This writing game is full of surprises. Today, completely without any warning, a mock-up of my book cover arrived by email. I have had a contract for a couple of weeks and the completed text is not due for another two years and 11 months! Apparently the publishing house is putting its catalogue together and my book – or at least the title – is about to be launched on an unsuspecting world. And very beautiful it is going to be: 

In fact this was one of six possible covers. I love another one with vineyards in the foreground and misty hills above the title, but it’s not as eyecatching. There is another with a photo of one of the most photogenic tiny hills in Roero DOCG, absolutely covered in vines. But the one above, the one preferred by the publishers, will win the day because it has everything – vineyards, the picturesque village of Serralunga d’Alba with its castle tower and, critically, the magnificent Alps in the background.  Perfect.  

Here are two of the other options:

This cover is going to be the goal, the vision of the finishing post.  If at any point I flag or things get tough, this cover will remind me that one day the book will be for real, it will be a thing of beauty in its own right.  

Coincidentally in the evening I met a friend in London and we celebrated my new project with a really grand glass of Barolo, what else?  Gianni Gagliardo, Preve, Barolo Riserva 2006, 14.5. Oh yes, and a perfect glass of Barbera 2014 from Cantine Oddero, also in La Morra.