While spring is synonymous with flowers and warmer weather, it also means there are plenty of rainy days in our future which are best spent inside, curled up with a good book and a glass of wine. For this month’s #GGBookClub, the staff here at the Greene Grape shared the books they’re currently reading in celebration of World Book Day (April 23rd), a day paying tribute to books and authors world-wide. Read on to escape the rainy days with us!

Dracula by Bram Stoker
Terroir Sonoro Tinto Nitanto 2019

An 1897 Gothic horror novel that set the blueprint for vampires for generations, Bram Stoker’s Dracula tells the story of Count Dracula’s attempt to move from Transylvania to England with the help of solicitor Jonathan Harker. Meanwhile, eerie incidents are unfolding in England, with a series of disturbing deaths and unexplained bite marks, which captures the attention of Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Settle in with this chilling tale of vampires and Victorian values, while enjoying this fresh and herbaceous irresistibly delicious Chilean red.

Every Tongue Got To Confess by Zora Neale Hurston
Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey

In Every Tongue Got to Confess, Zora Neale Hurston records the voices of ordinary people and pays tribute to the richness of Black vernacular – its crisp self-awareness, singular wit, and improvisational wordplay. These hilarious, bittersweet, often saucy folk-tales provide a fascinating, verdant slice of African-American life in the rural South at the turn of the twentieth century. Arranged according to subject, they reveal attitudes about slavery, faith, race relations, family, and romance that have been passed on for generations. Similar to how Hurston was inspired by the stories of others, Fawn Weaver founded Uncle Nearest Whiskey after hearing the story of Nathan “Nearest” Green, the first known African-American master distiller, who taught Jack Daniels the craft of distilling. The 1884 Small Batch Whiskey delivers decadent notes of warm brown sugar, baking spice, orange peel, tobacco flower, and ginger. 

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
Domaine Perrault-Jadaud 'Sergent Pepper' Red 2022

An epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one. With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil. The two girls soon find their fortunes reversed—Sophie's dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication. As Sophie and Agatha discover who they truly are, explore this groovy French red with enticing notes of brambly red fruit, watermelon, and white pepper. 

The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Dirler-Cade Alsace Sylvaner VV 2021

Before the nightmares began, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary, controlled life. But the dreams—invasive images of blood and brutality—torture her, driving Yeong-hye to purge her mind and renounce eating meat altogether. It’s a small act of independence, but it interrupts her marriage and sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. As her husband, her brother-in-law and sister each fight to reassert their control, Yeong-hye obsessively defends the choice that’s become sacred to her. Soon their attempts turn desperate, subjecting first her mind, and then her body, to ever more intrusive and perverse violations, sending Yeong-hye spiraling into a dangerous, bizarre estrangement, not only from those closest to her, but also from herself. Enjoy this biodynamic and vegan white wine that delivers refreshingly mineral notes of orchard fruit and white flowers.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Vina El Portalon Rueda Verdejo 2022

As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers’ Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, was their only hope for survival. Run away to the circus while treating yourself to this fantastic white wine with notes of citrus, hay, fennel, and tropical fruits.