummy research while I plot out each of my books. For this one, I was fortunate enough to not only sample a bunch of new cheeses, but I was able to talk to a wine expert about the subject and to taste a number of wines.

You asked what my favorite wine is. Cabernet. It’s not even a question. I love a hearty, rich red wine. (And a good steak.) But I’m not a wine snob. I enjoy all kinds of white wines, including sauvignon blanc, Riesling, chardonnay, and more. Like the guy in the movie “Sideways,” I also enjoy a good pinot noir, but unlike him, I also adore a delicious merlot. I just had a fabulous Sagelands merlot. Yum.

My favorite Vineyard is Joseph Phelp’s, a beautiful location set in St. Helena (Napa Valley). They have what are called terrace tastings, where you sit on a beautiful, huge patio that overlooks the vineyards. Serene views. Fabulous wines. Visiting the vineyard required reservations. Friends and I spent the afternoon tasting a variety of wines, starting with light fruity whites and moving up to the bold Insignia wine for which the vineyard is known.

I have not had the privilege of visiting vineyards in faraway places, but I have visited numerous United States vineyards, and I’ve visited many international vineyards purely by having the opportunity to taste a lot of wine. The wine store I frequent, K&L, brings in unique wines from Italy, France, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and more.  That, in and of itself, is a wonderful trip around the globe.

My character, Charlotte, thanks to the expertise of her cousin Matthew, a former sommelier who now runs the wine annex in The Cheese Shop, has learned a lot about wine. It is this knowledge that I wished to bring to the forefront in DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT.

Oh, and yes, there is a lot to learn about new cheeses in the book. How about Rogue River Blue—a rich Oregon blue cheese, or Rogue Creamery TouVelle—smoky goodness with hints of chocolate and vanilla? Delish.

Whenever I’m done tasting cheese and wine, I get the distinct advantage of researching cookbooks and recipes. Whee! Why? Because I also write the Cookbook Nook mysteries. The next release in that series is INHERIT THE WORD, the second in the series.

BIO:

DARYL WOOD GERBER aka AVERY AAMES.  As DARYL, she writes the nationally bestselling Cookbook Nook Mystery series. As AVERY, she pens the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling Cheese Shop Mystery series. Daryl’s short stories have been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, and other awards. Fun tidbit: as an actress, Daryl has appeared in “Murder, She Wrote” and more. Visit Daryl aka Avery at www.darylwoodgerber.com. Check out recipes on her blog www.mysteryloverskitchen.com and friend her on Facebook.