Your Cool Aunts present The Wine Merchant

A description, an overview

A beloved world traveler aunt arrives unannounced as her relieved niece watches from her bedroom window. Thrilled by her presence Claire is transfixed - This Aunt is special, she is Claire's inspiration and becomes her mentor too. The original source for Claire's Diary stories about women like her Aunt - CoolAunts.

At a friendly restaurant on a snowy night in NYC, Claire reunites with a friend from her college intern days in France. Angelica is a South American vintner, world traveler and she's in New York to see Claire, to ask questions about her CoolAunt - Laurente. Angelica wants and needs to know more about Claire's mentor and inspiration. What makes them tick?

Claire is well on her way to understanding CoolAunts. She knows that it's about the way you do things, that attention to detail makes a difference and demonstrates that you matter, that this moment is important enough for the extra attention you have given it. It all plays out over her graduation celebration where Claire has her first real chance at showing what she has learned. Her CoolAunt notices.

Summertime memories by a family lakeside cabin. Everyone knows Aunt Laurente will show up at some point - unannounced as usual - in the last weeks of a New England August. Claire bonds with her aunt in the early mornings as they make breakfast and coffee and then watch the sun rise from the dock before everyone appears for the day.

Claire's CoolAunt steps in to help her with first creating and then finding a college internship. Laurente has a friend with a vineyard in France along with an ulterior motive for her niece's future in the wine business. But first, Claire needs to make the details happen over the next semester in NY for the plan to work. Claire only needed an idea for her dream.

Claire arrives in France - to start an internship which may lead to a  career and a life of world travel. Claire's plan is filled with hope and excitement as she settles in for her first summer in Champagne. She unknowingly becomes part of this village.

 . . . it was this memorable setting where Laurente connected me to the history of the women of Champagne through their diaries. These creative, determined women who managed to elevate any moment in the midst of unimaginable challenges, the daily grind and . . . 

After her Aunt suggests keeping a Diary, Claire visits the Saturday village market looking for Diary supplies and maybe she's just trying to start a ritual on this day too. In addition to ink and paper, she finds a friend and a weekly destination. French markets do have everything and more.

Claire's host family is headed by Charlotte - a very accomplished woman and a Cool Aunt for sure. Claire gets to know her well during her three summers in this small village in the Champagne region. During each of those summers, while working in their vineyard and in the Champagne Houses, Claire became a part of the Greno family, forming a lifelong connection to people she truly admired. Charlotte is truly an inspiration for Claire.