Wines and books pair together in new virtual book club.
Crimson Wine Group
Almost every book club member I’ve ever met has told me that books are just a pretext for people to gather and drink wine.
With COVID-19, most book clubs haven’t met in months, but this presented an opportunity for winemakers to set up an online group this summer called Book Club Girl Presents: Wine & Words, a monthly club featuring both wines and books, with both the winemakers of the wines and the authors of the books presenting the books and wines. The venture is the brainchild of Crimson Wine Group, . and Book Club Girl, a social media and event platform of the William Morrow group at HarperCollins Publishers.
Crimson Wine Group and William Morrow had already partnered together for in-person events in New York City, as well as some libraries across the United States, but Book Club Girl Presents: Wine & Words was the first virtual book club to bring curated wines and books together in such a virtual way.
“Wine is a basic necessity for most book club gatherings, and at a time when we can’t gather easily with friends in person, we are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with the Crimson Wine Group to create a virtual event series that spotlights perfect pairings of delicious wine and unputdownable books for readers to share together,” said Jennifer Hart, senior vice president and associate publisher of William Morrow and Founder of Book Club Girl.
Tonight’s meeting (7 p.m. EST) features Seven Hills Winery’s merlot and rosé with The Lost Bookstore by Susan Wiggs. Consumers who are interested in participating can register at
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The next event, September 24, features Andy Robinson, winemaker at Seghesio Family Vineyards, and Cristina Baker Kline to discuss her book, The Exiles, which is paired with Seghesio’s Sonoma Zinfandel and Sonoma Chardonnay. Information can be found at
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“We see this partnership as an opportunity for people to come together over shared interests and maintain a sense of community,” said Alexa Fox, vice president of direct to consumer, Crimson Wine Group. “Attendees will have the chance to join others from across the country as they sip, chat, and ask questions about two of our favorite things — books and wine.”
Several winemakers, including Andy Robinson, love books so it’s a great experience for them, too, says Caroline Helper, senior brand manager at Crimson Wine Group.
“Andy is such an avid reader, and he was so excited about to have the opportunity to connect with other readers, discuss a great book, and share the wine that he makes with them.,” Helper says. “We see this as such a natural extension of the book club experience – you can’t have book club without wine and the goal is to build a community of book and wine lovers who can gather consistently to talk about great books with the authors themselves over the same great glass of wine, at the same time.”
It’s an opportunity, Helper says, to get two passionate groups of people together – wine lovers and readers, and very often, they’re the same group of people. “We love the idea of everyone opening and sharing the same bottle of wine together, virtually,” Helper says. “So many great friendships and relationships have been forged and strengthened over a love of literature and a great bottle of wine and we’re honored to be a part of that.”
There are plans to continue this virtual book club this fall and winter.