She giggled as she had a brief recollection of the evening she’d arrived at Levallier Dell and Euan had stopped to look at the newly painted sign. “Did you know Levallier Dell rhymes with so many things, including bloody hell? Maybe instead of River Nymph you could call the albariño Levallier Dell’s Bloody Hell.”

Flynn looked at her and shook his head. “Come on, Mrs Levallier Dell, I think you’ve had too much sun.” He stood up, took her hands and pulled her up beside him. “I need to get you back to our room and loosen those clothes.”

Keely took his hand and they walked back along the beach. In a few days’ time they were heading for Derby, then they would begin the journey towards home again. South to the magical river and Levallier Dell, and with Flynn by her side, what else did she need?

Acknowledgements

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sixteen years ago I made my first journey to the Margaret River Wine Region in Western Australia and was immediately captivated by its special magic. This work of fiction grew from that first visit. I self-published it in 2006 as River Magic and since that time a lot has changed in both Margaret River and the wine industry. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with my publisher Jo Mackay and editor Annabel Blay to revisit this story and bring it to readers in 2019 as Something in the Wine.

The people who helped with wine and vine research for my original story have moved on but when I visited the region earlier this year to retrace my steps with a new list of questions I found a familiar face. John O’Connor, who runs a local tour company called Wine for Dudes was very helpful. John was just starting out when I first met him at the original Margaret River launch for River Magic and since then his company has gone from strength to strength. Daryl and I had a great day out visiting the wineries John had specially selected to help with my research. If you’re ever in Margaret River and want to take a down-to-earth tour that allows you to experience the pleasure of wine without all the hype that sometimes goes with it, I can highly recommend Wine for Dudes. And thanks to friends Andrew and Joy Hilder who travelled with us and put up with my wanderings in search of information.

In my original acknowledgements I also thanked the team of readers who support my work and keep me going. They are as valuable as a drop of fine wine. I mentioned Kathy Snodgrass, Sue Barlow, Sue Hazel and Mem Westbrook who still support me today along with my cyber writing pal, June Whyte, who sent the encouragement to hang in there and still does.