Cue it up Beyonce!

I made it through Covid! Good Lord was that variant a kick in the ass. I was laid up for 8 days total and the most lethargic I’ve ever been. Here in Texas North (Alberta) we have no restrictions and people are dropping like flies. I can’t understand why????

I still wear a mask in 95% of places except one. The restaurant. Seems the rich folk don’t like them too much and have been known to not tip the staff that are wearing masks. This is brutal as we tip out 7.5% of sales and if you get stiffed you just paid to serve these fuckwits. Even with that tip out this place is so busy you walk with a lot of cash each night. (Last night I had an Irishman have a 200 dollar bill and he left me nothing so I paid 15 bucks to serve him. (angry)

Decilitre was also sick during this last week and a half but being home with me the whole time he didn’t get covid which is wild. He can get vaxxed in a couple weeks and he will be getting the spike no question about it. In case you were wondering 5 year olds do NOT like nasal swabs. The 2nd one we legit had to pin him down and do it as there was no chance of him sitting there and taking it. Not a fun moment.

Interpol is releasing a new album in July and I am excited for it. Here’s one from their last album that is superb IMO.

Travel story time!

I did my sommelier diploma when I lived in Scotland and it was a pretty tough slog. I had to travel into Glasgow twice a week to go to Strathclyde University for it which took about an hour and a half on public transport each way. At the course I met a gentleman that was a big and scary looking who just happened to work in a wine store. His name was Thomas and he had a scar on the bridge of his nose from giving Glaswegian kisses to folk of ill repute. We were out having a smoke one day (not recommended when studying wine) and I was complaining that all I could get was hashish and not weed in Bonny Old Scotland. He told me he had some mates that had a grow and could get me some if I came with him to East Glasgow. Well, East Glasgow is incredibly rough and quite intimidating after dark. Once you arrive you leave the train station and the only road out has terraced housing with people on the rooves who are definitely watching who’s coming into the neighboUrhood. After procuring a bag for the Canadians back at the resort the scary gentlemen said goodbye and bid me on my way. There was no bloody way I was walking that mile back to the station alone at night. So the merry band of weed dealers walked with me and called me all sorts of pussy but ultimately understood.

Once we had written the exams I decided to stay in Glasgow and party with a few classmates. We were at a club called the Garage which was 2 stories and felt moisture coming from above. We noticed that a dickbag was spitting on the crowd below. The four of us ventured up the stairs to take care of this guy but were stopped by the bouncers who also had seen what was going on. They grabbed him roughly and told us to follow them. They opened a back door and said we could take care of it and when we were done just knock and they would let us back in. You’d think staring 4 guys who wanted to beat on him would make him back down. He did not. Thomas walked up to him and BAM! Forehead to the bridge of buddies nose. He dropped like a sack of hammers but continued to swear at us and wanted to keep fighting. He got beat up pretty good and we were let back in the club and left him in the alley. I asked Thomas why he seemed to always do that in fights and he said that there is so much scar tissue that he doesn’t even feel it anymore.

During the evening we had taken MDMA and partied until dawn. I had foreseen a quiet night in the dining room the following evening but when I walked in I saw a banquet set up and knew I was in trouble. I was hungover, strung out and we had a 150 person dinner for Jaguar dealers from throughout the UK. To this day was the worst ever shift I have ever worked and once I worked on LSD!

Wine time!

As requested we are going to look at Australia! To start we will go over the main wine regions down under.

As you can see they are all in the South as it is too damn hot and wet in the North. The regions vary greatly and you can get any grape from the Old World down there.

The most popular regions over here all originate in South Australia near Adelaide. This is a good thing as there is nothing going on there otherwise!

We will concentrate on the grape varietals in 5 areas in South Australia listed above on the map.

Barossa Valley – Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a large area that you will get either really good small winery wines or the mass produced stuff like Wolf Blass, Jacob’s Creek.

Adelaide Hills – This is just outside of the city and due to the proximity to the sea you get cool climate grapes like Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

McLaren Vale – Big dry reds and my favoUrite blend comes from here which is GSM (Grenache, Shiraz, Mouvedre). This blend is a Rhone blend but due to the heat and winemaking style you get a dry, fruit forward wine that isn’t too jammy. The wines aren’t as tannic compared to what you would get in Rhone but they don’t smash you in the mouth with overly sugary wines.

Coonawarra – Kind of comperable to what you would get in Napa. Think Cab Sauv, Merlot, Shiraz and Chardonnay. This area is known for its Terra Rossa soil which imparts a nice minerality to the wines, also has to do with its location on the limestone coast.

Riverland – This region is known for Euro varietals that the Aussies are trying to emulate. Sangiovese, Vermentino, Malbec, Tempranillo to name a few. This area is home to 80 different varietals and some sneaky good stuff as of the regions in South Australia it is the least well known.

This was just a snapshot which I will delve into further in the coming weeks. Your next two Sundays will be Litreless as I will be in Mexico. DO I have a Mexican wine tasting booked already? You know I do! I will report back with my findings.

[EDIT] I listen to Afropop and will include one song each week. Music is a happy place for me.

Thanks for being you.