Plenty of opportunities to mix food, wine and writing this summer

Reading, writing, and wine

This coming heat wave may inspire many of us to grab a book and hide out in the shade with a glass of wine.

And maybe the book you choose will provide further inspiration to explore a cool summer event, then write about it yourself.

Thankfully, this sequence won’t be too difficult to follow, as a handful of mid-to-late summer events are on the horizon, and the Wine Country Writers’ Festival (WCWF), is taking place Sept. 23 and 24 in Penticton.

Step one: Ponder an upcoming event or experience for your initial inspiration.

Step two: Pair that experience with a good book to sharpen your writing skills.

Step three: Attend the WCWF with your notes and prepare a pitch. Registration includes the opportunity for one “blue pencil.” You can provide up to three pages of your writing that you’d like to discuss with a professional writer for feedback, questions or to get you out of writer’s block.

Here are some options for step one.

Interested in high finance? Laughing Stock Vineyards invites you to Mergers and Acquisitions on Aug. 6. Take five varietals – Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot – and blend your own signature bottle of the winery’s flagship bottle, Portfolio.

Novel choices? Almost any of Stephen W. Frey’s fiction books, or perhaps Dave Hart’s At Bonus Time, No One Can Hear You Scream. Contact the winery to purchase your tickets at 250-493-8466 or email [email protected].

Head to the hills of Silver Star near Vernon for the Silver Star Summer Wine Festival, Aug. 12 to 14. Not only will the mountain air be refreshing, you’ll get to attend a wine dinner or two, enjoy tastings, listen to live music, and Savour the Sun with the wineries of Oliver and Osoyoos.

Silver Star has fantastic downhill, cross-country and enduro bike trails, but for even more fun try the mystical Gnome Roam. Once home, pick up a copy of Glendy Vanderah’s Where the Forest Meets the Stars, and start drafting your own mystical mountain adventure.

On Aug. 20, Blasted Church Vineyards celebrates its 20th anniversary with a grand party, The Seven Deadly Sins. Seven stations of wine and food pairings to partake of poolside, from oysters to chocolate and other indulgences. The winery itself dares to ask, how much have you sinned? The steamy romance novel practically writes itself. Pick up a classic such as The Scarlett Letter, or one of the six novels in J.R. Ward’s Fallen Angels series – covet, crave, envy, rapture, possession, or immortal.

As the Wine Country Writers’ Festival suggests, take inspiration from the beauty around us.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.