Wine and Life...

In my research for The Case Against Fili Du Bois, I needed to understand the wine-making process - from grape to glass - so that I could write about it accurately. Even if you're writing fiction, it's important to get the facts correct!
And if you happen to specialise in historical fiction, as I do, then it's even more crucial. 

I was lucky to be taken under the wing of a wine estate owner and his wine-maker, who guided me through the process and its complexities. I also learnt about terroir, that magical combination of soil type, slope, rainfall and geographical setting that governs which grape cultivar you plant and therefore which wine you will make. Yet for all the technical details, when subsequently writing Fili's story I couldn't help reflecting on the similarities and connections between wine and life... 

From those early beginnings when the buds swell in spring and the infant bunches of grapes appear, then forwards to their fattening and picking, their path somehow followed the journey of a child like Fili from babyhood into adolescence and onward. Thereafter, the various fermentations, filtrations and maturations, can perhaps be thought of as the challenges and responsibilities of adulthood!
And, at the end, the wine that emerges - and the life we have built - hopefully holds the notes and flavours we would all aspire to... 
Fili, towards the end of her story, looks back on what she has learnt.
Turn vines, soil and water into wine... and into life.