Terroir by Sheila Scobba Banning
Rating:
The Unbound Book Club of Morgan Hill meets monthly for dinner and books.
Surrounding visiting Terrior author Sheila Banning (seated, center) are mem-
bers Laura Lundy (left) and Theresa Kiernan (right). Back row, (l-r): Laurie Dineen,
Carol Carr, Sherry Hemingway, Nancy Neyer-Kinoshita, Aimee Ledwith and
Lisa DeSilva. Missing: Deborah Morton-Padilla and Janet Thompson.
SILICON VALLEY READS – Author Visit
Book of Unknown Americans, a novel about Panama, by Cristina
Henriquez is a 2015 Silicon Valley Reads selection. The author will
speak March 24 at the Morgan Hill Library and March 28 at the
Gilroy Public Library.
WHAT OTHER BOOK CLUBS ARE READING:
• BookSmart Book Lovers Club, Morgan Hill –
• Books with Dessert, Morgan Hill Library –
• Gilroy Library Book Club –
• Eagle Ridge #1, Gilroy –
• Eagle Ridge #3, Gilroy –
• Unbound, Morgan Hill –
The Martian by Andy Weir
Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman
G M H T O D A Y M A G A Z I N E
Gilroy’s own Martin Ranch Winery on Redwood
Retreat Road was the inspiration for the locale of
Terroir, a novel about a winemaker dealing with
her own extraordinary pinot noir and her equally
complicated life. The local setting and the ode to
superb wine make this a delicious read.
While it is interesting to read familiar local
names in the Acknowledgements section, author
Sheila Banning of Sunnyvale makes it perfectly
clear that, “This is a work of fiction. That means
I made it all up.”
In her book and during her recent visit to the
Morgan Hill book club “Unbound,” she said of
herself, “The infusion of authentic detail helps
breathe life into fiction, but don’t confuse that
with autobiography. If you insist on looking for
something in the book that really happened, pick
the sex scenes.”
Terroir is the story of Suzanne Mathews, a
respected winemaker in the Santa Cruz Mountains
appellation, on the verge of producing a pinot
noir destined to become a legend. The possibility
of fame and fortune for the boutique winery also
has the attention of her soon-to-be ex-husband
and a circling venture capital shark. If that weren’t
enough, Suzanne’s sister in Iowa has ousted her
hospice worker and chosen to face death on her
own terms.
The book’s finest attribute is deep detail about
the winemaking process, which is well blended into
the story. Each chapter starts with the definition of
a wine term, such as brix, inoculation, cold soak,
malolactic fermentation or racking, and then the
chapter includes Suzanne working with that aspect
of the process. The book will have you rummaging
for pinot in your wine storage.
In addition, there’s the snarky dialogue of two
maverick sisters, an old flame and an uncommon
solution for divorce.
The book club gave it an all thumbs-up, a rare
occurrence in any book club.
MARCH / APRIL 2015
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