How authors can use their own experiences to bring color and detail to a novel.

By Julia George (Pen name of husband and wife writing together.)

The Past is a treasure trove of ideas. Memories live again in your novels.

This is a Facts Behind the Fiction story about Blood into Wine, our detective novel set in California wine country. It’s about an idyllic three months living and working in America’s Eden, as Napa Valley later came to be known. It is also a glimpse into the way the people and places I came to know became part of that novel.

At the time, I was an actress (George a theater director). Neither of us thought we would one day be writers. But theater people draw on a myriad of impressions, emotions, and experiences, to create a character or bring a play to life. A writer does the same. Everything we experienced that summer in Napa Valley was deeply etched in our memories.

Decades later, those memories blossomed into scene after scene in Blood into Wine. The heat, the dust, the smell of grapes in the sun, the passionate people devoted to wine, the politics of a land coveted by rival groups, the deep sensuality of that magical Eden. Blood into Wine is both an intriguing detective story and a love letter to Napa Valley.

Flashback 1978, Napa Valley. Julia’s Story.

It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been to Napa Valley before. It was 45 minutes away from Oakland, an easy drive with amazing views. Still, I’d only gone a few times, for an afternoon of wine tasting and soaking up the country atmosphere. Then, in the summer of 1978 I found myself living and working in the Valley for three months. I was no longer a tourist. I was in with the in-crowd.

To my delight, the Berkeley Repertory Theater, where I was a resident actress, chose that year to do a summer season of three plays in an old, brick building in the Vintage 1870 complex in Yountville. I was cast as Rosalind in Shakespeare’s As You Like It. All of us actors were to be housed with families who lived and worked in the Valley, an exciting prospect for everyone.

A Journey Into the Past.

I rolled up the driveway of Lila and Bill Jaeger’s estate in Rutherford. The large Victorian house they had lovingly restored was surrounded by beautiful gardens. I felt like I’d travelled back in time to another era. Lila appeared on the porch and motioned me to continue on to the right, past the crystal blue swimming pool. I killed the engine on my little blue VW Bug and hopped out into the intense Napa Valley heat. It wrapped me in a soul igniting warmth.

My Cute Victorian Cottage Home for the Summer.

I looked across a wide green lawn at the cutest cottage I’d ever seen. A smaller version of the main house. Around the porch, jasmine and gardenia bushes filled the air with an intoxicating fragrance. Did Lila mean for me to live in this dream cottage for the entire summer?

“Are you sure you don’t mind my staying here?” I asked, as Lila joined me. “I mean, what if you have guests? Three months in the height of tourist season is a lot for me to take over your guest house.”

Lila put her arm around me and gave me a squeeze. “You don’t know how much fun it is for me to have the actress playing Rosalind living in my little cottage. I’ve got five dinners already planned for friends who want to meet you. Guests can come by any time of the year. You are a special treat.”

It was a sweet and flattering response. I was touched.

“Thank you so much,” I responded, and hugged her back. “I’m looking forward to becoming part of the Valley and meeting as many people as I can.”

Exploring the Past in the Present.

So, I carried my suitcases into Lila’s sunny yellow cottage, dropped them on the floor, and immediately set out to explore my home-away-from-home for the summer.

There are Victorian houses in Napa Valley that date all the way back to the 1800s. It was easy to imagine the spirits of the past still wandering their former haunts. If this little cottage had one or two spirits, I was sure they were friendly. Perhaps it was just an actor’s imagination. Imagining you live in the past is a technique actors use to get into character for plays set in other centuries.

I marveled at the little details that gave authenticity to this house. Years later, many of those details came back to me when writing Blood into Wine.

Discovering the Inside Story of America’s Eden.

That night I joined the family and a couple of their friends for dinner at the big house.

Lila and Bill Jaeger were gracious hosts and dinners at their house were accompanied by music and laughter along with great food and fine wines. Those dinners over that summer were also an intimate look into the workings and politics of the Valley that I would never have learned about in any other way.

At that time, the Jaegers owned two wineries, Rutherford Hill and Freemark Abbey. They were members of the Napa Valley wine elite. The conversations around the table covered everything from wine making, to vineyard cultivation, to feuds over cutting down trees for new vine planting, to who was going to buy what property next, to in-crowd gossip about Napa Valley “characters” of which there were plenty for an actor to be curious about.

When, many years later, I had left the theater and taken up writing novels, I drew on those incredible evenings and all I’d learned to create an authentic backdrop for Blood into Wine.

Places an Author has Lived or Visited Add Color and Authenticity to a Novel.

“Renzo felt like he’d stepped into the playhouse version of a classic San Francisco Victorian, perfect in every detail except the scale . . . To one side, on an antique hall bench with an oval mirror and brass coat hooks, sat an old straw hat decorated with dried flowers . . . sliding doors with etched glass panels closed off the dining room . . . an exquisite little parlor whose central focus was a wood fireplace carved with a grape and vine motif.” (From Blood into Wine.)

In Blood into Wine, Lila’s cottage is transformed into a tiny, yellow and white Victorian cottage surrounded by vines where one of the suspects has been living. Renzo, Jackie, and the Saint Helena police search the house. What they discover in the stuffy attic is bizarre enough to fit with the murder. The antique dagger is damning evidence, but is it the actual murder weapon?

Characters Have to Eat. Those Moments Can Reveal Plot or Personality.

Napa Valley is a land of food contrasts. From the ultra-expensive French Laundry to the vineyard worker’s quick bite, there were lots of cool places for Inspector Dante and the Saint Helena cops to catch a bite. Not that the French Laundry was on their budgets. That was for the elite of the story.

Here are three places I know well, that not only reveal our detectives’ taste in food, but also insights into their attitudes, personalities and pasts.

Oakville Grocery. Saint Helena Highway, Oakville, CA.Founded in 1881, Oakville Grocery is the oldest continually operating grocery store in the state of California.

“The human mind, Renzo reflected, was the optimum time machine. He stepped into Oakville Grocery and instantly, without warp drives or worm holes, time shifted and the present dissolved into the past. Suddenly, he was eight years old again, taking refuge from the dusty heat in the dark coolness of the little country store . . . Thirty years spanned in a nanosecond. A simpler Oakville Grocery. An uncomplicated time. A different Renzo.” (From Blood into Wine.)

This is a short chapter packed with Napa Valley atmosphere. The tamales are first rate. The clientele ranges from tourists with Oakville Grocery on their bucket list, to local wine growers popping in for a tasty pick-me-up, to the super rich elite who know where the best lunch can be found without fuss. The cars in the parking lot range from pick-up trucks to Mercedes and Ferraris. Inspector Wong (Renzo’s partner) is super impressed.

If you’re interested, here’s a link to a really good article about Oakville Grocery.

La Luna Market and Taqueria. 1153 Rutherford Road, Rutherford, CA.

“Renzo turned down Rutherford Road, and pulled to a stop in front of a funky old market with rusty shopping carts lined up under a low roof supported by wood posts . . . It appeared not only Mexican workers hung out at La Luna Market. Chief Larsen and Sergeant Ferrell stood in line talking to Renzo. Jackie wasn’t exactly thrilled to see them, but at least the presence of the local police meant the food was probably tasty, generous, and cheap. He steeled himself for an interrogation and joined Renzo.” (From Blood into Wine.)

La Luna Market serves here to foster a reconciliation between the detectives from San Francisco (Renzo and Jackie) with the local cops (Larsen and Ferrell) in the Valley, who aren’t happy with the intrusion of out-of-town detectives into their territory.

Taylor’s Refresher, 933 Main Street, Saint Helena, CA.

“Renzo pulled into the parking lot of Taylor’s Refresher in Saint Helena and stopped the car. Smoke poured from the chimney of the classic nineteen-fifties drive-in restaurant, and the heavenly smell of mesquite wood and burgers wafted through the late afternoon air.”  (From Blood into Wine.)

Not only has Taylor’s Refresher been going since 1949, but it has been voted as making one of the best burgers in America.

Here’s a fun story link about Taylor’s Refresher. A peek into a Napa Valley feud.

Places That Inspire Dramatic Moments.Saint Helena Catholic Church. Founded 1866. Dedicated to Saint Helena of Constantinople.

“Renzo’s eyes swept over the faces of the congregation. The murderer could be sitting in this very room, simulating grief, making a mockery of mourning . . . But if the murderer was here, it was a wonder the blood itself didn’t shriek and give away his presence.” (From Blood into Wine.)

The Saint Helena Catholic Church is the location of the funeral service for Augusto Venturi, the renowned wine maker of Napa Valley, who was murdered in a most vicious and bizarre way at the beginning of the novel.

Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Saint Helena, CA.

Later in the novel, the scene shifts to Holy Cross Cemetery where Renzo meets with Maria, who is being pursued by the murderer. She desperately wants Renzo to take her five-year-old son to safety. This building is where Maria is hiding.

Wine, Grapes, and Barrels.

Of course, an investigation into the murder of a renowned winemaker of Napa Valley will put wine and everything involved in its cultivation, preparation, vintage, and sale under a microscope. Wine is the life blood of any great wine growing region. It runs in the veins of families that have cultivated the vine for centuries. And so it is with the families involved with the murder of Augusto Venturi.

Because of that fact, Renzo and Jackie spend a lot of time interviewing the major members of the Venturi Vineyards family. They learn about how grapes are grown, how wine is made, and how it is marketed, all in an attempt to understand who might have wanted Augusto Venturi dead.

Bins of Cabernet Grapes, Fresh from the Fields and Headed for the Crusher.

In a spot like this, Jackie learns that wasps love grapes and don’t like intruders.

A Cave With Barrels of Aging Wine.

The scene of Renzo’s interrogation of Cesare Brovelli about his relationship with Augusto Venturi, and the passions that swirl around the pursuit of high-end cabernet.

The Vast Vineyards of Napa Valley.

Where grape pickers, legal and illegal, gather for the care and harvesting of some of the finest grapes in the world. Where Renzo and Jackie watch Cesare Brovelli work side by side with his workers and ponder just what this man of the land, and known wine expert, can tell them about the murder.

A Map is Always Helpful in a Novel with Multiple Settings.

I drew this map to help the reader not only understand the Valley but also be able to follow Renzo and Jackie from place to place.

Napa Valley is 30 miles in length and 5 miles wide. On the east side, the Vaca Mountains protect it from the intense heat of the Central Valley. On the west side, the Mayacamas Mountains protect it from the cooler influence of the Pacific Ocean which is only a one-hour drive away.

Highway 29, running down the center of the Valley, is nearly always crowded with tourists and frustratingly slow. The Silverado Trail on the other side of the Valley, which isn’t used as much by tourists, is an escape route for Renzo and Jackie to avoid traffic.

Renzo and Jackie’s investigation has them travelling from one end of the valley to another, up narrow mountain roads, along tourist-clogged highways, from wineries to private homes, in searing heat and clouds of dust.

A Love Letter to Napa Valley.

I loved living in Napa Valley in the summer of 1978, and I also loved writing Blood into Wine. What I’ve described here is only a glimpse into the memories and details of that summer that went into the novel. I confess to a great deal of descriptive prose, in a book I now call my love letter to Napa Valley.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I also hope you will read Blood into Wine. Let it take you on a Napa Valley vacation with the added zest of a murder investigation.

And the Wine is Bottled Poetry.

Sincerely, Julia George https://juliageorgeauthor.com/

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