The Perfect Wine for Romantasy: A GSM Blend + Shield of Sparrows
The Book
Novel Pairings reads one to two romantasy/fantasy novels each year, and I’m really picky about which one! It needs to be something that we can really discuss, with characters that are both equally lovable and flawed…or at least relatable in some way.
I read Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry and immediately fell in love with the predicament that Princess Odessa falls into: an unwanted royal marriage. (Yeah, I’m a sucker for the only one bed and forced marriage tropes.) What follows is her entry into a dangerous foreign kingdom, monsters, court intrigue, and a mysterious Guardian who clearly knows more than he's letting on. Odessa has spent most of her life being underestimated, but once she's sent away to secure an alliance between kingdoms, she has to figure out very quickly who she can trust and I admired the way she rose to the challenge. There's also danger, political maneuvering, a heroine coming into her own power, and a slow-burn romance simmering through all of it, so it was the perfect fit for our first official romantasy Book Club pick. And, oh boy, did the wine need to be able to keep up.
The Pairing
GSM Blend (Grenache, Syrah + Mourvèdre)
Why It Works
A GSM blend is basically tailor-made for romantasy. Grenache brings ripe fruit, warmth, and a little seduction; Syrah adds darkness, spice, and intensity; Mourvèdre brings structure, earthiness, and a slightly wild edge. Together, they're super lush and easy one minute and dark and powerful the next. It’s like you pulled the royal glamour and political danger of Shield of Sparrows into a bottle, but also pulls in the feel of Treo, the forested retreat where Odessa and the Guardian train, where the slow burn actually catches fire. That's Mourvèdre's wild edge showing up in the glass, while the Grenache carries the romance. This is a wine with enough personality to match the varied settings: the court, the danger, and the quiet, forested place where Odessa figures out who she actually is.
The Bottle
Try: Cantadora Wines 2021 "The Energizer for the Ages" (Napa Valley, California). This organically farmed Grenache-Mourvèdre-Syrah blend comes from my friend Kira Ballotta, the winemaker behind Cantadora Wines and Olivia Brion. Only 110 cases were made, and the bottle itself has a story worth knowing: Kira created The Energizer for the Ages in honor of Janet Y. Spears, a longtime advocate for dignity and equity whose life and work are rooted in creating change for people who have historically been overlooked. That made this particular GSM feel even more fitting for Odessa, a woman who has spent much of her own life underestimated before being forced to discover exactly what she's capable of.
Alternate: Look for a Côtes du Rhône (Rhône Valley, France). If you can't find the Cantadora bottle, head to the Rhône section of your wine shop and look for anything labelled Côtes du Rhône. These wines are some of the easiest to find and one of the most crowd-pleasing: they give you plenty of ripe red and dark fruit, peppery spice, herbs, and earth without requiring a special-occasion budget. It'll give you the same basic pairing dynamic we're after: fruit and warmth for the romance, spice and savory character for the fantasy world, and enough structure to handle the monsters.
This was our first official romantasy Book Club pick! If you want in on the next one, that's what Book Club is for:
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 →]
