My conversations with Jesus del Rio and my return to Texas on Wednesday have inspired a few reflections about cultural differences. Even though "people are people" in my experience, wherever you go, there are more than a few things that are different. Aside from a total lack of junk mail in Spain, here are a couple of examples of uniquely Catalan experiences:
1) I was having lunch in one of my favorite cafes last week when two women came in with a three year old boy. They set him on the counter so he could swing his legs. One of the women said," I think Junior's hungry." The other replied, "Oh? Well, let's feed him a plate of snails." The order was placed and few minutes later out came the caracoles (escargot). Junior started powering them down like they were chicken nuggets. While Junior was demolishing the caracoles, four attractive young women stopped to admire him. Sensing their admiration, Junior put down his toothpick. He puckered up his buttery/garlicky little lips and leaned his little face forward. In turn, he kissed all four of them squarely on the mouth. I was so proud of that kid I almost bought him a beer.
2) Maria is my neighbor downstairs. She has taken me under her wing and I like it because she is so pleasant and cheerful. Maria, like everyone else in town, is a huge fan of Barça (Futbol Club Barcelona). She asked me one day if I was a "futbolisto". I said I wasn't but that our son-in-law, Ted, is a futbolisto. She confidently asked if he is for Barça and I said he isn't. A cloud of shock and despair passed over her face and she said," He isn't for Madrid, is he?!" It took of few minutes of explaining to convince her that Ted is neither for nor against either Barça or Real Madrid because he supports a British club. The explanation seemed to console her but I think she secretly pities him.
A few days later, Maria bought me the slippers you see below. I think she wanted to save me from the same wretched fate that befell Ted. When I saw the slippers, I instantly converted to Barça and am now an ardent fan. Whenever I wear those slippers, I become younger, smarter and better looking. There is unanimous agreement on this, at least between Maria and me.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Celler D. Russell Smith is on the water!
Celler D. Russell Smith is now sailing for Houston! Our ship, Hapag-Lloyd Akritas, left Barcelona on Monday bound for Houston on Nov. 13th. As always, bottling was a bit of a struggle but we "got 'er done". This was the first time I had ever loaded an ocean-going container.
I opted for refrigeration because we never know what will happen with the weather this time of year. The driver opened the doors and the fresh, minty smell of disinfectant wafted out. The inside of the container was as clean as an operating room! I've never seen anything like it.
It appears that every industry has its own peculiar lingo. International shipping is no exception. An ocean container is not loaded or filled. It is "stuffed". We stuffed the container in about 15 minutes. We discovered as the last pallet was being loaded that a miscalculation had been made on the pallet sizes because it wouldn't fit. I had visions of having to re-stack ten pallets of wine. A solution was found by using a "baby pallet" for the remaining cases. It took us a while to find one that would fit.
The doors were sealed with a tamper-evident seal, the reefer was turned on and it was off to Barcelona. ¡Buen viaje!
I opted for refrigeration because we never know what will happen with the weather this time of year. The driver opened the doors and the fresh, minty smell of disinfectant wafted out. The inside of the container was as clean as an operating room! I've never seen anything like it.
It appears that every industry has its own peculiar lingo. International shipping is no exception. An ocean container is not loaded or filled. It is "stuffed". We stuffed the container in about 15 minutes. We discovered as the last pallet was being loaded that a miscalculation had been made on the pallet sizes because it wouldn't fit. I had visions of having to re-stack ten pallets of wine. A solution was found by using a "baby pallet" for the remaining cases. It took us a while to find one that would fit.
The doors were sealed with a tamper-evident seal, the reefer was turned on and it was off to Barcelona. ¡Buen viaje!
Breakfast with Jesus at Mas de l'Abundancia
Our neighbor, Philip, invited me to dinner last Saturday night. Philip has a beautiful finca out past the Ermita and his neighbor, Jesus del Rio Mateu, was also there for dinner. Jesus speaks excellent English along with six other languages. Jesus has a vineyard and winery named Mas de l'Abundancia. He invited me for breakfast on Sunday.
Jesus keeps a few chickens. It was the first time I had ever eaten a two hour old egg. The flavor was amazing. We had a leisurely breakfast while he talked about his wines and vines. He has garnatxa, carinyena and cabernet planted on his estate. The Siurana River runs a hundred meters from his house so his valley is cooler than much of Montsant. That's one reason he planted cabernet there. His garnatxa was grafted from some old vines nearby and Jesus believes he has a unique clone due to its superior resistance to mildew.
The whole place is a little paradise. The house is well thought out and filled with books. The winery is very workable, clean and organized. I really like his wines, too. For more info on his wines go to: www.masdelabundancia.com
I was only able to spend about two hours there on Sunday but I learned a tremendous amount from Jesus about Catalunya and Catalan culture. We discovered we have a mutual acquaintance in Gina Della Vedova who works for Folio Wines in Texas. ¡El mundo es un panuelo!
Jesus keeps a few chickens. It was the first time I had ever eaten a two hour old egg. The flavor was amazing. We had a leisurely breakfast while he talked about his wines and vines. He has garnatxa, carinyena and cabernet planted on his estate. The Siurana River runs a hundred meters from his house so his valley is cooler than much of Montsant. That's one reason he planted cabernet there. His garnatxa was grafted from some old vines nearby and Jesus believes he has a unique clone due to its superior resistance to mildew.
The whole place is a little paradise. The house is well thought out and filled with books. The winery is very workable, clean and organized. I really like his wines, too. For more info on his wines go to: www.masdelabundancia.com
I was only able to spend about two hours there on Sunday but I learned a tremendous amount from Jesus about Catalunya and Catalan culture. We discovered we have a mutual acquaintance in Gina Della Vedova who works for Folio Wines in Texas. ¡El mundo es un panuelo!
Sunday, October 13, 2013
¡Si, hombre!
Nuestro primo, Cary, came to see me yesterday. Cary is studying Spanish and literature in Barcelona. As usual, the visit began with a forced march out to the Ermita. There's nothing like a brisk walk in the bracing mountain air to clear the fog of train travel. I had a little work to do on my wine so we drove up to the winery and stopped at the vineyards on the way.
At the winery, Cary was able to see the (all too sadly) vanishing craft of traditional winemaking. We returned to the casa where I attempted to prepare a traditional dinner for us of steak and baked potatoes. European charcoal can be a little unpredictable and there was no exception last night. As I was struggling with the fire, our neighbor Dani came over. In an effort to help, he turned up his music. When that didn't work, he began blowing furiously on the charcoal. For a moment, it looked as if he had thrown a bottle rocket into the barbeque. There was a tremendous surge of sparks and flame as the charcoal finally got going.
The steaks turned out better than we expected. After dinner, Cary and I walked through Masroig. Yesterday was Columbus Day here (a Spanish national holiday) and the town was very quiet. We slept in this morning (9:30), had some melon pernil for breakfast and drove over to Falset. Cary got a brief circular tour of Falset and we returned home for a lunch of Texpacho.
After lunch, we dropped in on Maria, Cisco and Francesc. Francesc graciously offered us coffee and some hazelnut pastry. We had a nice visit and they were very happy to meet Cary. It was great to see Cary and learn of his adventures. He is an articulate, thoughtful, creative and courageous young man. I am amazed at how much he has accomplished so far. Thanks for visiting, HOMBRE!
At the winery, Cary was able to see the (all too sadly) vanishing craft of traditional winemaking. We returned to the casa where I attempted to prepare a traditional dinner for us of steak and baked potatoes. European charcoal can be a little unpredictable and there was no exception last night. As I was struggling with the fire, our neighbor Dani came over. In an effort to help, he turned up his music. When that didn't work, he began blowing furiously on the charcoal. For a moment, it looked as if he had thrown a bottle rocket into the barbeque. There was a tremendous surge of sparks and flame as the charcoal finally got going.
The steaks turned out better than we expected. After dinner, Cary and I walked through Masroig. Yesterday was Columbus Day here (a Spanish national holiday) and the town was very quiet. We slept in this morning (9:30), had some melon pernil for breakfast and drove over to Falset. Cary got a brief circular tour of Falset and we returned home for a lunch of Texpacho.
After lunch, we dropped in on Maria, Cisco and Francesc. Francesc graciously offered us coffee and some hazelnut pastry. We had a nice visit and they were very happy to meet Cary. It was great to see Cary and learn of his adventures. He is an articulate, thoughtful, creative and courageous young man. I am amazed at how much he has accomplished so far. Thanks for visiting, HOMBRE!
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Done and Done!!!
We harvested Fincas Alta y Vieja yesterday. There was a little rain on Thursday and they were predicting more yesterday. It was mostly scattered showers on Thursday and we got just enough to settle the dust in El Molar. Pere brought a big crew (13) to start around noon and they finished Finca Alta in about an hour and a half.
Six people stayed after lunch to work on Finca Vieja since the winery couldn't start processing the fruit until 6:30. The work went well and we were about 90% done when a big thunderstorm appeared on the horizon and seemed to be headed right at us. As it drew closer, everyone was picking like crazy. Pere jumped in his truck and drove around the corner to talk to Arkady, the local bar owner. Arkady has a big house and barn next to the bar. He agreed to let us park the grapes in his barn.
Pere went back to get the grapes while I helped Arkady open the doors. Pere roared into the barn with his tractor and the grapes just as the blessed bottom fell out. It was what my grandfather used to call a "Texas Toad-Strangler". There was a lot of laughter and back-slapping in the bar while we drank beer and watched the storm pass.
It is about a 15 minute drive straight uphill to the winery. The guys were there and we processed the fruit with no trouble. The grapes looked really good. We ended up with 3440 kilos and the chemistry is excellent. I will go back tonight to start the pump-overs. This has been an interesting year and I'm very pleased to be done with harvest.
Six people stayed after lunch to work on Finca Vieja since the winery couldn't start processing the fruit until 6:30. The work went well and we were about 90% done when a big thunderstorm appeared on the horizon and seemed to be headed right at us. As it drew closer, everyone was picking like crazy. Pere jumped in his truck and drove around the corner to talk to Arkady, the local bar owner. Arkady has a big house and barn next to the bar. He agreed to let us park the grapes in his barn.
Pere went back to get the grapes while I helped Arkady open the doors. Pere roared into the barn with his tractor and the grapes just as the blessed bottom fell out. It was what my grandfather used to call a "Texas Toad-Strangler". There was a lot of laughter and back-slapping in the bar while we drank beer and watched the storm pass.
It is about a 15 minute drive straight uphill to the winery. The guys were there and we processed the fruit with no trouble. The grapes looked really good. We ended up with 3440 kilos and the chemistry is excellent. I will go back tonight to start the pump-overs. This has been an interesting year and I'm very pleased to be done with harvest.
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