Saved by Sips in ‘Blood from a Stone’

How does someone go from the heart-wrenching role of listening to dying people for a living to finding redemption and salvation through a new career in the wine industry? This unlikely saga is the journey readers will experience in Blood from a Stone. The just-published memoir by Santa Ynez–based writer Adam McHugh educates about the history of wine while illuminating the unique turns in one man’s tumultuous life. 

Earlier this year, McHugh reached out to me with a draft in hopes of getting an endorsement. I wasn’t sure what to expect — though we roll in very similar circles, I only know of McHugh through social media posts and the articles he pens for Edible Santa Barbara — but I found the  book quite fascinating. 

“For an avowed introvert, Adam McHugh lets it all hang out in Blood from a Stone, a very personal, soul-searching tale about a dying career, difficult divorce, and, ultimately, inspiring rebirth thanks to Santa Barbara County wine country,” is what I wrote for the book jacket. “Along the way, McHugh educates the reader in an engaging, accessible manner about the great sagas of wine, both those from Old World antiquity and more recent stories from the Santa Ynez Valley. This book should entertain wine neophytes and experts alike, or just anyone who’s pulling for the underdog.”