In 2019 I travelled to Tuscany to do research for The Storyteller’s Reputation, the first novel in the Storyteller series about Chaucer’s life and writing.
Chaucer’s father John Chaucer imported Vernaccia wine from the area southwest of Florence for King Edward the Third. It was known as the wine of kings and popes, was mentioned by Dante, and was (and still is) a rare and refined white in a sea of reds.
I was searching for what might be the original vines that may have survived the Phylloxera outbreak in Europe that wiped out most but not all of the original vines in Europe in the late 19th century. Almost all the wines grown there have since been grafted to US vines. Vernaccia is grown in the seashell-ridden earth around San Gimignano, and it was said to have more tolerance against the aphid.
I never did get a clear answer on if (let alone where) those original vines might exist, but what I did find almost by accident was the 1,000 year old Strozzi family winery southwest of Florence (see my blog post describing the journey there here.
After being given a tour of winery and cellars by the lovely owner Irina Sr. (a princess and distant relative of both Churchill and the Mona Lisa, no less) and her daughter, I picked up a bottle of the Tenute Guicciardini Strozzi Vernaccia di San Gimignano Reserva 2013. They told me that the Vernaccia could keep longer than most whites, around 10 years or so (thank you Strozzi winery and family, who were all so welcoming). I vowed at that time that I would only open the bottle once I had a publishing deal for he novel. Time was ticking…
I came close to landing an agent and getting The Storyteller’s Reputation published but no dice. Meanwhile, I took the good advice from the many writers I have met along my writing journey and kept writing. I wrote The Storyteller’s Desire (the sequel) and then The Storyteller’s War (prequel) and kept pitching.
And then…I landed a deal with a small publisher in the US to publish The Storyteller’s War . I was over the moon with excitement, and so finally opened the bottle of Vernaccia and drank it wth family and friends – a true highlight of 2024, and one only made possible by the trust and support of so many people (whom I will make sure I acknowledge in the book).
Look for more updates here on the journey leading up to the book launch – on May 7, 2025.