Books & Bottles: The Moscow Deception & Fortuity 2019 Sauvignon Blanc

How it is the end of June? Does anyone else feel like there’s not enough days and time in a month this year? Anyway, I’m still really enjoying this series. It might be my favorite series yet and I’ve been strongly debating on continuing with it next year. It’s something I look forward to and I’m only one month behind. So, fingers crossed I can catch up soon. For the time being though, here’s June’s Books & Bottles: The Moscow Deception & Fortuity 2019 Sauvignon Blanc.

Let’s get into it!

Table of Contents

The Book: The Moscow Deception by Karen Robarbs

The Moscow Deception Karen Robards — Karen Robards’ The Moscow Deception

A brief synopsis:

This is the second book of The Guardian Series. Bianca is a highly trained super thief. She grew up learning from her adopted father/master thief, who she recently found out faked his own death after a major heist in Austria.

Bianca is trying to lay low after discovering a hit on her life. It’s hard though with kids coming to her in trouble and she travels to Russia for a jewels and artifacts theft. Especially with a very handsome CIA agent tailing her every step of the way.

Honest Review:

Soooooo, true story. I grabbed this book out of a free pile in my apartment complex. After reading a good 10 chapters into it, I started to feel like I was missing something… I was having a hard time connecting with the characters outside of Bianca. So, I looked it up on goodreads where I uncovered that… this book is the second book in a trilogy. 🤦‍♀️

After, I felt a little relieved but also like I was missing some key pieces throughout the book. Then after continuing to read, I also felt like I didn’t miss out on anything at all (despite the “huge cliff-hanger” everyone was talking about on goodreads. Which, was confirmed in this book: Her dad isn’t dead).

I didn’t hate this book but there is a lot of details and a lot less dialog than I am used to. I promised to be honest so I’m just going to say it: I skimmed a lot of the chapters. However, I will say I was completely committed to all of the action chapters. Anytime someone pulled out a weapon or Bianca had to go all Black Widow on them, I loved it.

This is a hit and miss for me. I neither was obsessed nor did I hate it. At any point, I could have put the book down and walked away but I didn’t. I saw it through. Will I read book 3? Undecided – but I’d love to know what you thought of this book and if you read book 1.

…. wine time!

The Bottle: Fortuity Cellars 2019 Sauvignon Blanc

My last few bottles of wine have not disappointed and this one was absolutely perfect for June’s scorching heatwave over the Pacific Northwest.

This bottle is Fortuity Cellars 2019 Sauvignon Blanc. I had the great opportunity to not only sample this bottle at Fortuity Cellars in May BUT I am also privileged to know the owners! I used to work with Lee in Marketing at my old company and his wonderful wife, Emily, and I met through the Junior League of Seattle. So, we got a mini private tour of the cellar and the grounds!

In short, 10 out of 10, I recommend. This bottle hit all the right notes for me and I can’t wait to share them with you so let’s get into the specifics!

What I’m Tasting:

Light citrus mix with a splash of nectarines (which are my favorite!).

What makes this wine unique:

The fact that it was fermented 1/8 of the time in New French Oak and then in Stainless Steal. I’m not a big oaky person but light oak is perfection! It made the taste airy and subtle. The notes for this wine is: notes of kiwi, guava and gooseberry.

All very citrus and tropical. Again, beautiful. Especially when chilled, and at the park for a reading marathon.

Overall wine grade: A

I was so impressed by all of Lee and Emily’s wine. If you get the opportunity, don’t hesitate to book a tasting with them. You won’t regret it.

I hope you guys enjoyed this pairing for June! I was hoping to get caught up this month but, alas, even with my first flight in 16 month, I wasn’t able to. Fingers crossed for July!