Hello from my dungeon of solitude. It finally got me, the Rona. Was it at the Canada game with 35k people losing their mind? No. It was either grocery shopping or working in the resto as I don’t really do anything else nowadays. Anyway it sucks and I have been sick for 5 days. Decilitre is also sick but he has yet to test positive but I am sure that will come. He is a month away from being able to get his 5g injection which sucks. Who knew a 4 year old doesn’t like sticks up their nose? I mean he jams his finger up there enough you would think it would be like Houston after #396!

This morning we had to legit pin him down to get him to do it and even then it was an effort for two of us.

I was going to talk about the Canada game but I can’t be arsed today, just know I am in the middle of this picture where the flares are.

Since the Canadian Premier League started this week I have not really a travel story but a dumb one anyway.

Cavalry FC my local club has their stadium at Spruce Meadows horse jumping Centre which is in the south of the city. Now horse jumping people are far more posh than your average futbol supporter as you can imagine. Around the grounds there are Rolex advertisements among other rich person stuff which I could never afford. Maybe the Prince of Luxembourg could afford a posh riding suit but not a civil servant! However, there is one benefit for my crew at these posh digs and that’s that there’s a wine bar! To the story of the week!

On the 1st match I saw someone in our supporters section drinking wine so just before halftime I found out where this was and ordered a bottle to bring back to the stands. When ordering the lady asked me how many plastic cups I needed, I said three and then she proceeded to hand me the bottle. Now, I have been to a lot of matches around the world and I have never had a glass bottle of any sort given to me anywhere at any match in the world. I asked her whether she was going to pour it and she said “No, just take the bottle.”

Our seats are on metal stands and this seemed like a bad idea but who was I to argue? I get back to the seats, pour up our wine and await the beginning of the 2nd half. I was chatting with my bff and suddenly I was accosted from behind by a rental security guard. He was very angry and clearly on a power trip.

“Where did you get that bottle?”

“Uh, the wine bar.”

“No you didn’t you snuck it in, and you are out of here, let’s go.”

“What? I bought it over there! They have 4 whites and 4 reds, do you want to know the varietals???.This was 44 bucks and she gave me the bottle like those people one section over.” I then pointed to a bottle on our neighboUrs seat down the way.

“Bullshit!”

I then pointed across the pitch to where the wine bar was located and said let go of me and go talk to them. At this point all eyes in the section are on me as the game hadn’t started back up yet. This knucklehead with a utility belt then states he is taking our wine bottle as “evidence” and that he would be back. I was pretty drunk from pregaming and replied “Thank you for taking my recycling.”

That as you can imagine did not go over well. He grabbed me again and I guess my friends could see where this was going to go so then my bff who is 5’4 got in between us and she told Paul Blart to go away and find something better to do. He stormed away in a huff and stated that he would remember us.

We are in season 4, I’m still known as wine bottle guy among our supporters group and that is ok by me.

Italy wine time! I decide to go with the top 10 planted grapes in Italy as I am sick and it seemed easy.

The Top 10 varietals planted are as follows

1. Sangiovese – We knew that as that is what makes their most popular and famous red wines
2. Pinot Grigio – We also knew that as how the hell else will cougars around the world get day drunk while Braxxtynn and Jaxxon are at jazz flute and interpretive dance lessons
3. Trebbiano – This white grape has big yields but is fairly plain. It is used however to make Cognac and Armagnac. I know they aren’t Italian but that’s what they make. I have had a few straight up Trebbianos and they are mediocre at best.
4. Glera – We spoke about this one a few weeks back in the making of Prosecco. This is why it ranks 4 on the list. If you see a non bubbles version give it a try. It will be crisp with a bit of fruit on the finish and not break your bank.
5. Montepulciano – This is a medium bodied red grape. Do NOT confuse this grape with the region where we get Brunello and Rooso di Montepulciano in Tuscany which is made with Sangiovese. The grape variety is grown in Marche, Puglia and Abruzzo. You get plums, blackberries, oregano and a bit of tobacco on the palate and it is pretty high in tannins so you will get a dry medium bodied red if you so choose.
6. Catarratto – This is a white variety that I know very little about. It makes a dry white that it is pretty full bodied with tastes of lemon, apple, and honey. I have never had one but I will be on the lookout for one. It seems they grow this all over so it isn’t region specific.
7. Merlot – IGT stuff as it isn’t indigenous to Italy
8. Chardonnay – The Chards you get from Italy I find are a cross between what you would get in Burgundy and what you would get with a new world Chardonnay that matures in new oak.
9. Primitivo – This is grape is what you in Amrica know as Zinfandel. Zinfandel is NOT Americas red wine grape as DNA tests have shown that it comes from Primitivo and a Croatian grape known as Malac Plavi. You get an intense bold, fruity intense wine that goes great with bbqs. If you want to be fancy then bring one of those to a bbq instead of a Zin and use that tidbit of knowledge. These are usually above 13 percent in alcohol content because this grape has a bunch of sugar.
10. Barbera – Dry as a bone, a food wine for sure.

Let me know in the comments if there is anything you would like me to cover going forward. I have had requests for ideas on what to drink to branch out from peoples normal stuff and Australia. Thy will be done.

I have been in bed for 5 days now I hope this breaks very soon. I leave you with this.