Water to Wine: A METAtropolis Story

METAtropolis #2.2

by Mary Robinette Kowal

Emma Chavet and her father are winemakers who stubbornly cling to the old ways. But when an unwelcome offer comes to buy their business, they must face the new realities of a Green society.
This story was originally published in the Audie Award-winning METAtropolis: Cascadia.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Short Stories

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winning alternate history novel The Calculating Stars, the first book in the Lady Astronaut series which continues in 2025 with The Martian Contingency. She is also the author of The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost Talkers, The Spare Man and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo awards, the Nebula and Locus awards. Her stories appear in Asimov’s, Uncanny, and several Year’s Best anthologies. Mary Robinette has also worked as a professional puppeteer, is a member of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses, and performs as a voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), recording fiction for authors including Seanan McGuire, Cory Doctorow, and Neal Stephenson. She lives in Denver with her husband Robert, their dog Guppy, and their “talking” cat Elsie.

Her novel Calculating Stars is one of only eighteen novels to win the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards in a single year.

Reviews

[Donna Craig]

This audio short story is wonderfully read by Kate Mulgrew. It’s set in the future, but it feels believable in the current climate. The story is of a winemaking family who find their vineyard under threat from environmentalists. The family dynamics as they work for a solution are fascinating. Short but sweet.

[Hilary]

Kate Mulgrew did a good job as narrator; her wry tone was well-suited to Emma's character. A most enjoyable listen, though it did leave me craving a glass or two of wine!

[Bookfairy]

This audiobook is very near-future, and talks a bit about climate change and farming, along with some interesting tech, and good old-fashioned industry espionage and potential sabotage. Although at its heart, I think this is a story about family and time marching on.
It felt very fitting to have Kate Mulgew (Captain Janeway) read the story, it felt like a somewhat Star Trek version of Earth, there's tech, but it isn't *everything* and it's still a very human story.

(Rounding up to 4, I dunno how memorable this will be, but it's better than 3 stars)

[Cmoore]

I love Mary Robinette Kowal's short stories and Audible was offering it for free with a prime membership...
Kate Mulgrew narrated this with perfect pitch. And these 2 women make quite a team...

[Joel Ward]

Really bored me to tears. It was short so I powered through it, hoping for some interesting twist or unexpected resolution. It didn't come.

[Ruth]

8 A short read. Very environmentally friendly.

[Hayleyfigueroa]

I read this one out of sequence, I think. It ended just when it was starting to get good, which will force me to go back and ready the other books in order. I'm giving it 4 stars because I can't seem to do half stars. It's really a 3.5. It needed to be a bit longer to flesh out more of the plot.

[Erin]

I enjoyed the Audible production read by Kate Mulgrew. I'd characterize this story as futurism and look forward to exploring the rest of the anthology. I'd never read one of Mary Robinette Kowal's stories. Now, I'm looking forward to The Lady Astronaut, a short story, and her upcoming novel based upon it.
I found this story as part of Audible's Channels in the Alternate Reality short fiction section. Channels should be free with your Audible subscription.