By Carl Giavanti
Novelist Steven Laine has an international background in hotels and was fortunate enough to study hotel operations in Switzerland, gain an MBA in hospitality with the University of Guelph in Canada and round out his hotel management studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He first developed a passion for wine as a sommelier and beverage director working in luxury hotels in London and has since visited wineries in all the major wine growing regions. Laine has also worked harvests in Canada.
The adventures in his wine thrillers are inspired by his studies, work experience and travels through the world’s best wine regions. He is also a member of International Thriller Writers; a French, Italian and Spanish wine scholar; and a graduate of the Champagne Academy in France. He is currently working toward completing the diploma in wine at the WSET School in London.
How did you come to wine, and to wine writing?
While working at a luxury hotel in London, I was given the responsibility of updating the hotel’s main wine list, which represented more than USD $30 million in annual sales. With little experience in wine up until that point, I relied on suppliers to guide me and quickly learned the ins and outs of putting together a great wine list. That experience — and exposure over the next several years — led to my wine studies, work trips to wine regions throughout Europe and a lifelong love of wine.
I met Joel Peterson, Ravenswood Wines winemaker, at a wine tasting in London and we quickly fell into conversation about wine and books. Among other titles, he recommended I read The Botanist and The Vintner by Christie Campbell, a true account of the 19th century Phylloxera epidemic that spread across Europe destroying vineyards in every region. Reading the book gave me the idea for my first wine novel, Root Cause: What if Phyloxera returned and couldn’t be stopped? Since then, I’ve made wine the focus of my subsequent novels, Dragon Vine, Jupiter’s Blood, and my work in progress Heist Bordeaux.
What are your primary story interests?
I try to incorporate my travel experiences and wine knowledge into all my novels in a fun and engaging way. I also like using exotic wine-related locations for key scenes in my stories. There are so many fascinating places to explore and write about, and using familiar and unfamiliar places in my books helps bring the story to life and the reader to places they recognize or may like to explore in future. When I visited the miles and miles of chalk cellar tunnels dug out by the Romans under the Champagne region, I knew they would feature in one of my novels. That’s where the final scenes in my novel Root Cause take place.
How is your new book, Jupiter’s Blood, unique? What’s the story hook?
Jupiter’s Blood asks the question “What If synthetic wine could be made so well that it could fool the experts and be produced on an industrial scale?” The story is set against a backdrop of disruptive climate change and its impact on wine regions around the world. The two main characters are at opposite ends of the debate around synthetic wine. One is a scientist who helped develop Replivino, the synthetic wine in my story, and one is a Master of Wine, Master Sommelier, and a three Michelin Star restaurant owner. The story follows their quest around California and Europe to save a mutual friend and takes them through new and old-world wine regions while they wrestle with the question and their own consciences.
What are your primary palate preferences?
I generally prefer red over white wine and am a big fan of Champagne ever since I joined the Champagne Academy in France. I enjoy both New and Old World wines and will give anything a try if it’s well made. I recently attended Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne in Burgundy and am gaining a much deeper appreciation for Burgundian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. My go-to’s in the wine fridge are usually Spanish, Californian, Italian, Chilean, Australian or any reds from the Rhone Valley. My palate and budget for Bordeaux, super Tuscan and cult Cabernet wines aren’t quite as well aligned unfortunately!
Is it possible to make a living as a writer today?
Don’t get into writing if you’re looking to become rich. I do it because I love the process and telling a great story. I will let you know once I make enough to make a living off it!
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I’ve lived in nine different countries working for international hotel chains and have been blessed to be able to travel to many incredible wine regions while based abroad.
What haven’t you done that you’d like to do?
I’ve had the opportunity to work two separate harvests, in 2020 and 20221 during COVID, at Mission Hill Family Estate Winery in Okanagan Valley, British Columbia and Trius Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, respectively. These were incredible experiences and I would love to repeat them in other wine regions around the world. I enjoyed the physical labor of working in a winery and taking part in the winemaking process from picking grapes all the way through to working on the bottling and boxing lines. The inspiration for my next novel, Heist Bordeaux, stemmed partly from these two harvest intern experiences.
What’s one thing you’d like your readers to learn from your writing about wine?
I always like to say that wine is like music. You’re never going to experience it all, so enjoy what resonates most with you and don’t stop experimenting with different sounds and tastes. I hope my writing inspires readers to try new wines and to visit new wine regions.
What’s the best story or book you have written?
I like to think my writing gets better with each novel I write, but I am very proud of my first wine novel, Root Cause, published in 2019 by Turner Publishing.
Kirkus Reviews called it “An entertaining, wine-soaked mystery.” The Washington Post wrote; “If Michael Pollan and Dan Brown sat down over a bottle of Barolo and brainstormed a novel based on the neuroses of the natural wine movement, they might have come up with something like Root Cause.”
Root Cause asks and explores the question: What if a mutated version of Phylloxera was released upon the world that couldn’t be stopped with resistant rootstocks?
If you weren’t writing about wine for a living, what would you be doing?
My full-time career is as a hotelier running luxury hotels around the world. As much as I enjoy looking after guests and being a hotelier, I would love to write full-time.
Can you describe your approach to writing?
Every novel I write starts off with a What If? question that drives the story. Once I have that as my starting point, I focus on developing interesting, flawed and motivated characters in conflict with each other to humanize the story. Once I have the characters flushed out, I then think about all the places in the wine world that the story can take place. My outlines tend to be long and detailed before I start writing. I’m generally a plotter, not a pantser, when it comes to writing, but I still let my characters determine some of the story direction. And I always like to be surprised, so I design the plot to be flexible as the story develops and the characters grow.
In terms of my writing process, I like to write in the mornings and can write pretty much anywhere on my laptop. I make a lot of notes on my phone when ideas come to me. I don’t get writer’s block and have learned to trust the process when I write. If the story and characters excite me, the writing becomes much easier.
Why have you focused on wine as a theme in many of your books?
I studied history in university and love traveling. My stories tap into all of my experience and interests, and I have many more ideas for future novels set in the wine industry. I recently discovered that vineyards are even mentioned on the Rosetta Stone! Wine transcends so many subjects and there are so many great stories in the world of wine to explore throughout history. I try to write stories that I want to read and hope my readers enjoy them as much as I do.
Do you write articles or produce editorial for other publications?
Currently no. My focus has been on my wine studies, as I’m in the process of completing my diploma with WSET and, during COVID, I completed the Wine Scholar Guild Programs on France, Italy and Spain.
Which wine personalities would you most like to meet and taste with (living or dead)?
Robert Parker, Michel Rolland, Robert Mondavi, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Jancis Robinson, American winemakers during Prohibition, French winemakers during WWII, Gerard Basset.
If you take days off, how do you spend them?
I enjoy traveling, exploring London’s restaurant and bar scene, reading a wide range of books and novels, running and going to the gym.
What is your most memorable wine or wine tasting experience?
There are a few. A private lunch and wine tasting experience with the winemaking team at Errazuriz in Chile. An intimate Michelin Star DRC dinner in Singapore led by a Master of Wine. A complete Charles Heidsieck Vintage Oenoteque tasting in Reims with the winemaker. An Inniskillin Icewine tasting with my father in the vineyards in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Canada. Opening a 1975 Cote de Nuits Pinot Noir in Beane, Burgundy, for my birthday with friends.
What’s your cure for a wine hangover?
Don’t get one to start with. I never drink to excess, only drink wine (no beer or spirits), stay well hydrated and enjoy running and weightlifting, so I don’t get hangovers of any kind. Thankfully.
What’s your favorite wine region in the world?
France. I’ve explored Champagne, Loire Valley, Burgundy and Bordeaux and would like to visit all its other wine regions. Italy is high on my list as I have not visited its wine regions yet.
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Carl Giavanti
Carl Giavanti is a winery publicist with a DTC Marketing background. He’s celebrating his 14th year of winery consulting. Carl has been involved in business marketing and public relations for over 25 years; originally in technology, digital marketing and project management, and now as a winery media relations consultant. Clients are or have been in Napa Valley, Willamette Valley, Walla Walla, Columbia Valley, and the Columbia Gorge. (www.CarlGiavantiConsulting.com/Media)
