Bookworm, Issue 26

The Book: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore is a novel both disquieting and tender about a family, and the natural world around them, on the verge of collapse. Dominic Salt and his three children live on remote Shearwater Island in the turbulent South Sea where they safeguard the world’s largest seed bank. They are the island’s only inhabitants until a violent storm washes a shipwreck survivor to their shore.

The woman’s name is Rowan, and she is pulled from the icy ocean, breathing but badly injured. Dominic and his children, teenagers Raff and Fen, and 9-year-old Orly, nurse her back to health. But Dominic suspects the newcomer is keeping secrets, and Rowan concludes the same of him. Meanwhile, the island’s permafrost is melting; and their survival, as well as the seeds’ safety, hinges upon their willingness to trust one another.

Within this compulsively readable thriller is a sensitive family drama about people nearly broken by life at the limits of civilization. Circumstances force the Salts and Rowan to make difficult choices, and the sea plays a pivotal role in the novel’s outcome. Our paired wine comes from an island growing region, as well, albeit a real place that is quite unlike McConaghy’s fictional one.

In short chapters, using multiple points of view, McConaghy constructs a complex story comprised of compelling characters with sympathetic appeal. All are haunted by past and present trauma – a threat to their emotional well-being and the strength of their relationships. Dominic’s and Rowan’s chapters are written in first person; both of their perspectives appear credible despite their suspicions about one another. In Orly’s chapters, on the other hand, he speaks directly to Rowan, teaching her (and us) about the seeds in the vault. For example, comparing the newcomer to a mangrove seed, he asks, “Will you change shape and put down roots? Or carry on in search of somewhere better?”

Through the Salt children’s eyes, especially, we appreciate nature on land and at sea. The book’s fictional setting on Shearwater Island is based on the real Macquarie Island, located halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica, “a World Heritage Site home to over four million seals, penguins, and seabirds.” McConaghy’s lyrical writing shines in her depictions of the island’s fauna and flora; but she captures a more frightening side, as well, in the island’s remoteness, its bloody history of sealers and whalers, and in the staggering power of the sea.

The novel affirms nature’s interconnectedness and resiliency, but this beautiful balance is set against its “disregard for fairness and dignity.” On the island, Fen sees firsthand “that the world shows no pity for animals…Somehow she’s imagined people to be exempt from that disregard, but she knows now that she was wrong.” Juxtapositions such as this heighten the tension, as do opposing themes of loneliness and togetherness; loss and renewal; hope and despair. Strong and uncomfortable emotions like anger and grief live side by side with wonderment and devotion. And so, as readers, we hope for the best when the Salt family and Rowan are faced with the worst.

Each of McConaghy’s characters is wounded and longing for solace. And they must decide whether to remain guarded or risk coming together. When the world appears to be falling apart and life is full of sadness, this story asks us to consider our choices: do we participate in the destruction, or do we demonstrate our capacity to care?

The Wine: La Bardona Viñas del Norte, Canary Islands, Spain, 2022 $28.99

In one direction, distant clouds and a looming volcano, in the other, the blue, wind-swept Atlantic Ocean. Sunshine warms gnarled, 100-year-old Listán Negro grape vines here in Tenerife, the largest of the subtropical Canary Islands, a place I’ve never been but can now imagine after tasting this wine. Fresh, wild, earthy, with whispers of flowers and smoke – it feels alive and of its home. On the nose and palate, damp soil, wet leaves, tart and fresh red cherries, blood orange, green strawberry, hibiscus, bubblegum, and smoke. The wine is a pretty deep salmon color, a bit hazy, unfined and unfiltered. Juicy and refreshing with pronounced acidity, a light-leaning body, medium-low tannin, and only 11% ABV. Don’t think twice about reaching for another glass.

This wine is 100% old vine Listán Negro. Grapes are hand-harvested in whole clusters, foot trodden, and the juice, skins, and seeds are left to macerate for five days. Fermentation with native yeast follows in stainless steel, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration.

Winemaker Pablo Matallana is young, thoughtful, and committed to organic viticulture using Canary Islands’ indigenous grape varieties. He never uses herbicides in these vineyards, where citrus trees grow and where native flora covers the ground. He is also “working to resurrect and restore abandoned vineyards, most of which were overwrought with chemicals, and will likely take years of care before they become productive again.”

Read more about Pablo Matallana and his wines on the importer José Pastor Selections’ website.

Thank you to Daniel Brashi, wine buyer at South Lyndale Liquors & Market, for this recommendation. I was searching for a wine made by a climate-conscious producer who is working with non-international grape varieties in a growing region with ocean influence. La Bardona Viñas del Norte is a perfect match – not to mention delicious!

Why the pairing works:

A central theme in Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore is climate crisis; rising oceans, melting permafrost, violent weather, and large-scale fires directly affect Rowan, Dominic, Raff, Fen, and Orly. The novel takes place in an alarming near-future where the world is less hospitable and habitat destruction is upon us.

Today, the changing climate is top of mind for wine producers everywhere as they worry about their vineyards and their futures. Threats from wildfire, drought, extreme weather, and pests and diseases are all too common. Many winemakers, like Pablo Matallana, have taken steps to preserve biodiversity and have adopted earth-friendly, sustainable practices in the vineyard and the winery.

Mattalana makes La Bardona Viñas del Norte on Tenerife, the largest island in the Canaries’ archipelago off the coast of northwest Africa. This warm and sunny tourist destination is quite unlike McConaghy’s cold and isolated Shearwater Island. And so, the juicy red fruit and elevated acidity in this distinctive wine counterbalances the novel’s dark storyline. However, the real and fictional places do share one important characteristic, strong ocean influence.

With a sub-tropical latitude, Tenerife would be inhospitable to viticulture without the moderating Atlantic Ocean. Strong Alisios (trade winds) on the north side of the island create year-round humidity and mists that temper an otherwise hot, arid environment. And Tenerife is special in other ways. The world’s third largest volcano, Mount Teide, is found here, and the vineyards grow in the well-draining soil of its lower slopes. The Canary Islands remain phylloxera free, which is why many century-old, indigenous grape vines survive.

Island settings strongly shape both Wild Dark Shore and La Bardona Viñas del Norte; in the novel, Shearwater Island is essentially another character, while our wine’s aroma and flavor profile is the result of Tenerife’s special combination of subtropical climate, cooling trade winds, volcanic soil, and indigenous old vines. While the two places are near opposites, in this pairing, the words and the wine amplify one another to tell a story about working together to preserve our planet for future generations. And in this, we can find hope.