Kate Lansing

How Winemaking is Like Publishing

I’m hard at work on the second book of my Winemaker Mystery series.

It just so happens to take place during harvest season, which is essentially right now!

Thus, for research purposes, I visited a local winery last week and was lucky enough to get a sneak peek behind the proverbial curtain.

And, boy, am I glad I did! Just like I’m glad I toured Boulder County Jail a couple of months ago (an experience worthy of a separate post entirely). There’s something about visiting places in person that gives details and context I otherwise would have missed. Like the sweet and jammy smell of a winery during harvest, or the placement of different pieces of equipment.

Bookcliff Vineyards

Now, for those who are unfamiliar with the winemaking process, here’s an overview of the steps:

• Grapes are harvested at *just* the right moment and taken to the winery ASAP to begin processing
• Sticks and stones are cleaned from the fruit
• Grapes are crushed and de-stemmed to various extents, depending on if the resulting vintage will be a red, white, or rosé
• Fermentation, which requires constant testing to ensure residual sugars, titratable acidity, pH, etc. are all on track
• Aging
• Enjoy!!

The turnaround time can vary, being as short as 2 months for some whites and up to years for certain red varietals.

It’s a lot of work! And the winemaker must be patient before sharing the fruits of their labor. Much like writing.

In working on my debut novel, I’ve been lucky enough to see what it takes to turn a manuscript into a finished book–multiple rounds of developmental story edits, copy edits (thank goodness for good copyeditors, amiright?!), pass pages, and even more steps that I have yet to experience.

So, next time you’re sipping a glass of wine or enjoying a good book, reflect on the time that went into creating that moment. It makes it all the more delicious.

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