Winery owner launches book on wine and parenting

Believing that good wine and good parenting go hand-in-hand, a local winery owner and busy mother of two has written a book that pairs the perfect wine for every parenting milestone, such as an earthy Burgundy to relax with following a messy “diaper blow-out.”
Cheryl Durzy, founder of MommyJuice Wines and co-owner of Clos LaChance winery in San Martin, is raising funds for the initial printing of “Parent Parings,” a book in which she collaborated with an author and illustrator from the Midwest to publish. The hardcover book will be released this fall. 
“I have about a glass of wine every night, as I think many parents do,” Durzy said. “I thought I could put my knowledge and experience with both wine and motherhood to use.”
Durzy and children’s humor author Mike Nemeth, who is from Ohio, were connected online last summer and decided to collaborate on the project, mixing Durzy’s wine expertise with Nemeth’s knack for satire. They’ve communicated extensively over the phone and via email. They will finally meet in person at their book launch party at Clos LaChance in late September. 
“I’d been toying with this idea of pairing wines for different parenting situations, and thought it could be maybe a book or an app,” Durzy said. “Then I met Mike, and it all just happened.”
“Parent Pairings” creatively recommends a different wine for big parental moments, big and small. For example, it recommends an African pinotage – a deep red wine with hints of burnt rubber in its scent – for those stressful months when a parent is teaching their teenager to drive.
“I thought, a burnt rubber smell is perfect for parents stressing about teaching their 16-year-old to drive,” Durzy said.  “You hear burnt rubber and you’re thinking, ‘eww,’ but it’s really good when you’re balancing it with fruits like blueberries and cherries. And our book talks about all that.”
“Parent Pairings” comes with a section on how to purchase wine as well as a handy “hangover quotient” for each of the wines recommended in the book.
“Because when you have little kids, you really can’t be hungover,” Durzy said.  
Durzy is in the midst of getting contracts with Amazon and the Barnes & Noble website and has plans to promote the book with reading and tasting events at local children’s stores, bookstores and mom clubs. 
Currently, Durzy is trying to find “investors” to back the initial $3,500 printing of the book through Kickstarter.com, a crowd funding website. The reward for a $15 backer is a signed copy of the book. The deadline to support the book on Kickstarter.com is July 12.