We owned a wine shop and were lucky enough to have a couple bottles of 1966, 67 d'Yquem. Nectar of the gods!!

Author's Response: Oh, you are really lucky! I hope that some day I will have a chance to try some!

I adore this story - as someone only beginning to 'really' appreciate wine, it is very enlightening. Draco is so deliciously snobbish, and unwillingly intoxicated with Ginny (I suppose intoxicated is the apt word, isn't it?). I look forward to the next bit.

I adore this story - as someone only beginning to 'really' appreciate wine, it is very enlightening. Draco is deliciously snobbish, and unwillingly intoxicated with Ginny (intoxication is apt word, isn't it?). Looking forward to the next chapter.
Elisebeth

Author's Response: Intoxication certainly is an apt word! I'm glad that you are enjoying the information as well as the story. Wine is a wonderful hobby--I hope that you continue to appreciate it. Thanks for reading and for the review!

that was good. i was susrprised when ginny didn't offer atleast token protest to drinking the Château d’Yquem.

ps where is draco's attempt to pick a wine that describes ginny like he has for all the other women?

pps have you tried any new zealand or australian wines? the whites are wonderful and my favorite red is from new zealand.

Author's Response: Ginny knows enough not to pass up such an offer. I certainly wouldn't! The answer to your question about Draco picking a wine that describes Ginny will be answered later on. I'm not going to give it away! :)

I am a big fan of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Australian Shiraz. I've never had a red wine from New Zealand, but my husband and I just bought a sample case of wines from small New Zealand wineries and I think there are a few bottles of reds in there for us to try. What is your favorite?

It's hard to express how much I am enjoying this fic. I actually groan aloud when I reach the end of a chapter (they're so short!), because I know that I am approaching the end. I can't wait for you to post more of this; it was such a relief when this website came back online! Yours was the first story I rushed to because I missed it so much.

The camaraderie you've built between Draco and Ginny is fantastic, and what's more, legitimate. That's something unusual for a DG fanfic, where the characters are generally just swept away by their inexplicable emotions. I like that we see the WHY of it in your story.

It's nice to see how much they respect each other, too. And their friendly competition over wine knowledge is always exciting. Please update soon!!!

PS-- Is it more difficult (or prestigious) to be a sommelier in Paris than in London? Is that a dumb question?

Author's Response: Wow! That's high praise. I'm glad that you are enjoying the story so much. I try hard to keep the characters as realistic as possible, but it can definitely be a challenge. As to your question, I actually have no idea if it is more prestigious to be a sommelier in Paris than in London. I made that part up. But France is, in many ways, the center of the wine world, so the assumption might not be too far off base. Thanks for reading and for the extensive review!

I'm enjoying the story, it's light and fun and learning about wine is cool. I like this aspect of Ginny, it's nice to see her as something other than a healer, auror or god forbid desperate prostitute! Nice idea, and looking forward to future chapters.

Author's Response: I'm glad you are enjoying it. I'm having fun writing Ginny entirely through Draco's clouded eyes. Thanks for reading and for the review!

Another great chapter! I'm glad Narcissa is so perceptive here, and that Draco has a petulant side -- I like him mostly smooth with a little bit of crank. The endnote about how the label indicates where the grapes were gathered is very interesting -- I'll be looking for that now.

And thank you for the Rioja rec -- I did try the Marquis de Caceres (in both the red and white) and liked it. (And got really excited b/c I could smell the vanilla -- I have a very poor nose I think!)
Looking forward to your next -- is it "Tasting" time yet?

Author's Response: You had better watch out--next thing you know, you will be regaling the world with what you smell in wines! I'm glad you like Draco and are continuing to enjoy the story. Thanks for reading!

Enjoying the progression of this story. Narcissa knows what's best for Draco in wines and as well as a wife because she is, after all, his MOTHER.

I also LOVED your last chapter. The dynamic between Amber and Ginny and Draco was hysterical. Those knowing glances between Draco and Ginny were wonderful. It was nice to see them on the same side for once.

Author's Response: Yes, mother does know best. Or at least I expect I will think so if I ever have children. :) And the bit with Ginny and Draco responding to Amber in the last chapter is one of my favorite parts too. I'm glad you are still enjoying the story. Thanks for reading!

I'm delighted by the twist in this chapter. I had been a bit afraid, after the debacle of Amber Nott's Zinfandel, that the story would have a rabid wine nationalism to it. So this was a very pleasant surprise. I sampled quite a few selections of California Chardonnay at a charity tasting two years ago. Lovely, and yes, very fruity, not too heavy with the oak chips. Ironically, the selections that were being touted as organic, pesticide-free were a little less flavoursome.

Author's Response: I can't let the wine get too Eurocentric. I did learn to drink wine in California, after all! I've never had an "organic" wine that I particularly like, but I think that is because it is a relatively new industry. It takes a long time for vines to mature enough to produce grapes that make really good wine, and people haven't been growing organic grapes for very long. I expect they will get better over the next ten years. Thanks for reading!

there are also excellent wines in New Zealand and Australia. one of my favorite reds is australian... can't remember the name (it was before i was legal).

I really like where you are taking this. and the "Tasting Notes" are a lovely touch.

Author's Response: I agree--I am particularly fond of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Australian Shiraz. I'm glad you are enjoying the story and the notes. Thanks for reading!

I'm really enjoying the enormous attention to details [and the challenge of keeping up with said details!] that this story presents. Even the endnotes are enjoyable - I'm too young to go wine-tasting or anything like that, but my grandfather is a wine connoisseur, and I've always found it interesting. Keep going!

Author's Response: I'm glad you're enjoying the level of detail. It is hard to know where to draw the line. Thanks for reading and for the review.

Yet another fine chapter. This story makes me wish I was twenty-one already so I can experience all these wines for myself. Alas...a year and three months to go.

Author's Response: Thank you for the reminder that there are advantages to being my age, even if I hardly ever get carded anymore. Sigh. Anyway, I am glad that you are still enjoying the story, even if it is causing you to yearn for what you can't yet have. (That sounds overly dramatic, but I am too tired to think of something more straightforward to say.) Thanks for reading and for the review.

Wow, that's serious wine skills. I find this higly amusing, and I'd have to say that I find your Draco auristocratic and whatnot enough to still be Draco for me. He's not right on, but he's not painfully out of character, so it works. Good job.

Author's Response: It is amazing what a little research can do to make you seem smart! I'm glad you like this Draco. It is hard to write something light that is also consistent with canon, so I'm happy that I have been at least moderately successful. Thanks for reading and for the review.