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Spritzer
Spritzer Vallier is the manager of a large commercial jug winery in Northern California. The new owner, Spritzer’s great-aunt Del, wants to make a quality champagne as well as the cheap wine that is the bedrock of their business. Being a down-to-earth, no-nonsense guy, Spritzer resists Del’s fantastic idea. However, she insists and hires Michel, a French champagne master, to direct the setup of the new venture for four years until Spritzer can take over the running of the winery by himself.
Spritzer and Michel must work closely together and right from the beginning it is clear there will be fireworks. Michel tends towards arrogance and control. Spritzer resents Michel’s authority and demands, and is a bit of a stubborn hot-head.
Keeping the two in check is Del—steady, caring, and wise, she directs the two toward the accomplishment of her dream.
Storms, accidents, and money problems plague the progress of the new winery, but eventually Michel and Spritzer work their way towards a successful conclusion to their efforts. But fate seems to have another destination for them as well, as they begin to fall in love with each other.
Spritzer and Michel must work closely together and right from the beginning it is clear there will be fireworks. Michel tends towards arrogance and control. Spritzer resents Michel’s authority and demands, and is a bit of a stubborn hot-head.
Keeping the two in check is Del—steady, caring, and wise, she directs the two toward the accomplishment of her dream.
Storms, accidents, and money problems plague the progress of the new winery, but eventually Michel and Spritzer work their way towards a successful conclusion to their efforts. But fate seems to have another destination for them as well, as they begin to fall in love with each other.
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 27, 2017
10 people want to read
About the author
Jon McDonald
17 books6 followersAs an author, Jon’s mission is to provide readers with stories that delight and entertain so they can enjoy a pleasurable respite from their busy day to day lives. Readers describe turning the last page of McDonald’s books not only feeling completely satisfied, but also wanting more.
His adventure stories are exciting - fast paced and captivating. They are filled with intriguing plots, imaginative locales and storylines that make you think about real issues in an engaging way. His adventure readers are selective - typically enjoying the works of other notable peers in the field including David Baldacci, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and James Patterson.
His humorous tales delight and amuse - evoking the satire of David Sedaris, the laugh-out-loud humor of Ethan Mordden or the sly English observations of E.F. Benson.
Jon’s readers are just as likely to be found listening to classical music, NPR, traveling abroad, shopping at local farmer’s markets, preparing gourmet food or walking the halls of the Hermitage, the Met, or the Louvre as they are reading his humorous, intelligent stories written for an audience who shy away from run of the mill writing.
Jon McDonald lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He won awarded 1st prize in the 2009 Santa Fe New Mexican holiday short story contest, 2009. He has also been published in Raphael's Village, ImageOutWrite, Bay Laurel, Jonathan, and Off the Rocks, Vol 17.
His adventure stories are exciting - fast paced and captivating. They are filled with intriguing plots, imaginative locales and storylines that make you think about real issues in an engaging way. His adventure readers are selective - typically enjoying the works of other notable peers in the field including David Baldacci, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and James Patterson.
His humorous tales delight and amuse - evoking the satire of David Sedaris, the laugh-out-loud humor of Ethan Mordden or the sly English observations of E.F. Benson.
Jon’s readers are just as likely to be found listening to classical music, NPR, traveling abroad, shopping at local farmer’s markets, preparing gourmet food or walking the halls of the Hermitage, the Met, or the Louvre as they are reading his humorous, intelligent stories written for an audience who shy away from run of the mill writing.
Jon McDonald lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He won awarded 1st prize in the 2009 Santa Fe New Mexican holiday short story contest, 2009. He has also been published in Raphael's Village, ImageOutWrite, Bay Laurel, Jonathan, and Off the Rocks, Vol 17.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
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March 26, 2017DNF at 46%
Oh boy.
This was…a bit of a disaster. I’m pretty sure I eye-rolled from the first line and never really stopped. This was a tropey mess from beginning to end (or at least, until I ended it), and most of it either annoyed me or made me outright angry.
Spritzer Vallier (that name was eye-roll #1) is managing the family’s winery after his uncle dies. When his aunt Del decides to branch out into producing sparkling wine, despite a buy-out offer from her nephew, Nelson, she hires champagne master, Michel, to help produce their first batch. Although they get off to a rough start, Spritzer and Michel find themselves becoming attracted to one another.
Let’s get down to brass tacks.
Spritzer is an idiot and a bully –
1. When his cousin Nelson unexpectedly brings a tour group to the winery, Spritzer pours a jug of wine over Nelson’s head in order to get him to leave.
2. When the winery hosts a welcome party for Michel (the person they are relying on to turn a profit and make sure the winery doesn’t lose money), Spritzer gets drunk and pukes on him
3. When Spritzer and on/off girlfriend Kan are eating dinner and watching tv, Spritzer dunks a bowl of spaghetti down Kan’s shirt when she won’t pay attention to him (it’s supposed to be funny).
See the rest of my review at Just Love
Oh boy.
This was…a bit of a disaster. I’m pretty sure I eye-rolled from the first line and never really stopped. This was a tropey mess from beginning to end (or at least, until I ended it), and most of it either annoyed me or made me outright angry.
Spritzer Vallier (that name was eye-roll #1) is managing the family’s winery after his uncle dies. When his aunt Del decides to branch out into producing sparkling wine, despite a buy-out offer from her nephew, Nelson, she hires champagne master, Michel, to help produce their first batch. Although they get off to a rough start, Spritzer and Michel find themselves becoming attracted to one another.
Let’s get down to brass tacks.
Spritzer is an idiot and a bully –
1. When his cousin Nelson unexpectedly brings a tour group to the winery, Spritzer pours a jug of wine over Nelson’s head in order to get him to leave.
2. When the winery hosts a welcome party for Michel (the person they are relying on to turn a profit and make sure the winery doesn’t lose money), Spritzer gets drunk and pukes on him
3. When Spritzer and on/off girlfriend Kan are eating dinner and watching tv, Spritzer dunks a bowl of spaghetti down Kan’s shirt when she won’t pay attention to him (it’s supposed to be funny).
See the rest of my review at Just Love
April 12, 2017
A Joyfully Jay review.
3.75 stars
I have mixed feelings about Spritzer. The blurb intrigued me. I don’t know much about wine. Truthfully, I prefer a nice margarita to a glass of the stuff. Thanks to this book, I learned a lot about the process involved, from grapes on the vine to the bottle on the table. Interesting stuff, really. There’s a lot more involved than what I imagined, and Jon McDonald provides the perfect amount of description. It’s almost as if the vineyard and the wine are characters in the story.
I liked the character of Michel. He’s very particular about what he needs from Spritzer and Del to make the best product they can. I liked the way he respected Del and shared with her every detail of the process so she understood why he needed what he did. He also interacted well with the other characters in the book from Spritzer’s girlfriend (I’ll get to that.), Spritzer’s uppity cousin, the other winery employees, and the people who lived in town. Spritzer, himself? Meh. Not so much. I thought he was uptight, cantankerous, arrogant, and sometimes, mean. Yes, he loved Aunt Del, and he got along with the employees at the winery, but that was about it. He was a genuine ass toward Michel, and he was steadfastly determined to make it as difficult as possible for Michel to do what he needed to do. He was a pretty lousy boyfriend too. Kan wanted to nail him down to a marriage proposal, and he didn’t really want to do that. Rather than letting her move on with her life, he seemed to keep dangling carrots in front of her. I was as frustrated as she was.
Read Kenna’s review in its entirety here.
3.75 stars
I have mixed feelings about Spritzer. The blurb intrigued me. I don’t know much about wine. Truthfully, I prefer a nice margarita to a glass of the stuff. Thanks to this book, I learned a lot about the process involved, from grapes on the vine to the bottle on the table. Interesting stuff, really. There’s a lot more involved than what I imagined, and Jon McDonald provides the perfect amount of description. It’s almost as if the vineyard and the wine are characters in the story.
I liked the character of Michel. He’s very particular about what he needs from Spritzer and Del to make the best product they can. I liked the way he respected Del and shared with her every detail of the process so she understood why he needed what he did. He also interacted well with the other characters in the book from Spritzer’s girlfriend (I’ll get to that.), Spritzer’s uppity cousin, the other winery employees, and the people who lived in town. Spritzer, himself? Meh. Not so much. I thought he was uptight, cantankerous, arrogant, and sometimes, mean. Yes, he loved Aunt Del, and he got along with the employees at the winery, but that was about it. He was a genuine ass toward Michel, and he was steadfastly determined to make it as difficult as possible for Michel to do what he needed to do. He was a pretty lousy boyfriend too. Kan wanted to nail him down to a marriage proposal, and he didn’t really want to do that. Rather than letting her move on with her life, he seemed to keep dangling carrots in front of her. I was as frustrated as she was.
Read Kenna’s review in its entirety here.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews