Good evening, I hope your weekend has gone well in this hellscape that we’re currently living in.

It has begun for me. The return to the office. They are trying to push a hybrid solution but this solution goes against my directors ideas of increased visibility. I have heard “back to normal” 17 times this week. Just because places are scaling back measures doesn’t mean it is any safer and that normal is coming. Am I exhausted by it all? Yes. Do I think that this is anywhere near over? No.

/Checks graph of cases in Europe and nods.

I’ve been virus free for these 2 years and have only caught 2 daycare illnesses from Decilitre who spends his days in a germ factory. I’ve followed all the rules but in my province there are no more rules. Just this week alone I have had 4 friends go down. Luckily they’re vaxxed up and are only getting hit with a 3 day freight train but it’ll get worse here IMO.

Will this stop me from going to Toronto to see Canada v Jamaica futbol? No it won’t. I’m of the mind that I will get it now so I had might as well do what I want (still masked up). I’m allowed to wear a mask in the restaurant where I picked up my part time gig but NOBODY wears them. One of the things that I noticed my 1st week there was that the rich folk did NOT adhere to the policy happily. My bff had a table that was discussing vaccinations and because she was triple vaxxed they said she was a Trudeau lover and stiffed her on a $800 bill. At this resto we have to tip out 7.5% so she basically paid to serve these pricks.

Travel story time.

My now ex, my buddy and I were in Sofia, Bulgaria and were making our way to Veliko Tarnovo in the morning. The evening prior to the minibus ride we went out with a bunch of Slovenians and got absolutely trashed. I was a hurtin unit the next morning and the whole bus ride I laid under the seats trying not to vomit. We finally arrived in the town which was stunning as you can see from the pic above. We had to walk to our auberge which would take about a half an hour. Well, we got lost and everything was in Cyrillic so we had no clue where to go or where we were. I suggested we split up at a fork in the road and keep heading west. I had a rumble in my stomach and I also wanted to separate in case something occurred. Suddenly, it was going to happen, and happen very quickly. I found an abandoned shed in what I thought was an uninhabited house and dropped trousers hidden from the street. Luckily in Eastern Europe you should always carry toilet paper because most WCs do not have that luxury. After I was done, I put my big backpack back on and headed back tot he street. My buddy was there howling and pointing at me as a man came charging out of the woods yelling at us in Bulgarian. We finally did find the auberge and I still feel bad for what that farmer found.

Bulgaria is awesome, if you ever get a chance to go, do it.

Wine time!

We have now discussed the classifications in Italy and their nuances. We will now turn to White grapes and the regions that they are grown in.

The most famous white wines that come out of the boot are Pinot Grigios and Proseccos. We will first look at where they are grown.

The Pinot Grigio heartland consists of the Veneto, Friuli and Tentino Alto Aldige which are all in the north of the country. The grape thrives there completely due to lack of intense heat and the shade of the mountains. They also harvest this grape real early to avoid frost and so you get a zesty fresh taste. People love this stuff because it is light, crisp and not all that complex. Of course there are exceptions to the rule and they can develop these like an Alsatian Pinot Gris which when left on the vine develops peach, apricot flavoUrs.

*Nine times out of ten when you see Pinot Grigio from anywhere it will be the early harvest zesty, citrusy, maybe a bit of effervescence and when you see Pinot Gris it will have stayed on the vine longer and be a bit more complex and floral with stone fruit and ripe apple tastes.

On to Prosecco! Poor person’s Champagne! Prosecco is more popular than its French rival due to price and stigma. Brits inhale the stuff and they cause a shortage in 2016. To be a Prosecco it has to be made with 85% of the Giera grape and can be maximum of 15% of 9 other varietals like Pinot Grigio, Chard, Pinot Blanco, Pinot Noir (no skin contact), and other obscure Italian grapes. Prosecco can achieve DOCG and DOC classification so check those labels folks!

Prosecco can have more aroma than Champagne due the soil and the way the wine is made. You get a lot of yeast with good Champagnes but here Giera doesn’t behave like Chard, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier used for the bubbles in France. Personally I prefer Prosecco to its Spanish counterpart Cava which I find smells like burnt tires a lot of the time. Prosecco is a phenomenal food wine and goes with a wide range from salted meats to stinky cheeses.

I am being brief as I do not want to get too nerdy in these. My goal is to entertain and give you a bit more knowledge if needed in a wine store. Once Italy is somewhat covered I will move on to other areas/grapes. If anyone wants to nerd out more let me know.

Time for a tune. His name is Italian but he’s Scottish!

So tomorrow morning there will be a post by my illustrious wife..stay tuned.