ANOTHER JUNE IN PARADISE!

I had a fun and productive visit to the village and vineyard in June. The weather was good the whole time except we are still very short on rain. It's rained a little which helps the vineyards and orchards but the reservoirs remain dry. Hopefully, this will change soon.

Everything in the village is fine. The pool is now open so there are a lot of folks there in the afternoon. I went over there to show off my new tattoo a couple of times. It was well received.😀😂😎 

I've included descriptions under the photos so please check them out. Thanks again for keeping in touch!

Tu amigo,

Russell

😍💖

CUTE COUPLE OF 2024!!!

Freya and Dino came to visit right after I got back. Dino is Freya's boyfriend. Dino is Italian. He's lived in Barcelona for many years and works as an artist and actor. Dino is a really good guy.

When Freya first came to Spain, she lived with a hippie tribe up in the hills. The hippies taught her how to work in the vineyard. They still live in a circle of yurts off the grid. The hippies now have a music festival every spring. We drove up to see it.

Francesc and I drove over to see his Mom in Els Guiamets where she lives in a senior residence. Maria is 92 years old now and almost completely blind. But her attitude is good and she's always fun to visit with!

I usually go to lunch with Montse and/or Pilar in Tarragona once a month. This time we went to one of my favorite places near the marina. They serve the best mussels!

We had twenty fantastic folks on our third annual Barons Creek Spanish Wine Experience. This photo was taken the first night of the tour in Sitges.

Brenda Delgado is one of our wonderful hospitality helpers. She came on the tour to help out. We took a walk down the beach.

Brenda with her first plate of tapas.

             June is cherry season in the county. The cherries from our area are famous throughout Europe. 

Afternoon at the pool.

I ran into Salvador Burgos at a party celebrating the 16th anniversary of the the local winemakers supply store. The store is owned by Baco who takes care of all the winemakers in Montsant and Priorat.

Salvador with his wife and daughters. He owns a winery called Mas Sinen.

Freya expressing approval of my new grenache vines. Josep Maria says we'll have some fruit next year.

 

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE!!!

Yes, my friends...the immortal genius of Charles Stewart has come back into our lives. Once again, Charles has recorded three more songs I've written the words to. The music, instruments and vocals are all done expertly by Charles Stewart.

Those of you who are patient enough to follow my escapades will notice that six of the songs I've written the lyrics to have now been recorded. My plan has been to record twelve songs to put on an album. Some of you are bound to be relieved that I'm now halfway through. 

As before, the songs are best listened to through a Bluetooth speaker. The songs are presented as mp4 files (videos) even though there is no video. The previous mp3 files are just too hard to publish through social media. 

I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I enjoyed writing them. If not, that just means I didn't write them for you.

Thanks again for checking in!

She ain't crazy.

Want to be with you.

Better take those cookies!

 

MY 70th BIRTHDAY!!!

Yes, today is my 70th birthday. For sure, it's hard to believe and I'm having a hard time, too. So I'll take this opportunity to thank all of y'all for helping to make my life so wonderful!

I thought that something fun and interesting should be done to celebrate. Also, something that wouldn't invite the attention of law enforcement (but the day is young). So, I decided to get a tattoo. I chose a palm tree design since they are my favorite trees and somewhat uncontroversial. A friend recommended an artist in Barcelona who goes by the name of Señorita Dinamita (in English, Little Miss Dynamite). Her first name is Sandra. Sandra is a very talented and vivacious artist. We had a great conversation while she was working. I'm very happy with the result! When you're interested in getting another tattoo, I'll hook you up with her.

This afternoon I had lunch with Freya Sue and her posse. We met at a vegetarian restaurant near the beach. The place is called Club Santet. We had a long and leisurely meal. It was super sweet of these folks to join me for my birthday! They are a very fun and interesting group of people. The other man in these photos is Freya's boyfriend Dino. He's an Italian artist and actor. Dino and Freya qualify for "Cute Couple of 2024"! Also present were Cecilu and Barbara Anne. Ceci lives in Barcelona and makes artisanal soaps. Barbara is visiting from Rome where she works in the film industry. Both these ladies are good friends with Freya and also tons of fun!

This evening we met back up in a bar near my hotel. The Bros Bar is popular with Italian ex-pats in Barcelona. I now refer to it as the Italian Embassy. The staff there is friendly and fun so Bros Bar is now my official residence in Barcelona.

Thanks again for checking in!

Tu amigo,

Russell

Focus Tattoos in Barcelona. The workshop of Señorita Dinamita.

Sandra's work bench.

Sandra making it pretty.

The final result. It's just what I wanted!

Sandra!

Birthday lunch. From left to right:

DRS with Cecilu's soap, Cecilu, Freya Sue, Dino, Barbara Anne

El Grupo outside of Bros Bar.

View from my hotel balcony a half block off La Rambla.

 

40TH REUNION OF THE DREAM TEAM AT JOSEPH PHELPS VINEYARDS!!!

40TH REUNION (1984) OF THE CELLAR CREW AT JOSEPH PHELPS VINEYARDS!

Many thanks to Paul Steinauer, Robin Hardy Chester and Todd Graff for organizing and hosting the reunion of Joseph Phelps Vineyards 1984-1985 cellar DREAM TEAM! Almost everyone you see pictured here has achieved a brilliant career in the wine industry. I feel like a penny in a sack of quarters compared to these folks! Most of them have remained in Napa Valley for the past forty years.

We had a really good attendance. Our cellarmaster, Eric Neil, wasn't able to make it but I caught up with him the day before. He gave me two bottles of 1986 Backus Cabernet to take to the party. They were excellent. Eric is one of my valued mentors. He taught me a lot about winemaking.

A surprise attendee at the party was Miss Dayshift. Pauli has apparently kept in touch with her. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Miss Dayshift (and you should be), there is an excerpt from my book posted below the photos. 

I started at JPV in August of 1983 and stayed until March of 1986. The two-and-a-half years I was there were some of the happiest and most productive years of my life. I've never learned more or laughed harder! Thanks for the memories, y'all!

 

The most extraordinary cellar crew in Napa history. From left to right:

Steve Peck, Mark Angell, Vicki Virnig, D. Russell Smith, Dave Cronin, Kelly Sullivan, Gary Brookman, Todd Graff, Brad Groper, Gary Young, Jeff Virnig, Paul Steinauer.

Eric Neil and I in front of Hanzell Winery. Eric manages their vineyards and another fifteen vineyards in Sonoma and Marin.

Damian Parker wasn't able to attend. He's included here because of his culpability in the various hijinks of vintages 1984 and 1985.

Kelly celebrating Eric's contribution.

Jeff and Mark giving the JPV salute.

Bill Phelps, son of JPV founder Joe Phelps. Bill donated all the magnums of 1984 wines. Bill resembles his dad except that he's much better looking. 

The wines of the night. Magnums thanks to Bill Phelps and 750s to Eric Neil.

Pauli and Mike Fisher (a.k.a. Fish). Fish was the brightest man on the premises at JPV. When he resigned, I knew I should start looking for another job.

         

                                                      The total group including spouses.

My last dance with Miss Dayshift.

IDLE HANDS ARE THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND

      IDLE HANDS ARE THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND

   One of my father's favorite expressions was: Idle hands are the devil's playground. As the years have passed, I've come to appreciate the wisdom of this. Most of you know that I try to stay busy. For whatever reasons, that doesn't seem to keep me out of trouble.

   About a year and a half ago, I decided to try my hand at writing lyrics for country songs. It's much slower work than book-writing. By the way, I started my second book in September. Anyway, I wrote three songs. Because I can't sing, someone had to be found to put the words to music and record the songs.

   I was so lucky to find Charles Stewart of Houston to do this. Charles and Ross Jackson have been playing music together since elementary school. You'll agree that Charles did a stellar job with the music, vocals and production. Thanks, Charles!

   I hope you like the songs because I'm working on some more. To listen to the songs, just copy the Google link and paste to your browser. Don't forget to click "play"! I'm trying to get this uploaded to Youtube. It may take a couple of days.

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

I Like Your Dog

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aA6sGnfB1qT41Ohke0qDnlyZPtXH_QKI/view?usp=drive_link

Sammy's Song   

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T3mF17T27-2SfpTGKS-mYx4JcJVYPxTI/view?usp=drive_link

Devil In The Choir

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rD_DB_HXKljUFFo2TmuhoSddUahuMhfj/view?usp=sharing

   

Harvest 2023 is in the barn!

I had my earliest harvest in Spain this year. We picked on September 5th. Ordinarily, harvest averages within a few days of September 23rd. Because we were able to irrigate, we had a good crop. I ended up with 6300 kilos which was a little more than last year.

Almost all the farmers around here ended up with 25-50% of a normal crop because of the drought. All of the irrigation reservoirs dried up early in the spring. My irrigation comes from a well. Sometimes even a blind hog finds an acorn!

Josep Maria brought ten pickers so the work went well. I ended up with the ripest fruit I've ever had here. There is fabulous depth and color in the wine. I did fewer pump-overs to keep from over extracting. We pressed on September 15th. It's looking good, y'all!

My baby garnachas. Most of them are way over the top of the stakes. We'll start the head-trained, spur-pruned regimen next year.

 

Marc managing the vertical basket press. They used the must pump this year to get the must into the press. What an improvement! Formerly, we used buckets that had to be dumped by hand into the press. Some vigilance is required when using the must pump for this. If the must hose becomes clogged, it will explode and fling grapes into outer space.

Another crop in the barn.

The vineyards look fantastic.

Montse and me at the Sardinada. She's a wonderful person!

Cookin' em up. That fire is really hot.

My official sardine cooker gets used once a year. In order to do this properly, pan catala must be prepared to put the cooked sardine on. Pan catala is bread cut lengthwise then smeared with raw garlic then smeared with tomato then doused with olive oil. If they catch you doing this out of sequence, you will be chastised.

My plate is in the foreground. This is the way it's supposed to be done. Open face sandwiches on pan catala. Most people will roast their onion. I like it raw because it acts like a foil to the intense fish. The sardines are salt cured so that, in addition to the olives, you get a month's worth of sodium in one meal. The fresh sweet grapes and the wine help cleanse the pallet every so often. Not pictured is the coffee and liquor for dessert. Multiple bottles will appear on each table. I always have to go home and lie down afterward.

 

back in the village and waiting for harvest.

I got back to the village on August 22nd. Ended up with three seats to myself on both legs of the trip which is pretty unheard of these days. Weatherwise, the first few days were as hot as Texas. As usually happens, the season changed abruptly last Saturday. Daytime highs are in the 80s so it's very pleasant.

Freya came down to visit just before her birthday so we had a little celebration. Salvador Burgos came over later in the evening. He brought a bottle of his Mas Sinen rosé and some home-grown tomatoes. It was a fun pairing! Salvador is a lively lad and ended up staying past midnight.

Siebe and his childhood buddy Sam came last weekend. Sam is also from Australia and is touring Europe for a couple of months. These guys are a lot of fun. They were headed to the Tomatina near Valencia. It's billed as the world's largest food fight with 20,000 paying attendees. Siebe described the event as "mental". Apparently, it's very popular with Australians. For complete info, go to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Tomatina

Although it's raining right now, the historic drought continues. Most of the farmers I talk to are reporting yields of 25-30% of a normal crop. This year has been a disaster. Everything is ripening at once. We will pick my vineyards on Tuesday. The fruit looks pretty good overall but we're noticing some dehydration in about 15% of the clusters. It's time to bring them in! I've been able to irrigate so my yield will only be down a little (hopefully!).

                                                                Sunset in El Masroig.

Freya celebrating her birthday with Barons Creek Cava on the beach.

Freya and Salvador.

Siebe and Sam.

                                                      Sam and a blurry Siebe at the Tomatina.

Note the flying tomatoes!

Loading Grenache for the Campeon at Celler Masroig.

Shipping the tanks to cold storage in Reus. The tanks will go into a container for shipping to Barons Creek.