The Book
Lucy Foley reignited my love for mysteries back in 2020 (after reading everything ever written by James Patterson in my teens I fell out of love with the genre, tbh), so when I started thinking about spooky-season reads, it was one of the first books that I recommended to my community. After talking about it so many times, I knew that I wanted to re-read it for the first time. I had to revisit The Hunting Party.
Was it as good as I remembered? Yes. 100%.
A group of old friends heads to the Scottish Highlands for a New Year’s getaway, and one of them ends up murdered. Everyone is a suspect, everyone has something to hide, and you’ll spend a good portion of this book wondering why these people still vacation together. It’s textbook proof that people grow and change and you don’t have to stay friends with people who drain your energy.
Thankfully, I didn’t remember many of the twists and turns–all I remembered was how well-developed the characters were, and that I was constantly changing my opinion of them, something I desperately love in a mystery. and I had a great time rediscovering who was murdered and who did it. This, I think, is Lucy Foley’s best work.
The Pairing
Pinot Noir from Carneros, Napa/Sonoma Valley
Why It Works
This is a book that makes you suspicious of perfectly pleasant people. Naturally, I wanted a wine with a little more going on beneath its charming first impression.
Pinot Noir can be silky and pretty, all lovely fruit and good manners. But if you choose a more concentrated, structured bottle, and things get interesting: darker fruit, spice, and an earthy edge that gives you something to think about between chapters. Especially the chapters where you change your mind about who did it. Again (and I seem to have lost my edge in guessing the killer these days)
The Bottle
Try: Bouchaine 2023 Dijon Clone Estate Pinot Noir from Carneros: It has rich dark cherry, spice, a hint of violets, and enough of a brooding edge to hold its own in the Scottish Highlands.
It has the silky, soft tannins and texture I love in Pinot Noir, with more concentration and structure to keep things interesting.
And if you feel like taking your curiosity beyond the murder suspects, the Dijon clone selection gives you another mystery to explore: how different clones of the same grape shape what ends up in your glass. That investigation is entirely optional.
Looking for another bottle? Look for a Carneros or other cool-climate Pinot Noir with dark cherry, spice, and floral notes. Choose one with a little weight and structure—the kind you’ll want to keep sipping when you’ve announced “one more chapter” for the third time.
About Erin Kirschenmann
Erin Kirschenmann is the founder of Novel Pairings and Managing Editor at Wine Business Monthly. She holds a WSET Diploma, teaches at Napa Valley Wine Academy, and was named to Beverage Dynamics' 40 Under Forty in 2025—but mostly, she just really loves matching a good book to the right glass of wine. Every month, Novel Pairings members get a new pairing like this one, plus the book club, playlists, and community to go with it. [Learn more →]