Of Wine and Witches

The All Souls' Trilogy Paired With
​Potek Winery Syrah

WORDS Ninette Paloma

Every new year should begin with a little magic; incantations of hope for a fresh chapter of possibility. As thoughts turn inward and activities move indoors, there is no better time to lose yourself in a heady swirl of inky red wine and a selection of fantastical fiction, where witches, vampires, and daemons practice yoga and contemplate world domination.

Harnessing the mystical inclinations of author Deborah Harkness and Santa Barbara County winemaker Dave Potter (no relation to Harry), these book and wine pairings are sensorial expressions of history and whimsy, thoughtfully curated to summon powerful manifestations of past, present, and future.

For the uninitiated, Harkness burst onto the literary scene in 2011 with her first installment of what would soon become the All Souls trilogy — a series of books about Oxford researcher and reluctant witch Diana Bishop whose discovery of a long sought-after manuscript, called Ashmole 782, forces her to confront a painful past while finding the courage to embody her preternatural abilities. As a well-respected historian of science, medicine, alchemy, and magic, Harkness injects her encyclopedic knowledge on the subject of spells and potions to dazzling effect.

Pairing her books with a vertical exploration from Potter’s Potek label was a match made in the stars. Potek winery’s commitment to single vineyard, low-intervention practices ensure the distinctive and complex journey of the grape resonates thoroughly in the bottle. And nowhere is that approach more bewitching than in his Mormann Vineyard Syrah, an intricate and spirited wine fleshed out of the Sta. Rita Hills from sand dunes and cool temps.

DISCOVERY OF WITCHES & 2015 MORMANN VINEYARD SYRAH 

After decades of resisting the powers afforded to her as a generational witch, Diana Bishop’s scholarly research leads to the unexpected discovery of a manuscript that could unlock the secrets of alchemy and magic. As creatures position themselves in a dangerous game of possession, Diana finds an unlikely ally in a 1,500-year-old French vampire named Matthew Clairmont. His electrifying charisma and dedication to simultaneously caring after her while trying desperately not to (literally) consume her, is literary dessert. 

Pair with: Bursting with dark fruit, kalamata olives, and a pepper and frankincense finish, the 2015 Mormann Vineyard Syrah dances in your glass like a new crush. Last we checked, there were fewer than a dozen bottles left of this black cherry beauty.  

SHADOW OF NIGHT & 2014 MORMANN VINEYARD SYRAH

Attempting to escape the dark forces descending upon them, Diana and Matthew “time walk" to Elizabethan London,  where a stimulating landscape of stately architecture and opulent couture teases out an emotional reckoning of pasts long buried, and secrets finally revealed. This second installment also introduces readers to one of the trilogy’s most beloved characters – the loyal and gallant Viking known as Gallowglass – whose dedication to protecting the pair might be their only shot at survival.  

Pair with: What a difference a year makes. Humming with spices and violet candy, the confidently balanced 2014 Mormann Vineyard Syrah presents itself as a mellowed-out adult whose time around the sun has polished its edges and softened its tannins.

BOOK OF LIFE & 2013 MORMANN VINEYARD SYRAH

Feeling brazen and empowered, Diana and Matthew return to present times and face their destinies as leaders of a movement to shatter the old ideals of segregation and competition between the creatures of magic. Reverberating with cultural and political relevancy, the final installment of the All Souls trilogy dares to imagine a world of egalitarianism and collaboration, inspired by the teachings of Ashmole 278 and governed by the supernatural.

Pair with: Of leather and myrrh, ripe plums and black currant, the mystical properties of the 2013 Mormann Vineyard Syrah are an operatic delight: moody, dramatic, and a gratifying way to end an evening of magic.