A NATIONAL BESTSELLER - FINALIST FOR 2024 TASTE CANADA AWARD -- CULINARY NARRATIVES
A powerful memoir about one woman who resurrects her life and career in the glamorous but sexist wine industry.
Natalie MacLean, a bestselling wine writer, is shocked when her husband of twenty years, a high-powered CEO, demands a divorce. Then an online mob of rivals comes for her career.
Wavering between despair and determination, she must fight for her son, rebuild her career, and salvage her self-worth using her superpowers: heart, humour, and an uncanny ability to pair wine and food.
Natalie questions her insider role in the slick marketing that encourages women to drink too much while she battles the wine world's veiled misogyny. Facing the worst vintage of her life, she reconnects with the vineyards that once brought her joy, the friends who sustain her, and her own belief in second chances.
This true coming-of-middle-age story is about transforming your life and finding love along the way.
"This decade's Eat Pray Love ... Natalie MacLean survived an online mob, divorce and drinking too much. Her new memoir will help you get through your own mess, too." -- The Coast Magazine
"The book is funny, edgy, and a page turner. Zesty, vibrant, meditative, structured, intense ... anyone at a crux will be buoyed by this writer's grit and grace." -- Frances Mayes, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun
"This deeply personal memoir tells the inspiring story of a talented woman navigating the treacherous currents of the wine industry, finding her voice and regaining her power through a true connection to time and place, human terroir." ― Chef Michael Smith, bestselling author of ten cookbooks and Food Network host
"Forthright, wry, and heady, Wine Witch on Fire is a memoir about wine, life, and hard-won wisdom." ― Foreword Reviews
"Filled with grit, vulnerability, healing and hope." ― Victoria James, bestselling author of Wine Girl
Industry Reviews
This deeply personal memoir tells the inspiring story of a talented woman navigating the treacherous currents of the wine industry, finding her voice and regaining her power through a true connection to time and place, human terroir. * Chef Michael Smith, bestselling author of ten cookbooks, Food Network host *
Natalie MacLean has written a book that will resonate with women from many different generations and fields. Filled with grit and vulnerability, MacLean examines the hardest parts of being a woman in a man's world with honesty and poise. A read filled with healing and hope. * Victoria James, bestselling author of Wine Girl *
Natalie MacLean offers readers a look into the magical world of wine, addressing head-on its problematic treatment of women throughout the industry. * Rachel Signer, bestselling author of You Had Me at Pet-Nat *
Natalie Maclean has written a harrowing, heartfelt, and often hilarious account of the backlash she endured breaching the largely male-dominated world of wine writing. This highly personal odyssey is an eyes-wide-open take on betrayal, the insidious lure of addiction, and the sheer mettle required to rise above those seeking to cast a poisonous spell. * Rosa Harris, bestselling author of Boomerville *
In Wine Witch on Fire, Natalie MacLean takes us inside the compromised competitiveness of the wine industry, and the wildly unfair challenges faced by women who choose nobly to enter the profession only to be repelled by its male power base. She opens her heart with authenticity to the pain of love lost, the joy of discovering new love, and the endless questions of balancing parenting with being a working professional. Her love of language is a joyous counterpart to her love of viticulture. * Ken Goldstein, bestselling author of Endless Encores *
Misogyny, sexism, social media trolling. Natalie MacLean has been through hell and back. But her words are heartfelt and her journey inspiring. * Barbara Fairchild, former editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit magazine *
Natalie MacLean is living a life that is the definition of resilience. In her empowering new memoir, she takes us on her incredible journey filled with love, anguish, and fearless determination. Natalie's story is an inspiration and guide to living well and fearlessly. A fabulous read! * Traci Melchor, Judge, Canada's Drag Race and Senior Correspondent, Etalk *
Rousing, funny, and insider-y, Natalie MacLean's soul-baring memoir paints an evocative and compelling picture of what it's like to be a woman in wine. * Nell McShane Wulfhart, bestselling author of Off Menu *
Wine wizard wordsmith, enchanting interviewer, battle-tested survivor, fierce mother, witty, wise - Natalie MacLean is the whole package. Sip a great wine while you savour her memoir. * Gus Clemens, wine columnist *
MacLean is an accomplished wine writer, but this deeply personal book takes us behind the scenes, revealing one woman's journey and extraordinary determination to become herself. * Karen MacNeil, bestselling author of The Wine Bible *
Misogyny, sexism, social media trolling. Natalie MacLean has been through hell and back. But her words are heartfelt and her journey inspiring. * Barbara Fairchild, former editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit *
Natalie MacLean is living a life that is the definition of resilience. In her empowering new memoir Wine Witch on Fire she takes us on her incredible journey filled with love, anguish, and fearless determination. Natalie's story is an inspiration and guide to living well and fearlessly. A fabulous read! * Traci Melchor, Judge, Canada's Drag Race, and Senior Correspondent, Etalk *
Told with equal parts poignancy and humour, Wine Witch on Fire is a spirited tale of determination lived on the terroir of Natalie's amazing and inspiring journey. * Danny Meyer, NYT bestselling author of Setting The Table *
