Where Your Next Great Escape Begins
You made it—and we’re so glad you’re here! Each month at Novel Pairings, we curate a vibe-filled experience that combines your love of stories, your curiosity about wine, and your craving for meaningful connection.
Here’s what we’re sipping, reading, and listening to this month
Don’t Forget! Our June Book + Wine Club Meeting is June 29 at 4 p.m. PT
The Book
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang is biting, brilliant, and impossible to put down—a literary thriller that skewers the publishing industry while asking bold questions about authorship, privilege, and who gets to tell certain stories. When struggling writer June Hayward steals the manuscript of her dead frenemy—and rebrands herself as the mysterious “Juniper Song”—her star begins to rise, but so does the tension. As her web of lies tightens, the novel spirals into sharp satire and moral chaos.
This is a book you’ll need to talk about—provocative, darkly funny, and uncomfortably relevant. Ideal for readers who love a messy protagonist, moral ambiguity, and stories that spark conversation long after the last page.
Paired with a bold, complex wine that mirrors the sharp contrasts and layers of the novel—expect something intense, dramatic, and worth savoring with every twist.
Get ready to read, sip, and stir up some serious discussion.
The Wine: Old Vine, Skin-Fermented Pinot Gris by Limited Addition Wines
Why an Orange Wine?
We’re pairing Yellowface with an orange wine—and not just because it’s unexpected. Like the novel itself, orange wine blurs the lines. It’s not quite white, not quite red—made with white grapes but fermented like a red wine (with their skins), giving it that striking hue and distinctive character. It’s bold. Unconventional. A little bit controversial. Sound familiar?
Much like R.F. Kuang’s razor-sharp satire, orange wine challenges assumptions and invites conversation. It’s complex, layered, and just a little bit confrontational—exactly what you want in your glass while unpacking themes of identity, appropriation, and ambition.
This pairing isn’t just a match—it’s a mirror. Get ready to sip slowly and think deeply.
Limited Addition Wines is the passion project of Master of Wine Bree Stock, a true force in the industry and a champion of responsible farming, underrepresented grapes (hello, Chenin Blanc!), and women in wine. Her low-intervention wines are as thoughtful and expressive as her mission—expanding what’s possible in Oregon’s vineyards while making space for new stories at the table.
Limited Addition is offering Novel Pairings members 20% off bottle purchases from June 1-30. Use code NOVELPAIRINGS20 to get their club member pricing!
(I’d recommend grabbing a couple of bottles to save on shipping from this awesome Oregon winery).
Remember, you must be over the age of 21 to purchase alcohol.
The Tunes
“Unwritten Theft”
Spanning envy, ambition, deception, unraveling, and reckoning—through a blend of edgy tracks. Pop the cork, press play and
Here’s a playlist inspired by Yellowface, curated to reflect the novel’s biting introspection, tension around identity, ambition, cultural theft, and unraveling mental state. The mood is evocative, introspective, and a little bit edgy, spanning genres like alternative, indie, dark pop, and experimental R&B.
This is YOUR Space
This membership is your invitation to pause, unplug, and pour into yourself. Whether you come for the books, the wine, or the community, you’ll leave feeling a little lighter, a little more fulfilled—and ready to come back for more.