Lunedi Lunacy

May 26 -1879: Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.

Lunedy Lunacy

Who else but the French?



Now some people I know will never leave their computers!

23 agosto - Santa Rosa da Lima

Lunedi Lunacy

Wouldn't I just love to be doing some of these exercises with a few of those great Spanish wines I've been seeing this weekend. But sadly I've restricted myself to one small glass at dinner. Yes I know I shouldn't but damn it you can't have tapas without a splash of wine!

Thanks to my friend Cathy in Ottawa for this one.

23 marzo - San Turibio de Mogrovejo

Adieu la vie.....no

Well that's it life as I know it is now officially over! I have just returned from a visit to Dr Sannino, the specialist I was seeing about my tummy problems over the past month or so. His diagnosis: for a man my age - God I want to slap someone when they say that - I am in good general health except for my grinding gut issues.

Here's his suggested treatment for the problem:

1. Go for long walks and get more exercise.
   I'm okay with that.
2. Get more fiber in my diet - fruit and vegetables.
   Love fruit, enjoy salads, cooked veggies - would rather leave them but...
3. Some minor procedures should be performed that will improve things and avoid future problems.
   I'm all for preventive medicine.
4. Stay away from soft drinks.
   Not a problem I've never really been a fan of pop - other than coke with my rum, which I don't drink anymore.
5. Avoid drinking wine.
   WTF

I think that pretty much explains my first statement!

19 marzo - San Guiseppe

For All Thy Saints

The month started with Ognissanti (All Saints) which I think I mentioned was always one of my favorite feast days during my Anglo-Catholic days. When I started posting from Roma, on a whim and mostly because I love the Italian names, I decided to mark each of the Saint's Days - and which day isn't? - on my postings.

In a comment Larry was asking how I determine my Saint's Days as in many cases they don't seem to agree with official Church Calenders. Well the explanation is fairly simple - one of Laurent's colleagues at the Embassy was leaving just after we arrived and we inherited a calender from her called - very strangely - Italy in Wine. Strangely because the title may be in English but everything else is in Italian including the very lengthy and technical wines comments.

Each month features a different wine region with a cute drawing of the area, the aforementioned blurbs on the wines of the region and a Calender listing all the Saint's Days for that month. So I've been using that - I figure they wouldn't lie to me on an offical Mulino Don Chisciotte Wine Calender! Would they?

12 novembre - San Emiliano

No! Not Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush - the other one!

My friends Shirly and Jon showed up for dinner the other night and brought along a bottle of South African Red with one of those cunning names. It seems that New World - okay I guess South Africa doesn't count as New World so lets say Non-European - wineries are vying with each other for eye-catching marketing names. The above mentioned Cat's Pee being one of the more startling one. But it looks like Charles Back's Fairview Wine Estate, has gone beyond the purely puerile to take on the big boys in France.

A quick read of their website reveals some standard advertising puffery - embraces typicity of terroir, unrestricted by ‘estate' appellation - not for Fairview the brash vulgarity of the Antipodes. But a visit to their Goats Do Roam site reveals a sly sense of humour when it comes to marketing.

A few of folk at the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine don't see the humour. They feel that those of us not fortunate enough to have been born in France may be confused by the label. Bien sûr! I've always thought of the Côtes du Rhône region as being populated by African children who live in straw huts surrounded by goats!

So marketing aside and the mere fact that it would piss off those snots in the Rhône valley, would I buy a bottle or two on my own? Giving you a resounding yes on that. It went very well with the roast veal tenderloin and I could see it be a very nice compliment to an older bovine cut. Now I must try their Bored Doe!