Celebrating the Release of Murder Uncorked

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We are so excited to celebrate the release of Maddie Day/Edith’s first book in a new series, Murder Uncorked! Here’s a bit about the book:

Raise a glass to Cece Barton, a widowed single mom and recent L.A.-to-California-wine-country transplant who suddenly finds herself at the center of a murder investigation in this sparkling new mystery series from Agatha Award-winning author Maddie Day.

As the manager of Vino y Vida Wine Bar in Colinas, Cecelia “Cece” Barton’s first Alexander Valley harvest is a whirlwind of activity. Her twin sister, Allie Halstead, who owns a nearby Victorian bed & breakfast, is accustomed to the hustle and bustle of peak tourist season. But Cece barely has a moment to enjoy her new home in between worrying about her estranged college-age daughter, juggling her responsibilities at the bar, and navigating the sticky politics of the local wine association. Just when it seems things can’t grow any more intense, Colinas is rocked by a murder within the wine community . . . and Cece is identified as a possible suspect!

With her reputation and her livelihood on the line—and the Sonoma County deputy sheriff breathing down her neck—Cece has no choice but to open up her own murder investigation. Tensions are already high in the valley, as a massive wildfire creeps toward Colinas, threatening homes, vineyards, and the vital tourist trade. And now, with a murderer on the loose, and Cece’s sleuthing exposing the valley’s bitterest old rivalries and secret new alliances, Colinas feels ready to pop! But with Allie’s help, Cece is determined to catch the killer and clear her name before everything she’s worked so hard for goes up in flames . . .

Wickeds, have you ever been to California wine country? Do you have a favorite winery? A favorite wine?

Julie: I have not been there, and always intend to remedy that some day. I can’t wait to read this series, and live vicariously through the characters. I’ve also enjoyed hearing about Maddie/Ediths’s research trips. I am a wine drinker, and love dry roses, malbecs, and oaky chardonnay. But I also love finding new wines thanks to friends and adventures. Congratulations, Edith/Maddie!!!

Jessie: Super congratulations, Edith! I have been to California wine country several years ago and enjoyed myself very much! We visited several wineries including Korbel. Since I adore sparkling wines it was a delightful experience!

Sherry: Congratulations, Edith! I love that you set the book in the Alexander Valley because it’s such a beautiful part of California with so much interesting history. We were just out in that area in June. Our friends took us to Foley Sonoma winery. They opened just for the four of us and we were spoiled. Their sparkling wine is one of the best I’ve ever had. Below is a picture of their beautiful tasting room.

Barb: Congratulations on Murder Uncorked, Edith! I have never been to California wine country though Bill and I have talked about it for years. I don’t know what’s holding us back. I do enjoy visiting wineries, most recently in Bordeaux.

Edith/Maddie: Thanks so much, dear Wickeds! I will be back in the Alexander Valley Saturday for a winery launch party and more (details on the CA events here), and I can’t wait. I might stop by that Foley winery too, Sherry – the tasting room is lovely.

Readers: Have you been to California wine country? Does your state have wineries?

Published by Sherry Harris

Sherry Harris is the author of the Agatha Award nominated Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series and the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Mystery series.

36 Thoughts

  1. Yes, I am mostly a wine drinker, and love CA’s old vine zinfandels. I have visited both Napa and Sonoma County wineries, tasting rooms several times. I prefer Sonoma wines and have stayed in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg & the town of Sonoma.

    Ontario has 100s of wineries. Whites, reds and internationally award winning ice wines are grown mainly in Niagara Peninsula Region between Lake Ontario & Lake Erie. But there are some wineries close to me in Prince Edward County (an hour’s drive SW of Ottawa). I stayed in Belleville or Picton & took a 1/2 day wine tour by van.

    2. As a Santa Rosa native, thank you for preferring Sonoma County wines. Everyone talks about Napa, and I feel like we get neglected. 🙂

  2. I’m happy that MURDER UNCORKED is out in the world and I’m sure that it will be a big success for Edith.

    I don’t drink so I don’t have a favorite wine or know if there are any wineries here in MA. And I’ve never been to California wine country.

    In fact, I really only have two experiences with wine and neither is a particularly good memory. The first came when I was a little kid. We had gone to my grandparents house for a big family gathering (likely Christmas) and when we sat down for dinner, there was a glass of what I thought was fruit punch next to my plate. Or so I thought. I took a sip and remember saying that this fruit punch didn’t taste good. And that’s when I learned that the glass was actually next to the plate next to mine and it was wine. I didn’t like the taste as you can imagine.

    The other was when I started dating The Disaster. For our first date, I made sure to do the whole flowers and since she liked wine, I bought a bottle of some kind of wine that she liked. I had to reach out to a friend of mine who does drink to find out what might be a good kind. The Disaster liked the wine but since I refer to her with the alias, you can imagine how that attempt at a relationship ended.

  3. Congratulations Edith on the release of “Murder Uncorked”! I know the public is going to fall in love with it just as much as I did.

    Although I lived in California for 9 years, it was back when I was a child. We did travel through a lot of the state, but not sure if it was through wine country.

    There are 21 wineries dotting much of the state Arkansas – especially the eastern part of the state. There are actually four wine trails in the state. With Altus being the wine capital as it preserves the heritage of German-Swiss immigrants and the art of wine making.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

  4. Congratulations, Edith! I don’t know of any wineries near me, there are lots of micro breweries around though. I don’t care for wine, but I’d still love to visit wine country, especially in Italy!

  5. Three cheers to you, Edith! I’ll raise a glass of white wine in your honor today!

  6. I have not been to California wine country. But both Pennsylvania and New York have wineries and I’ve visited in both states (many years ago).

  7. Congratulations again and again! Murder Uncorked is one of my top 5 books of 2023! I live in southern CA, about 20 minutes from the Temecula Wine Country, and love all the wineries. We even have several in my town, one less than 10 minutes away. I have been to the northern wineries, and love that area, so I felt an affinity to Murder Uncorked from the first page. Thank you for giving us readers so much fun. I hope you can visit us and the Temecula area. We don’t grow grapes, but grow avocados and tropical fruits. Currently pineapple and strawberry guavas and some mangos are left, and persimmons are almost there! Thank you, thank you, thank you1 Luis at ole dot travel

  8. I have been to the California wine country. Beautiful area. I’m not able to drink alcohol because of medications but used to enjoy a good wine. In Montana we have a few wineries but mostly breweries.

  9. I haven’t been any wineries. I was lucky to win a copy of Murder Uncorked and loved it. I’m excited to read more in the future about Cece. aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com

  10. I live in Michigan and we have lovely wineries in the Traverse City area. I am so excited about Maddie Day’s new series and the premier of Murder Uncorked! I always love it when I can get in on the beginning. It makes me feel like I’m part of the family. Cheers! To Cece Barton and Maddie Day!

  11. Congratulations to Edith on the launch of your new series! I have been to Napa and Sonoma and enjoyed visiting several wineries. I am not a sophisticated wine drinker so I actually am satisfied with the cheaper wines lol. There are wineries all over Northeast Ohio. I have been to several, but I must admit, it was mostly to hear a friend of mine play guitar in a beautiful setting.

    Edith, I am curious if there is a reason you made CeCe a twin? My niece just had twins 6 months ago and they don’t run in the family on either side. We are all enjoying watching them develop and display different personalities from the beginning.

    1. Thanks, Sue! I don’t have twins in the immediate family either, but my sons have two sets of fraternal twin cousins on their father’s side, and a good friend here raised fraternal twins. I thought it would add a great sidekick who also comes with a bit of conflict, as all sisters do. I’ve read a lot about twins over the years and have found their bond fascinating.

  12. Congrats Edith, sounds like you have another award winning series! Raising a glass to you!

  13. Sheila Connolly and her husband David introduced me to California wine country many years ago! It was a great adventure with them, as you can imagine. Congratulations on the new book series.

  14. Never been to a California winery, and I don’t think they have any in Maine, but I’m not sure. I have been to wineries in Florida, Virginia, and New York. Had a great time at all of them.

  15. I grew up in Santa Rosa, so I lived in California’s most famous wine country for years. (We grow wine in lots of parts of the state, but Sonoma and Napa are most famous for it.) I don’t drink, however, so I’ve never been to any of the wineries in the area.

  16. I do enjoy an occassional glass of wine (or 2) and have visited wineries on Long Island and in the Thousand Islands area of NY, but only once visited a winery in CA. Four years ago my cousin got married at Hans Fahden Vintards in Calistoga. It’s a beautiful venue & it was a wonderful day, although it ended early because of the fires in Napa getting closer!

    Right now I’m in the middle of Christmas Mittens Murder and plan to read Murder Uncorked next. Love the new series!

  17. We took a side trip to Napa wine country when we visited San Francisco about 10 years ago. We drove from winery to winery tasting along the way. We noticed that those who were on trips with a driver were having a lot more fun than we were driving ourselves. We enjoyed it anyways and learned a lot! Since then we have become serious wine drinkers.

    I remember driving through MI wine country in the 90s when we took many trips along I-94 from Detroit to Chicago to visit relatives.

    Now we live in WA state and have visited several WA wineries. I now drink my favorite WA wines.

  19. No. I have never been to California wineries. I believe Ohio has wineries, but I have never been to one. Thank you so much for sharing. Happy book birthday. God bless you.

  21. We have never visited any wineries in any state. Back in the 1970s we were really into wine and used to try all kinds of wines. Our favorite at the time was Liebfraumilch. We loved Blue Nun. But now we don’t drink it often, but we do use it in our cooking as it makes it all wonderful. Georgia and Texas have great wines though. Hawaiian Pineapple wine is delicious though. We do cocktails with Seagra
    m’s VO and ginger ale now.

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