Welcome

Thirty-two year old Olivia Darling was born and raised in the West of England. At the age of eighteen she met an Italian art student in St Ives and ran away to Tuscany in hot pursuit of him. The love affair didn’t last but Olivia’s sojourn in Montepulciano inspired a much more enduring passion for Vino Nobile that soon became a fascination with viticulture. Her other interests include ballroom dancing (she has won awards for her quickstep) and men who drive Aston Martins. She lives in London.

Olivia’s first novel, VINTAGE, is a modern take on the 1980’s blockbusters written by the likes of Jackie Collins and Danielle Steele.  VINTAGE is set in the wine regions of the United States, France and Great Britain and follows the fortunes of three very different women as they compete to make the best sparkling wine in the world.  It’s full of love, lust, lots of sex and more than a little champagne!

Olivia's Latest news

Vintage and the return of the bonkbuster

The idea for my first novel, 'Vintage' came to me when I attended a wine appreciation course in London. I was newly single and thought the wine course might be an interesting way to make new friends. The woman who gave the course was not much older than I was - in her early thirties - and yet she was already a 'Master of Wine', a qualification that takes many years of study and dedication. She was a fantastic teacher and I watched with great admiration and amusement as she coped with the disrespect of some of the students in the group (mostly, but not all, men), who underestimated her knowledge and skill precisely because she was a girl.

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