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Dragon Vine, a novel by Steven Laine



It has been a year since I have posted to the South Carolina Wine Blog.  However, I was provided with an advance copy of the latest novel by Steven Laine entitled Dragon Vine  for my review.  Mr. Laine writes novels with a wine focused theme and I reviewed Mr. Laine's previous novel Root Cause in 2019, which I greatly enjoyed.


The synopsis of Dragon Vine is as follows:

When his father dies in a wildfire, Carmine Cooper takes over the family winery in the middle of harvest, putting his dreams of becoming an architect on hold. He soon finds himself fighting with a vengeful neighbor, blackmailed by a local gang, harassed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities, and the target of an ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives) investigation. Carmine’s only hope to solve his problems and finish his first solo vintage successfully rests in identifying an unknown grape variety his father grew and made into wine for a quarter century with links to an ancient Chinese grape variety and the First Emperor of China. Can Carmine save his father’s legacy, his family, the winery, and his first harvest before it’s too late?


The most interesting aspects of this novel are the insights into the world of collectable, high end wine and the high stakes counterfeiting of those wines.  If you have more than a passing interest in wine, you will find this to be an interesting summertime read.

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