Wine, whiskey and Brian Doyle – I have an affinity for all three.
Now, I don’t have a thorough knowledge of these things or the person, but I do enjoy the complexity of each. It was easy to add a few of my favorite things to the story, Finding Center, and it was especially fun to learn a little more about them.
Near the town of Salida, Colorado is an old mining haunt called Tincup. It’s a walk through history tucked into the Rocky Mountains where you can learn about the old ways of hard rock mining,
drift down the few square blocks and see the old town hall or just watch the OHV’s roll by. In 1972, Jess Graber, Founder of TINCUP Whiskey, named his spirit to honor the first whiskey drinker’s of Colorado and the tin cups they drank from. Jess insists that, “life is too short to drink bad whiskey,” and I couldn’t agree more.
TINCUP Whiskey is complex with notes of citrus, black pepper, ginger snaps, cinnamon and caramel – words from the founder – not me. As I mentioned, I tend to get lost in the complexities of true culture, but I do know that sitting down with a glass or even a tin cup of Colorado Mountain Whiskey, is a pleasure. Diluted and cooled by a small amount of ice next to a campfire or even indoors with a fine steak are my favorite ways to enjoy it. I highly recommend getting yourself a bottle of this American classic just like Carla and Jim provide to their guests throughout the novel.
Once again, Carla’s backyard is like a sanctuary with the firepit glowing and the twinkle lights chasing away the darkness while we sip on TINCUP Whiskey. (Finding Center)
When I’m not craving whiskey, I do enjoy a good glass of wine, not that I’m any kind of connoisseur. However, a few years ago I ran across a book called The Grail, by Brian Doyle and at the time I knew even less about him than I did wine; basically, I had never heard of him but boy, did I catch up in a hurry.
There is nothing I can say about him to do justice to his career, so let me just say he is a multi-award winning author who affected me deeply with stories about native cultures and immigrants blending their lives, a tenacious seaman and his adopted bird, spirituality through an unexpected kaleidoscope of color and the finest Pinot Noir from the red clay hills of Dundee, Oregon. Unfortunately, Mr. Doyle was taken from us too soon at the age of 60 in 2017, but his legacy lives on.
The Grail ~ “A year ambling & shambling through an Oregon vineyard in pursuit of the best pinot noir wine in the whole wild world,” Brian Doyle.
Chapter one of this book is one paragraph and it is approximately 470 words total, however there is only one period – it’s all one glorious sentence! One sentence, properly punctuated in a style that pulls the reader all the way to the end craving more words. It’s astounding and it helped me leave the confines of perfection in writing and loosen my ways to let words flow onto the page just to see what might be there when I finished. You’ll find this styling throughout his work and it’s like breathing fresh air.
As for wine, his appreciation of the Lange Estate Winery & Vineyard in Dundee, Oregon not only lead me to appreciate fine pinot noir from the USA, but it made me want to go there. So, boyfriend and I got on the motorcycles and headed to the west coast, just over 1000 miles from home. Once settled in our hotel outside of town, we jumped on his motorcycle and followed the GPS to a loose, sandy, and somewhat rutted dirt road, and eventually found our way to the winery, which is just off the beaten path.
I can still feel the sun on my face, sampling through the flight, looking out over the vineyard; hills sloping downward, thinking of Brian, following Don and Jesse Lange through the rows furiously writing everything they said in his notebook, rain or shine, and soaking in all the viticulture knowledge he could take, so he could then transcribe it into a year long chase of the history, joy, shaping and hard work of making a special wine.
Brian Doyle and Lange are so special to me I had to include them in my first novel. I never expected a second hand book, costing $1.99 to mean so much and guide me to not only a literary genius, but also Pacific Northwest wine. But sometimes when you don’t know you’re searching, you find center in the most fortuitous places.
I appreciate your time, and I value your feedback. Please take a moment to rate or share this article below. Your comments are also welcome. All the best to you! Until next time ~ Jennifer
