Good evening to you! Happy Fathers Day to the Dad’s out there who didn’t go for smokes and not come back.

Decilitre is 5 now and sneaky for a large individual (He takes after his uncle BC Dick in brick shithouse stature and will be as tall as Gametimedecision). The other day he woke up at 4:30 in the morning which isn’t uncommon so we thought nothing of it. Mrs. Cola heard an odd noise downstairs and woke up to check out what it was. The front door was ajar and Decilitre was happily inside watching his tablet like nothing was unusual. I came down and asked what was up?

He stated “I was in your car.”

“What? Why? Where are the keys?”

“In the car.”

“What?????”

I then explained to him that Litrepug could have gotten out and he’s a puppy who would run away forever. I then got to thinking about this event. We had Gummi Lifesavers in the car after footy practice the night prior. On the way home he asked where I kept my keys overnight so bad guys couldn’t get them? I thought nothing of it and figured it was the ramblings of a 5 year old. Nope, he was starting his plan of waking up early and heading to my car for the rest of the candy. Sneaky.

He also has done this with ice cream. He wakes up earlier than normal which is 6 am, and he comes to the living room with his already set up tablet to gorge on foodstuffs he would not normally be allowed to eat.

That’s a good Scottish troubadour right there!

Travel story time!

In the early 00’s I moved from the Canadian Rockies to Scotland for work at The Turnberry Hotel. At that point it was a Westin but now it’s a Trump….

Anyway I didn’t have my sommelier papers yet but did have a lot of wine knowledge from working in a wine bar for the prior few years. Once I arrived in Scotland I was immediately asked if I could go to Edinburgh to work the MTV Europe music awards? My answer was of course I would go. I got to go with two other people from the hotel with whom I’m now very good friends. In Edinburgh at The Sheraton I was assigned to deliver wine to the VIPs in their room and while I was there I redid their wine list for them because it had many mistakes. (I also made a mistake confusing my Pouilly’s in France and the mistake was still there 5 years later)

A call comes through to room service for two bottles of Cristal to a suite, so off I go. At the time I didn’t know who I was delivering it to but when I knocked on the door Dave Navarro answered! He invited me in to serve the bubbles. After a few minutes he was curious as to why I didn’t have a Scottish accent? I explained that I got to Scotland a few days ago and was sent to help out here from another hotel. He laughed that what if I was a “fuckhead” and was useless as the hiring hotel didn’t know me yet. I then proceeded to pour all of Jane’s Addiction their wine and was about to go on my way when he asked whether I smoked? I responded that I did and then offered a cigarette as is custom. He thanked me and gave me a 50 pound note and asked if I could go get him two packs of Marlboro Reds. Absolutely Dave! Instead of buying expensive packs at the hotel I shot across the street to the offie. I returned with his smokes, attempted to give him his change and he refused. He then gave me another 50 pounds and asked me to come have a dart with him, he then also poured me a glass of Cristal. I ended up chain smoking and drinking with him for a couple hours. The whole time Perry Farrell did not move from the couch and played xbox not speaking to a soul.

When I was leaving Dave asked if I would like to come to the show tomorrow night? I told him that I had to work but thank you very much for the offer. A part of me thought that fuck this shift I have a work visa, I could find more work. The other part of me thought to stay loyal and also I had no money to get a flat or live without a job.

The next day when I arrived at the hotelI was told I was not needed as the afterparties were at The Balmoral Hotel and I had a free night. I obviously did not get Dave’s phone number and didn’t get to go to the gig. It was when they released Strays which to me is their best work. I am still mad about this 19 years later as to why I just wasn’t a “fuckhead”. You live you learn.

Wine time!

We have done the basics for Italy, Australia, and New Zealand thus far. Today we take a look at Argentina.

In the last 20 years Argentinian wines and more specifically Malbec has burst on to the international wine scene. It used to be high quality and quite inexpensive as they tried to make their name throughout the world. I wrote about a theory I had when getting my sommelier papers that was inexpensive high quality wines moved West to East. See me through this, we are talking New World wines as Old World wines are already established globally.

First came the Aussies and their Shiraz. Market flooded with the stuff for cheap. Next came the Kiwis and their Sauvignon Blanc that as discussed can be epic or shithouse. Next on the scene were Chilean wines with Carmenere (next week). Then we got to Argentina and their Malbecs. Following that Spanish wines got bigger over here when before that it was French, Eyetie, and Kraut white wines. I predicted that South African Pinotage wines would take off. Insert Homer waiting for a gun gif.

The main growing area that we all see on wine lists and at the wine store is Mendoza. For our purposes we will only look at this region as the others are not widely available from what I have seen. In fact the map below show how small Mendoza is compared to all wine growing regions down there but it contributes 70% of Argentina’s wine production.

Mendoza is on a plateau tucked right next to the Andes mountains which benefits it greatly or it would be too hot and arid. ( I don’t think the word arid is used enough)

Facts

• The first vines were planted by Jesuits who knew how to get down.
• Malbec is king, World Malbec day is April 17th should you celebrate it.
• I don’t particularly like Malbec, CHANGE MY MIND!
• I want to go to a Boca Juniors game
• Dok Zymm got me a Boca Scarf when down there.
• The altitude here is key as the height makes the climate cooler so they can grow grapes. (2600 – 3900 ft)
• Malbec is 45% of all plantings, Cab is next at 15% then their rest are all over the place
• Hippo and I have adopted Deportivo Moron as our Argie side.

Mendoza Malbec is very dark in coloUr and will stain your glass. In warmer vineyards you will get blackberries, plums, black cherries on the palate.

PAIR. WITH. SALT. Argie BBQ (lamb, beef, game), mushrooms, blue cheese are fantastic with Malbec. If Yeah Right in his years doing his amazing Sunday Gravy has hit you with a Chimichurri then do that too as the acid from the vinegars are amazing for the full bodied wine.

In looking at the sub regions of Mendoza I only recognize the Maipu Valley so start there when you are in the wine store and let me know. I do feel my mind can be changed on this one with the right wine, unlike Semillon which is and will always be trash.