Q & A with Boo Walker

If you love wine at some time in your life you’ve probably fantasized about owning a vineyard and making your own wine. Boo Walker’s Red Mountain Chronicles is a trilogy that captures the true spirit of crafting wine in the Red Mountain AVA (An AVA is an American Viticultural Area which is a specific zone based on geography and climate.). He is a talented writer whose character development stirred quite a bit of controversy when he ended his first book in a cliffhanger about a main character. His audience loves this cast of nonconformists (myself included) and had grown to really care about them. Boo also owned his own small vineyards for a time adding to the authenticity of his work.

So come along with me to get to know Boo Walker and the amazing Red Mountain.

Musician to Winemaker

Peggy – I can see the appeal of wine because it is a creative outlet. What drew you to wine? Any dreams to make/have your own label?

Boo – You hit it on the head apropos a creative outlet. After leaving a career playing banjo and writing songs in Nashville due to a hand disorder called Focal Dystonia, I got into stock trading. It was a ton of fun, but it didn’t quite scratch the creative itch. I started playing the sitar and guitar, and then I happened upon writing, which really felt good. I’d always wanted to write a book—always a big reader—and had learned how to tap into my muse as a songwriter, so it was a pretty natural progression.

Then, while writing a thriller, the wine bug bit and it bit hard. I was living in Charleston, South Carolina and had become a regular at a wine shop there. I’d go in and work with the owner to build a case of wine, then spend a couple of weeks drinking them while studying what made each bottle different. I became fascinated with the stories: who the families were, how the varieties differed, how terroir differed. There was something so magical to me—still is—about how a bottle could capture a time and place. I could sit with my friends in Charleston, open a bottle of Provencal rose and throw on some gypsy jazz, and we’d be instantly transported overseas into the south of France.

The Catalyst

Boo – In the writing business, we use the term “catalyst” to describe the moment when something happens to a character that forces them to wake up and make some bigger decisions. For Luke Skywalker, the catalyst is when he’s fixing R2-D2 and suddenly he’s looking at an image of Leia. For the much less important Boo Walker, there was a guy from Red Mountain in Washington named Christophe Hedges, of course from Hedges Family Estate, who visited Charleston and sold some wine to the shop I frequented.

The shop owner sent a bottle home with me. It was the first I’d had from Washington State, maybe the first time I learned Washington State made wine. Raised in South Carolina, Washington State was about as far as you could get—this mystical far-off wonder—so I was always drawn to it. And when I first heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana as a teenager, Washington became a sort of magical spot to me. When I found out they made wine there, it was over.

A few months of soul-searching later, I was driving west with everything I owned, fully set on attending wine school at WSU and opening upa winery. And then I ran into Christophe and his sister, Sarah, who run Hedges Family Estate. It was like meeting people I’d been best friends within a past life. Both are incredibly interesting and passionate, and I think a lot of that has to do with their parents, who are equally interesting in their own right. Tom and Anne-Marie are two of the pioneers of Washington State wine. Shortly after arriving, I started working for them in the vineyard and tasting room and eventually joined Christophe pedaling their juice around the world.

Anne-Marie is from Champagne, so the old world is rich in all their blood. I would say my entire wine education and lens through which I see wine is founded on old world schoolings, which includes the importance of place and context in wine. For me, a wine isn’t only about the hedonistic pleasure of the flavors, but it’s about experiencing everything that went into that wine: the efforts of the vigneron and other people involved, who they are as people.

And of course, the climate that affected the grapes, the farming techniques, and so on. As Christophe brilliantly said one time, “I’d rather drink a bad wine that is true to its terroir than a hedonistically more pleasurable wine that has no sense of place.” That sums up the importance of context in wine. As another great wine mind, Kermit Lynch said, “Blind tasting is to wine as strip poker is to love.”

Gentleman Farmer

Boo To your point about starting my own thing, my wife and I bought what we call a “gentleman’s farm” and did just that. Though I loved traveling, I equally enjoyed coming home and working our farm, where we grew a few obscure varieties and made rich whites and light reds aged in amphora for a few years under the Coraggio label. It was just for fun, making fifty to a hundred cases a year and mostly sharing it with friends, maybe trading some for sheep shearing or other work around the farm. We live in Valencia, Spain now, in an apartment in the city. I’m not sure a day goes by when my wife and I don’t talk about buying a few hectares south of here, growing bobal, which is a local variety, and raising sheep. We’ll see what happens.

Peggy – I love visiting the Hedges Estate. It has such an “old world” charm to it and the wine is so good.

Red Mountain

Peggy – There are lots of wine regions in the United States to move to, why Red Mountain?

Boo – Once I’d decided to move west to break into the business, I took a few research trips to California, Oregon, and Washington. Napa felt a little hard to break into for a late-twenties guy having a mid-life crisis. Paso Robles was very interesting, and Sideways had just come out, upping the romance factor there. But I worked my way north to Oregon, and something about the Pacific Northwest really grabbed me, the air and the wines and the people.

Then I finally made it to Washington, and the bells began to ring. I went to Walla Walla first and loved it, but because of Hedges, I stopped by Red Mountain. I’m not sure what exactly grabbed me, but it felt like I was home, like this was where I needed to be. And the final decision really came down to varieties. A move to Oregon would be a dive into pinot noir. A move to Red Mountain would be committing to hotter climate varieties like Syrah and Cabernet.

In the end, I felt like Red Mountain not only had the magic I was looking for, but I loved how it was still up and coming, a blip in the middle of nowhere. And it didn’t hurt that everyone I spoke to was incredibly nice and so happy to share their knowledge.

The Pioneers of Washington Wine

Peggy – Your character development in the Red Mountain series is outstanding. I feel like I know Margot, Otis, Brooks, and Joan. Are there any real people in the Red Mountain area that inspired these characters? Did John Williams or Jim Holmes inspire Otis?

Boo – No doubt the old guard of Red Mountain inspired Otis. Jim Holmes and John Williams are legends, as is Tom Hedges and so many others. I remember being at a Christmas party a few years ago on Red Mountain, standing in a circle with Jim, John, Tom, Dick Bouchet, and a few others, and thinking, I’m standing among true greatness, people who found the magic of a place, figured out how to put it in a bottle, and then spread it around the world. When I write from Otis’s point of view, I think of these men and how much passion they have for their land.

If there’s any one person who has helped me most with my Red Mountain characters, it’s Christophe Hedges. I’m not sure anyone loves Red Mountain more, especially amongst the new guard. Well, J.J. at Kiona is right up there with him. Nevertheless, Christophe is what we call a guardian of Red Mountain. He and his sister took me under their wing and taught me so much about wine, of course the science of it but beyond that, the philosophy as I mentioned.

Christophe and I spent thousands of hours traveling all over the world together, and we’d talk about wine stuff non-stop, including ideas for characters and stories for my series. I can’t tell you how many times we’d brainstorm Otis ideas until we were both laughing to tears. What’s more fun than a guy nearly delirious with his commitment to what he believes in.

As far as other characters, I’d say everyone I ran into during my days on the mountain ended up in the books somewhere. From the moment I arrived, I was encountering so many colorful people that started my wheels turning. After a while, I basically threw them into the blender of my mind and pulled out bits and pieces to construct new characters.

Locations

Peggy – What about locations? Is there a particular winery or business the characters owned that is an actual place or inspired the place in the book?

Boo – Regarding actual places, I’m sure Brickhouse in West Richland made it into the books. No matter where I go, I still miss that place. It’s the quintessential dive-bar pizza place with killer food and great craft beer. As you can tell, Hedges played such a massive role in the development of my wine knowledge, and I continue to be in awe of their devotion to Red Mountain. Christophe and his wife, Maggie, have a project called Domaine Magdalena. I adore what they’re doing, always pushing the boundaries, and exploring new territory with their wines. For me, they win the cool factor on the mountain all day long.

Kiona (Vineyards) always comes to mind too. No doubt their whole family are soldiers of the terroir and have inspired many characters and stories for me. You can’t go to Red Mountain without visiting Kiona. Of course, the Antinori/St. Michelle project, Col Solare, is another essential. They are founding fathers of Italy and Washington respectfully, and I always love a visit to the tasting room. They even have a grappa that’s fun to taste. There are so many. Anelare has the best view of the mountain, and their wines are killer. Fidelitas is another must, as Charlie Hoppes is a major player on the mountain. The Frichettes are slightly new to the area, but they’ve become an essential stop for me too when I’m passing through. Great people and great wine.

The Setting

Peggy –  What real places are used in the book? I know Rattlesnake Mountain inspired a fun scene.

Boo – So, I have never hiked Rattlesnake Mountain, but I used to wake up looking at it, as our farm was on the Yakima River just east. Yes, I dreamed up that scene while standing there. Everyone says it’s the highest treeless mountain in the country, so why not plant a tree! How devious. Driving along the river on Demoss Road, you’ll pass our old place (where I envisioned Remi’s spot on the river) and soon come upon where I pictured Brooks living. I imagine the sign to Margaritaville Beach is still there, which held a pretty dramatic scene.

I always pictured Otis’s place near Kiona, maybe a half mile closer to the highway. The idea for Margot’s inn came because that’s what all of us wanted, some infrastructure—but not a Comfort Inn. A place with some soul. I imagined it just east of Ciel du Cheval. And Jake’s winery, Lacoda, was up past Hedges and Domaine Magdalena on the left.

I lived at the bottom of Red Mountain and walked it daily, so I knew every part intimately.

Support Small Businesses

Peggy –  Any small local businesses that were an inspiration? I love to mention them in my writing as many don’t have an advertising budget so appearing in a publication can make a difference.

Boo – Anelare Winery has done so much for me in promoting my books, and I think they are just great people. It’s people like that who made me fall in love with Red Mountain and write the books in the first place. As I mentioned, Christophe and Maggie at Domaine Magdalena and then Sarah at Hedges did so much for me and inspired so many stories.

Rock Star Winemakers

Peggy – I must ask, is there a rock star winemaker in Red Mountain?

Boo – Ha-ha, the rock star winemaker. Jake was inspired by a few real-life rockers who love wine. Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Rush’s Geddie Lee, and then Tool’s Maynard James Keenan. I always loved that about wine, that it attracts such interesting and passionate people, and often, people with a lot of money.

Spiritual Matters

Peggy – There is a lot of spirituality in the book especially from Joan. Otis seems to have his own religion. Why were these elements important to include in the series?

Boo – Great question. I knew when I started that I wanted to write from several different point of views and tap into characters who were very different from each other, which meant that I needed a thread. Yes, I had their love of the mountain, but I wanted more. I’ve always been on a spiritual path myself (though it may have been a bit twisted from time to time), so the ideas are very near to my heart. In fact, giving these characters such inner battles and journeys allowed me to explore my own. A shaman sort of character came to mind somehow, and I thought she’d be the perfect one to touch each of the characters and help them realize their own paths.

Backing up though, art can’t exist without some spirituality. And great wine is that way too. When I have bottles that bring tears to my eyes, there’s something that no climate scientist or sommelier can explain. That’s what I think draws Joan to Otis. She’s certainly found her way, but like you said, he has his own religion of sorts. I don’t believe I could have written a book about wine without exploring the spiritual side of the people involved.

Peggy – Well Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine.

Inspiration

Peggy – Did any real event inspire the climax in “Red Mountain”?

Boo – No real events inspired the idea. I can’t remember exactly what led to that escalation, though I suppose it was inevitable. It’s no secret that not everyone wants Red Mountain to become what it’s becoming, so there’s inherent conflict. More importantly, drama is the name of the game. I’m always thinking of how I can crush my characters. The only way to push characters to real change is by bringing them to their knees. So, my decision, if there was any left-brained thought involved at the time, would have been to take the one person who’d lifted them all up and knock her down.

Fingers Crossed

As an aside, I hadn’t intended on writing a second book. I left it on a bit of a cliffhanger and liked that the reader could draw their own conclusions. But then the readers spoke, both becoming very angry at the ending and demanding more. I resisted for a while, but the characters kept calling to me—and the readers kept writing—so I jumped back in for more. It’s such a fun series to write. In fact, I thought I was done after Books one through three and the prequel, but lately, as I work on my next book for Lake Union Publishing, I am starting to miss Otis, Margot, and the gang. I suppose there are more Red Mountain books to come, somewhere down the line. We’ll just have to see how things fall out.