Nick O'Connell- Crush

Schedule

Thu Jan 15 2026 at 06:00 pm to 07:00 pm

UTC-08:00

Location

Village Books and Paper Dreams | Bellingham, WA

Advertisement
Join Nick O'Connell at Village Books and Paper Dreams for a lively, down-to-earth exploration of the world of wine!
About this Event

Join Nick O'Connell at Village Books and Paper Dreams for a lively, down-to-earth exploration of the world of wine!


In CRUSH: My Year as an Apprentice Winemaker, Nicholas O'Connell provides a behind-the-scenes look at the daily operations of some of the world's most prestigious wineries on the West Coast. This insider's view of the wine world includes the intense competition for the best grapes, the bizarre lingo of the tasting rooms, and the visionary winemakers who magically transform grapes into high-end wine. It is a world that includes not only romance and refinement but long hours, backbreaking labor, mind-numbing repetition, and fanatical dedication to quality. Such devotion resulted in the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet that won the best red wine at the 1976 Judgment of Paris and transformed the U.S. wine industry.


It’s an engaging read for anyone who starts feeling that crazy itch that they’d like, someday, to make their own wine—or for anyone who loves wine.”

--Ray Isle, executive wine editor of Food & Wine and wine and spirits editor for Travel + Leisure


“Nicholas O’Connell’s level of experience is phenomenal: his decades of making wine, his writing style, and his obsession with making wine. This feels like once-in-a-lifetime work because it includes twenty-plus years of living, social drinking, and learning about wine. It is a memoir mirrored by winemaking. It is humble and humorous. Nothing else touches it.”

--Mike Medberry, author of The Dark Side of the Moon and viticulturist at Frog's Tooth Winery


“I’d wager there aren’t many wine lovers who haven’t fantasized, at least for a minute, about making their own wine. Nicholas O’Connell helps you scratch that itch without having to deal with swarms of fruit flies or take-their-time fermentations. O’Connell has taught writing for decades, and his considerable skills show in his vivid account of turning grapes into wine.”

--Dorothy J. Gaiter, senior editor of Grape Collective


Nicholas O'Connell, M.F.A, Ph.D., is the author of Crush: My Year as an Apprentice Winemaker (Potomac Books, 2025), The Storms of Denali (University of Alaska Press, 2012), On Sacred Ground: The Spirit of Place in Pacific Northwest Literature (University of Washington Press, 2003), At the Field's End: Interviews with 22 Pacific Northwest Writers (University of Washington Press, 1998), Contemporary Ecofiction (Charles Scribner's, 1996) and Beyond Risk: Conversations with Climbers (Mountaineers, 1993).

He has contributed to Newsweek, Gourmet, Saveur, Outside, GO, National Geographic Adventure, Condé Nast Traveler, Food & Wine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sierra, The Wine Spectator, and many other places. He is the publisher/editor of The Writer's Workshop Review and the founder of the online and Seattle-based writing program, www.thewritersworkshop.net.



*Feel free to call Village Books & Paper Dreams for further assistance at 360-671-2626!*

Advertisement

Where is it happening?

Village Books and Paper Dreams, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham, United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

USD 5.00 to USD 38.71

Village Books

Host or Publisher Village Books

It's more fun with friends. Share with friends

Discover More Events in Bellingham

Stop Making Sense - A Film by Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads
Sat, 17 Jan at 07:30 pm Stop Making Sense - A Film by Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads

Mount Baker Theatre

ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC
STOP MAKING SENSE: A Film by Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads
Sun, 18 Jan at 03:30 am STOP MAKING SENSE: A Film by Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads

Mount Baker Theatre

ART THEATRE
Parking STOP MAKING SENSE: A Film by Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads
Sun, 18 Jan at 03:30 am Parking STOP MAKING SENSE: A Film by Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads

Mount Baker Theatre

ENTERTAINMENT ART
Ira Glass
Fri, 23 Jan at 04:00 pm Ira Glass

Mount Baker Theatre

ART THEATRE
Astonishing  Scavenger Hunt - Explore Beautiful Bellingham
Wed, 13 Nov at 08:00 am Astonishing Scavenger Hunt - Explore Beautiful Bellingham

Whatcom Museum

TRIPS-ADVENTURES ART
Master Public Speaking in Just 12 Weeks! (Virtual Event)
Sat, 16 Nov at 03:00 pm Master Public Speaking in Just 12 Weeks! (Virtual Event)

Bellingham

WORKSHOPS PUBLIC-SPEAKING
Booker T. Jones
Wed, 01 Oct at 04:00 pm Booker T. Jones

Mount Baker Theatre

ART THEATRE
Ukulele Jams
Wed, 01 Oct at 05:30 pm Ukulele Jams

Fairhaven Park Pavilion

WORKSHOPS ART
A Celebration of Unofficial Languages with Se\u00e1n Dwyer and Wenling Su
Wed, 01 Oct at 06:00 pm A Celebration of Unofficial Languages with Seán Dwyer and Wenling Su

Village Books and Paper Dreams

ART LITERARY-ART
Wed, 01 Oct at 07:00 pm Militarie Gun in Bellingham

Make shift

ART
Booker T. Jones 60 Years of Green Onions
Thu, 02 Oct at 07:30 pm Booker T. Jones 60 Years of Green Onions

Mount Baker Theatre

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Booker T Jones at Mount Baker Theatre
Thu, 02 Oct at 07:30 pm Booker T Jones at Mount Baker Theatre

Mount Baker Theatre

ART THEATRE
1st Friday Art Walk Live Blues at Allied Arts Gallery 6-9pm
Fri, 03 Oct at 06:00 pm 1st Friday Art Walk Live Blues at Allied Arts Gallery 6-9pm

Allied Arts Of Whatcom County

ART MUSIC
Weathered Remains-Artifacts of Fire & Flood
Fri, 03 Oct at 06:00 pm Weathered Remains-Artifacts of Fire & Flood

Studio UFO M-4, 301 W Holly St, Bellingham, WA 98225

ART TRIPS-ADVENTURES
Untethered Odyssey
Fri, 03 Oct at 06:00 pm Untethered Odyssey

1213 Cornwall Ave, Bellingham, WA, United States, Washington 98225

MUSIC ART
El Agave and Paint ~ Haunted Farm H3
Fri, 03 Oct at 07:00 pm El Agave and Paint ~ Haunted Farm H3

El Agave Fairhaven

ART
Whatcom Artist Studio Tour
Sat, 04 Oct at 10:00 am Whatcom Artist Studio Tour

301 W Holly St, Bellingham, WA 98225-4328, United States

ART
Whatcom Artist Studio Tour at Axis of Hope
Sat, 04 Oct at 10:00 am Whatcom Artist Studio Tour at Axis of Hope

Samish Hill

ART FINE-ARTS
Latin Social Dance
Sat, 04 Oct at 01:00 pm Latin Social Dance

1027 N Forest Street, Bellingham, WA

ART
Carolyn Larkin Taylor- Whispers of the Mind
Sat, 04 Oct at 02:00 pm Carolyn Larkin Taylor- Whispers of the Mind

Village Books and Paper Dreams

ART LITERARY-ART

What's Happening Next in Bellingham?

Discover Bellingham Events