Villa by Nora Roberts (2001)

As a child I had a subscription to Reader's Digest condensed books and I read at least a couple from each edition, getting a nice eclectic reading background, including some things that I could refer to later in life, like The Scarlet Pimpernel. I usually don't like condensed books anymore, but for some authors, it doesn't matter. I felt like a quick read, and picked this up at a rummage sale. It felt like one of those I had read before, but it had to be before 2005, when I started recording what I read.

Villa is set in California wine country with a few connections to the vineyards in Italy. Two families have neighboring vineyards and the patriarch and matriarch of the two have lost their spouses, have married and are bringing the companies together into one. We actually get two romantic couples in this one - Sophia, the granddaughter of Giambelli's is the marketing specialist, Tyler MacMillan is the wine specialist - pruning vines, making the wine. They are forced to work together and learn each other's jobs - and of course they end up falling in love. Sophia's mom Pilar has not been lucky in love with meandering Tony, but she finds her match in David Cutter, who has been hired as chief operations officer. There are a few deaths, dramas, etc. - the usual excitement generated by Roberts. I like the details of wine making, and I have spent one February in my life pruning grape vines, so could appreciate that part.