Stalin’s Wine Cellar just keeps rolling, two years after release. It’s quite remarkable, how people keep discovering it and getting excited by the story. I love it.

The book has now been released in France and Belgium, which has been fun for this author, who has family over there who can finally read one of my books. There is one particular bookshop in Rennes, Bretagne, that must think La Cave À Vin De Staline is the country’s hottest book … without realising it’s quite a local phenomenon.

Romanian, Estonian and Hungarian editions are also now out there, and a Chinese publisher has bought the rights.

John is regularly asked to give talks to everybody from major wineries to bookshop gatherings, and I even got called into service, by Barwon Heads Golf Club, to tell about the process of turning John (and Kevin’s) astonishing adventure into a book. It’s so difficult to have to bat off all the questions about the book’s ending, and what has or hasn’t happened since. The Barwon Heads audience was very understanding, especially as the room was split almost exactly 50-50 with those who had read or listened to the book, and those who hadn’t.

  • Sharing wine and books with Anton Sergent
    at Barwon Heads GC

A big thanks to my old friend Anton Sergent for organising for me to come and talk, and for ordering some Georgian wine for the occasion. The Prince Alexander Chavchavadze Natella was a beautiful white.

Who knows where this book goes next but it’s not showing any signs of slowing down.

A huge thank you to everybody who has bought it, or has bought it as a gift for wine-lovers they know, or adventure-lovers.