Libation, a bitter alchemy

Deirdre Heekin wrote the book she wishes she had written. I love her book, called “Libation, a bitter alchemy”. It means for, as in an offering. When Deirdre pours me a glass of wine, she feels like a celebration before the fruit reaches my lips.

I was hooked from the first line. Deirdre’s book is a journey into the heart of an artist, reader, writer, world traveler, perfumer, gardener, cook and winemaker.

I am lucky to have met her. She is beautiful, inside out. So, I tasted her wine. It is as sublime as her.

Later, I watched her husband, Chef Caleb, prepare the vibrant, bright green organic wild leeks and dandelion greens. Dining at the big wooden table in her cafe in Woodstock, Vermont, was like eating at home, only better.

Within minutes, your fresh, homegrown produce is transported from your Barnard, Vermont garden to your Italian and New England trattoria – osteria pane e salute.

Deirdre and Caleb’s coffee is the true meaning of farm-to-table, grape-to-table. I look forward to returning to try Caleb’s food one more time and another sip of wine – the perfect marriage. I long to pick grapes from his farm, taste the wine and vegetables in his cafe, and fly to Tuscany all at the same time.

I didn’t want to leave Woodstock, Vermont. As I boarded my flight from Burlington to Sarasota, Florida, I opened Deidre’s newest book and started reading. Later, I didn’t even realize we had landed. She had read it, word for word, and I started over.

(I want to tell Deirdre that this is one of the best books on travel, wine and LOVE that I have ever read.)

As a former book reviewer for a national magazine and a literary magazine, I have found it easy to discuss the content of books. I cannot describe “Libation” and do it justice. I only urge you to read it and then buy it for everyone you know who share a passion for bread and wine, beauty, nature and life.