CALIFORNIA
WINE Wayfarer
Book Release!
My book is available for purchase below and I’m available for events.
Carolyn Dismuke thought she was living the dream, but her view changed when she noticed beautiful vineyards on back roads. She became a diligent student in a world-renowned wine studies program, where she mastered the classic regions. Curious for more, she packed her wanderlust and set out to live in a different California region every month to soak in all the juicy details.
Join her on her journey for answers to many of life’s bubbling questions:
- Discover the bounty that thrives beyond Napa
- Find out why some old vines are replaced while others are revered
- Enjoy the tales and life lessons of a solo traveler
You can purchase Drink Your Words from me directly or these other popular retailers!
An engrossing read full of sharp wit and heartfelt wonder. Leaving a stable career and job to pursue her passion of wine, Carolyn, sets off on the trip of a lifetime. A self-proclaimed drifter, she journeys across the state bypassing Napa Valley in favor of less famous wine regions from Santa Barbara to the Sierra Foothills. Her experiences will shed a new light on California’s “other” Wine Country whether you’re a seasoned or novice wine lover.
For wine lovers and professionals who grew up with Kermit Lynch’s classic Adventures on the Wine Route, here is a “Calicentric” journal of adventures in the Golden State”s frontier wine regions. But whereas Lynch searched around France for wines that “bite back,” wine expert Carolyn Dismuke takes a year off from her city job and chances upon larger than life personalities who make and drink sexy wines that bear hug, caress, and express the joy of California dreaming.
Read what these publications are saying about my book:
Villa Creek
Villa Creek has ruined me for chicken. Everywhere else I go, I think it sounds delicious and assume it has their trademark wonderfully tender juicy texture with fresh flavors but it’s often dry, tough, and bland. What is in that rich sauce?! I can only tell it is...
Spann Vineyards
Viognier is like the truffle oil of wines. It can easily overpower, weigh down, and leave an aftertaste. But that doesn’t mean it’s hopeless. It just means it needs the help of a crafty winemaker to blend it with its acidic friends to coax it into broader more elegant...
Yoakim Bridge
Yoakim Bridge Winery is owned by Virginia and David Cooper. Virginia and her husband tell a meet cute story that beats all Hollywood. They were both the oldest students in culinary school at 48, so they just had to fall in love because everyone else in class was too...
A Journey in Vine Adventures
Eager to learn more about the best wine regions in the Golden State, I packed my bags to feed my wanderlust by living in different, undiscovered wine pocket of California every month.
Want to know what full bodied means?
What’s so great about old vines?
Ever wonder why it’s called Sideways?
All this and more wine wisdom is covered in my book, Drink Your Words.





