Prowein is certainly one of the most important wine fairs in Europe, and spans over six huge halls at the Messe Düsseldorf. Indeed, owing to it’s sheer size and the layout of the different halls (something akin to Tetris) it’s very easy to lose your bearings, and is certainly not a fair to visit without a specific objective in mind. It would be pretty much impossible to see everything during the three days that the doors are open.

As with the majority of large wine fairs the world and his dog are all represented, and it’s possible to taste wine from every corner of the planet. All of the more obvious producing countries are there in force, but also there are many of the not so obvious too: India, Israel, Georgia, Croatia, Moldavia, Serbia and the Czech Republic to name just a few. Whilst our main reason for being there was to sell our albariño, we did also seize the opportunity to taste a couple of interesting things from outside Spain, including a fascinating tasting of sweet German rieslings from as far back as 1976….. it’s always important for us to stay in touch, and to see what the rest of the world is doing.

The one thing that Prowein has in common with every other wine fair is that it’s completely exhausting, and that’s without including the marathon journey to get to Germany and back. Getting up at 7.30am on a Sunday morning to go out and sell wine comes as a shock to the system at my age (or any age for that matter). It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it – just as well that we love our Bodega!

Prowein is certainly one of the most important wine fairs in Europe, and spans over six huge halls at the Messe Düsseldorf. Indeed, owing to it’s sheer size and the layout of the different halls (something akin to Tetris) it’s very easy to lose your bearings, and is certainly not a fair to visit without a specific objective in mind. It would be pretty much impossible to see everything during the three days that the doors are open.

As with the majority of large wine fairs the world and his dog are all represented, and it’s possible to taste wine from every corner of the planet. All of the more obvious producing countries are there in force, but also there are many of the not so obvious too: India, Israel, Georgia, Croatia, Moldavia, Serbia and the Czech Republic to name just a few. Whilst our main reason for being there was to sell our albariño, we did also seize the opportunity to taste a couple of interesting things from outside Spain, including a fascinating tasting of sweet German rieslings from as far back as 1976….. it’s always important for us to stay in touch, and to see what the rest of the world is doing.

The one thing that Prowein has in common with every other wine fair is that it’s completely exhausting, and that’s without including the marathon journey to get to Germany and back. Getting up at 7.30am on a Sunday morning to go out and sell wine comes as a shock to the system at my age (or any age for that matter). It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it – just as well that we love our Bodega!

I know that I’ve written fairly recently about the effect that your surroundings can have on how you perceive a particular wine, but this can also include your own personal emotions at the time. For example, are you having a good time, is it a special occasion, are you in good company? These subliminal factors will all play a part in your overall enjoyment and recollection.

However, one factor that is not quite so obvious is the price that you pay for your bottle. It’s all to do with the power of suggestion, and how you anticipate the bottle should taste more than how it actually does taste. It’s purely psychological, in the same way that a placebo can trick a patient into believing that he or she is taking a drug that they’re actually not. Now, I am not suggesting for one second that you can serve a glass of water in place of your albariño hoping that no one will notice, but apparently you could make it appear to taste better if you tell your fellow drinkers that it’s a really expensive wine.

A study at Stanford business school proved that some consumers believed a $45 dollar bottle to be better than a $5 bottle, even though it was actually the same wine! To cut a long story short, we trick the brain into believing that the expensive bottle should taste better, and as a result our pleasure receptors apparently become more active.

Perhaps the same is true with the power of marketing, when we believe that our favourite brand really does taste better than the cheaper own label brand – it’s possibly all just a trick of the brain…..

Personally, I have always been a great believer in the old adage ‘you get what you pay for’, and I can honestly assure our customers that our Castro Martin albariños really do represent great value for money. Or perhaps they would they taste twice as good if I doubled the price?

I know that I’ve written fairly recently about the effect that your surroundings can have on how you perceive a particular wine, but this can also include your own personal emotions at the time. For example, are you having a good time, is it a special occasion, are you in good company? These subliminal factors will all play a part in your overall enjoyment and recollection.

However, one factor that is not quite so obvious is the price that you pay for your bottle. It’s all to do with the power of suggestion, and how you anticipate the bottle should taste more than how it actually does taste. It’s purely psychological, in the same way that a placebo can trick a patient into believing that he or she is taking a drug that they’re actually not. Now, I am not suggesting for one second that you can serve a glass of water in place of your albariño hoping that no one will notice, but apparently you could make it appear to taste better if you tell your fellow drinkers that it’s a really expensive wine.

A study at Stanford business school proved that some consumers believed a $45 dollar bottle to be better than a $5 bottle, even though it was actually the same wine! To cut a long story short, we trick the brain into believing that the expensive bottle should taste better, and as a result our pleasure receptors apparently become more active.

Perhaps the same is true with the power of marketing, when we believe that our favourite brand really does taste better than the cheaper own label brand – it’s possibly all just a trick of the brain…..

Personally, I have always been a great believer in the old adage ‘you get what you pay for’, and I can honestly assure our customers that our Castro Martin albariños really do represent great value for money. Or perhaps they would they taste twice as good if I doubled the price?

It’s probably quite appropriate that in this age of instant information this relatively new technology is known as a QR, or Quick Response Code (to give it it’s proper title). I believe that this two-dimensional matrix barcode was originally developed for the car manufacturing industry, where it was used for marking cars and their parts. (You may have noticed it years ago at your local car dealership, or even on the documentation of your new car). Its big advantage over the usual UPC barcode is that it’s much quicker to read, and by virtue of its design, has a much larger storage capacity.

Originally its use was confined to industry, but now, with the advent of smart phones, we are all pretty much carrying around a portable QR scanner in our pockets (or handbags). By downloading a simple App we now have the ability to gather information on pretty much anything, including our favourite wine cellar, Bodegas Castro Martin. On a recent visit to London I even saw them being used outside restaurants to replace the traditional curled-up menu in a glass box, so that a potential customer can now browse the menu at his or her leisure.

From the 2011 vintage QR codes will be added to all our labels, for you to download instantly all the relevant information about the contents of your glass. 

………beam me up Scotty!

It’s probably quite appropriate that in this age of instant information this relatively new technology is known as a QR, or Quick Response Code (to give it it’s proper title). I believe that this two-dimensional matrix barcode was originally developed for the car manufacturing industry, where it was used for marking cars and their parts. (You may have noticed it years ago at your local car dealership, or even on the documentation of your new car). Its big advantage over the usual UPC barcode is that it’s much quicker to read, and by virtue of its design, has a much larger storage capacity.

Originally its use was confined to industry, but now, with the advent of smart phones, we are all pretty much carrying around a portable QR scanner in our pockets (or handbags). By downloading a simple App we now have the ability to gather information on pretty much anything, including our favourite wine cellar, Bodegas Castro Martin. On a recent visit to London I even saw them being used outside restaurants to replace the traditional curled-up menu in a glass box, so that a potential customer can now browse the menu at his or her leisure.

From the 2011 vintage QR codes will be added to all our labels, for you to download instantly all the relevant information about the contents of your glass. 

………beam me up Scotty!

Ever thought that you don’t like the name of your home town, or that you’d like to live in another town nearby? Then simply change your address. No, I don’t mean move house, simply tell people that your address has changed, even though you live in the same place!

Now, I can hear you say that this sounds like a completely ridiculous idea, but the logic is, if it can work for a discount airline, then why not for me?

A week or two ago I mentioned the saga of booking our flights – trying to get to the wine fair ‘Prowein’ in Dusseldorf, and the fact that we have to fly through Barcelona as there is no direct flight from Galicia (despite having three “International” airports). To do this we also have to use two separate airlines, Iberia and Lufthansa, with two separate bookings.

Yesterday, in a conversation with a work colleague, she told us that she was flying direct to Dusseldorf from Oporto (Oporto being only a 1½ hour drive from us). On face value this would seem like a good idea…. until you look more closely. In this case ‘Dusseldorf’ airport turns out to be Dusseldorf (Weeze), which isn’t located in Dusseldorf at all. It’s actually nearly 100km from Dusseldorf, so I guess that you might need to hire a car, or take a bus – it’s certainly more than a taxi ride away!

As if you haven’t guessed already I am, of course, talking about our most famous rip-off airline Ryanair. (It would be easy to write a book about their misleading advertising, let alone a few lines in a blog.) I can easily think if a few instances where they use these misleading airport locations: Barcelona (Girona), Dusseldorf (Weeze), Paris (Vatry) to name but a few. I believe that the last one, Vatry, is actually about 160km from the centre of Paris (more than two hours by car).

So my question today is quite simple – at what distance should an airline no longer be able to use the name of a distant city to lure unsuspecting customers? Imagine the confusion if airlines started to link the airports of adjacent cities – today we will be landing in Liverpool/Manchester, London/Birmingham or perhaps even Glasgow/Edinburgh……. well, near enough!

Ever thought that you don’t like the name of your home town, or that you’d like to live in another town nearby? Then simply change your address. No, I don’t mean move house, simply tell people that your address has changed, even though you live in the same place!

Now, I can hear you say that this sounds like a completely ridiculous idea, but the logic is, if it can work for a discount airline, then why not for me?

A week or two ago I mentioned the saga of booking our flights – trying to get to the wine fair ‘Prowein’ in Dusseldorf, and the fact that we have to fly through Barcelona as there is no direct flight from Galicia (despite having three “International” airports). To do this we also have to use two separate airlines, Iberia and Lufthansa, with two separate bookings.

Yesterday, in a conversation with a work colleague, she told us that she was flying direct to Dusseldorf from Oporto (Oporto being only a 1½ hour drive from us). On face value this would seem like a good idea…. until you look more closely. In this case ‘Dusseldorf’ airport turns out to be Dusseldorf (Weeze), which isn’t located in Dusseldorf at all. It’s actually nearly 100km from Dusseldorf, so I guess that you might need to hire a car, or take a bus – it’s certainly more than a taxi ride away!

As if you haven’t guessed already I am, of course, talking about our most famous rip-off airline Ryanair. (It would be easy to write a book about their misleading advertising, let alone a few lines in a blog.) I can easily think if a few instances where they use these misleading airport locations: Barcelona (Girona), Dusseldorf (Weeze), Paris (Vatry) to name but a few. I believe that the last one, Vatry, is actually about 160km from the centre of Paris (more than two hours by car).

So my question today is quite simple – at what distance should an airline no longer be able to use the name of a distant city to lure unsuspecting customers? Imagine the confusion if airlines started to link the airports of adjacent cities – today we will be landing in Liverpool/Manchester, London/Birmingham or perhaps even Glasgow/Edinburgh……. well, near enough!

Believe it or not my Harvest Report for the 2012 vintage is already well under way. Each month I add a few notes about the winter weather, that will quite naturally, have an impact on the growth cycle of the vines.

I remember quite well writing on this blog about the dry, sunny period that we experienced just after our harvest finished in 2011 (with locals still using the beaches until mid-October), but this dry period is now extending throughout January and February here in Galicia. I know that I am guilty of constantly using the UK as a reference for this blog (simply because I do try to stay in touch with what is happening in my country of birth), but I know that they too have some serious water issues in the south-east of the country. Even as early as February the UK have announced that there will be water shortages this summer as the reservoirs are well below the required levels for this time of year. So it would appear that Galicia is not alone.

As yet I have not heard any announcements from our local government about possible drought, but if the weather continues as is, then I have no doubt that this will happen sooner rather than later. Having said that, the reaction to dry weather is often quite different to that in the UK….. over here the first precaution is usually to ban lighting fires, whereas in the UK I believe they have already announced a restriction on the use of hosepipes (normally used for washing cars and watering gardens etc). Strange how the priorites appear to vary like this.

Anyway, we have yet to see how this lack of rainfall may or may not impact this year’s grapes – only time will tell (to use my favourite, well-worn phrase).

Believe it or not my Harvest Report for the 2012 vintage is already well under way. Each month I add a few notes about the winter weather, that will quite naturally, have an impact on the growth cycle of the vines.

I remember quite well writing on this blog about the dry, sunny period that we experienced just after our harvest finished in 2011 (with locals still using the beaches until mid-October), but this dry period is now extending throughout January and February here in Galicia. I know that I am guilty of constantly using the UK as a reference for this blog (simply because I do try to stay in touch with what is happening in my country of birth), but I know that they too have some serious water issues in the south-east of the country. Even as early as February the UK have announced that there will be water shortages this summer as the reservoirs are well below the required levels for this time of year. So it would appear that Galicia is not alone.

As yet I have not heard any announcements from our local government about possible drought, but if the weather continues as is, then I have no doubt that this will happen sooner rather than later. Having said that, the reaction to dry weather is often quite different to that in the UK….. over here the first precaution is usually to ban lighting fires, whereas in the UK I believe they have already announced a restriction on the use of hosepipes (normally used for washing cars and watering gardens etc). Strange how the priorites appear to vary like this.

Anyway, we have yet to see how this lack of rainfall may or may not impact this year’s grapes – only time will tell (to use my favourite, well-worn phrase).

This picture (captured by Angela on her mobile), was taken in the centre of Pontevedra, and shows Galicia’s most famous parrot looking out of the window of a pharmacy….. don’t ask, it’s a long story.

Saturday night was Carnival in Pontevedra, albeit that our local High Street does not enjoy quite the same atmosphere as Rio’s Sambadrome – especially when the temperature is barely above freezing. Having said that the locals clearly put a lot of effort into their costumes and floats, and they certainly had a good time, despite the cold.

The parrot? Well, he’s the adopted mascot of the Pontevedra Carnival (every local town has their own mascot, including Meaño with their very own sardine!) Ravachol as he is called, apparently lived his life in a chemist’s shop in Pontevedra, and for some reason was named after a French anarchist. Legend has it that he died during the 1913 Carnival, and consequently his death has been commemorated at the end of every Carnival week ever since. A huge stuffed parrot is paraded through the streets and then burned. Delicious with Albariño!!!! (Is that too cruel?)

The statue of Ravachol in Pontevedra

This picture (captured by Angela on her mobile), was taken in the centre of Pontevedra, and shows Galicia’s most famous parrot looking out of the window of a pharmacy….. don’t ask, it’s a long story.

Saturday night was Carnival in Pontevedra, albeit that our local High Street does not enjoy quite the same atmosphere as Rio’s Sambadrome – especially when the temperature is barely above freezing. Having said that the locals clearly put a lot of effort into their costumes and floats, and they certainly had a good time, despite the cold.

The parrot? Well, he’s the adopted mascot of the Pontevedra Carnival (every local town has their own mascot, including Meaño with their very own sardine!) Ravachol as he is called, apparently lived his life in a chemist’s shop in Pontevedra, and for some reason was named after a French anarchist. Legend has it that he died during the 1913 Carnival, and consequently his death has been commemorated at the end of every Carnival week ever since. A huge stuffed parrot is paraded through the streets and then burned. Delicious with Albariño!!!! (Is that too cruel?)

The statue of Ravachol in Pontevedra

Much has been written in recent years about the increasing madness of Health & Safety legislation, and I’m afraid that Spain is no exception.

In the workplace it’s quite obvious that no one wants to return to the days when small boys were sent up chimneys to clean them, and everyone recognises that there are many workplaces such as factories and construction sites which are dangerous and where regular health and safety checks must continue. The problem occurs when we treat everyday environments such as shops, offices and even wine cellars as if they were chemical plants full of bubbling cauldrons of explosive substances. It appears that we now obsessed by actively seeking potential danger, even in places where it doesn’t really exist.

I’m sure that by now you have realised the reason behind today’s post – our bodega has just undergone it’s own risk assessment, where some dubious dangers were uncovered, and odd recommendations put forward. Taking our tractors as an example, it was pointed out that our older tractor still requires to have a roll-bar fitted, which we accept, and which is clearly necessary. However, the suggestion that both tractors need fire extinguishers, was slightly more of a puzzle. My personal opinion is that it might be more dangerous to encourage our employees to tackle a fire, rather than to simply stand well back and wait for the fire services.

Health and safety is also responsible for changes in our school policies too. Some sports and playground activities have been curtailed on the grounds that they are now deemed too dangerous, despite having been enjoyed more or less safely for generations. I say ‘more or less’ because there will always be accidents, no matter how many precautions are taken, and this is just a fact of life that has to be accepted. The problem is that we simply can’t legislate for every eventuality.

 Having said all this, I am actually wearing a hard hat as I type this, just as a safety precaution!

Much has been written in recent years about the increasing madness of Health & Safety legislation, and I’m afraid that Spain is no exception.

In the workplace it’s quite obvious that no one wants to return to the days when small boys were sent up chimneys to clean them, and everyone recognises that there are many workplaces such as factories and construction sites which are dangerous and where regular health and safety checks must continue. The problem occurs when we treat everyday environments such as shops, offices and even wine cellars as if they were chemical plants full of bubbling cauldrons of explosive substances. It appears that we now obsessed by actively seeking potential danger, even in places where it doesn’t really exist.

I’m sure that by now you have realised the reason behind today’s post – our bodega has just undergone it’s own risk assessment, where some dubious dangers were uncovered, and odd recommendations put forward. Taking our tractors as an example, it was pointed out that our older tractor still requires to have a roll-bar fitted, which we accept, and which is clearly necessary. However, the suggestion that both tractors need fire extinguishers, was slightly more of a puzzle. My personal opinion is that it might be more dangerous to encourage our employees to tackle a fire, rather than to simply stand well back and wait for the fire services.

Health and safety is also responsible for changes in our school policies too. Some sports and playground activities have been curtailed on the grounds that they are now deemed too dangerous, despite having been enjoyed more or less safely for generations. I say ‘more or less’ because there will always be accidents, no matter how many precautions are taken, and this is just a fact of life that has to be accepted. The problem is that we simply can’t legislate for every eventuality.

 Having said all this, I am actually wearing a hard hat as I type this, just as a safety precaution!

It’s never simply by accident that important cities around the world are built on the banks of major rivers, which obviously harks back to the days when the world’s trade was dominated by ships and shipping. In those days there may well have been less traffic congestion, but at least they did not suffer too much from one of today’s major headaches – the huge bottlenecks that occur at river crossing points. It’s now a known fact that millions of man hours are wasted every single day as commuters wait patiently (or often not) simply to make their obligatory river crossing.

Having lived in London myself for at least 20 years, I know that this was a great frustration for a huge number of commuters, and successive governments were always seeking solutions and considering new river crossings.

Here in Spain our own Provincial capital, Pontevedra, actually derives it’s name from a river crossing. A part Latin, part Galician translation gives us Ponte Vetera, meaning ‘old bridge’. In modern day Pontevedra old bridge refers to an existing Roman bridge that crosses the Lérez river (now known as the Burgos bridge).

Now I’m not implying for one second that Pontevedra’s traffic problems are on a par with London or New York, but we do, sometimes, have as many as six cars waiting to cross the river at peak times (just joking, it’s actually seven!) A few years ago, when our local govenments still had money to spend, they did not really need an excuse to plan new building projects, and so a new bridge for Pontevedra was born. Despite recent cuts in government spending the construction was already well under way, and we are now at a point where the road deck almost meets in the middle. What difference it will make to traffic flow only time will tell. I will update my blog when we have the answer…..

It’s never simply by accident that important cities around the world are built on the banks of major rivers, which obviously harks back to the days when the world’s trade was dominated by ships and shipping. In those days there may well have been less traffic congestion, but at least they did not suffer too much from one of today’s major headaches – the huge bottlenecks that occur at river crossing points. It’s now a known fact that millions of man hours are wasted every single day as commuters wait patiently (or often not) simply to make their obligatory river crossing.

Having lived in London myself for at least 20 years, I know that this was a great frustration for a huge number of commuters, and successive governments were always seeking solutions and considering new river crossings.

Here in Spain our own Provincial capital, Pontevedra, actually derives it’s name from a river crossing. A part Latin, part Galician translation gives us Ponte Vetera, meaning ‘old bridge’. In modern day Pontevedra old bridge refers to an existing Roman bridge that crosses the Lérez river (now known as the Burgos bridge).

Now I’m not implying for one second that Pontevedra’s traffic problems are on a par with London or New York, but we do, sometimes, have as many as six cars waiting to cross the river at peak times (just joking, it’s actually seven!) A few years ago, when our local govenments still had money to spend, they did not really need an excuse to plan new building projects, and so a new bridge for Pontevedra was born. Despite recent cuts in government spending the construction was already well under way, and we are now at a point where the road deck almost meets in the middle. What difference it will make to traffic flow only time will tell. I will update my blog when we have the answer…..

Today is the day that we celebrate our love for each other, or to be more specific, for our partners. It’s traditionally a day of Champagne, roses, chocolates and romantic candle-lit dinners (and of course the greetings card companies will make a killing too).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being cynical about this, because, being the old romantic that I am, I do like to celebrate Valentine’s day. It’s simply that the card manufacturers annoy me a little as they use any event or celebration as an excuse to start producing cards. (Apparently Hallmark have now made a card designed to supposedly to console people who have lost their jobs during the recession!)

Anyway, back to the love and romance….. It’s always reassuring to know that our wine is being used in restaurants around the world to celebrate such occassions. Angela and I often share the odd bottle of albariño by way of celebrating our love!

Today is the day that we celebrate our love for each other, or to be more specific, for our partners. It’s traditionally a day of Champagne, roses, chocolates and romantic candle-lit dinners (and of course the greetings card companies will make a killing too).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being cynical about this, because, being the old romantic that I am, I do like to celebrate Valentine’s day. It’s simply that the card manufacturers annoy me a little as they use any event or celebration as an excuse to start producing cards. (Apparently Hallmark have now made a card designed to supposedly to console people who have lost their jobs during the recession!)

Anyway, back to the love and romance….. It’s always reassuring to know that our wine is being used in restaurants around the world to celebrate such occassions. Angela and I often share the odd bottle of albariño by way of celebrating our love!

If you are into Social Networking then I should tell you that there is a nice little promotion of our region on Facebook, actually led by the United States market. The page is known as the Albariño Explorers Club and has a funky octopus as its logo. (Do people still say ‘funky’ these days?)

Every now and then they include a pop quiz, posing trivia questions to test your knowledge – have fun and learn at the same time….. They also give suggestions for pairing Albariño with food, together with one or two interesting recipes. The only entry so far, that made me wince a little, was the suggestion for Albariño cocktails. Whatever will they come up with next? Adding orange juice to your glass of Krug ‘Clos de Mesnil’?

 If you are into Social Networking then I should tell you that there is a nice little promotion of our region on Facebook, actually led by the United States market. The page is known as the Albariño Explorers Club and has a funky octopus as its logo. (Do people still say ‘funky’ these days?)

Every now and then they include a pop quiz, posing trivia questions to test your knowledge – have fun and learn at the same time….. They also give suggestions for pairing Albariño with food, together with one or two interesting recipes. The only entry so far, that made me wince a little, was the suggestion for Albariño cocktails. Whatever will they come up with next? Adding orange juice to your glass of Krug ‘Clos de Mesnil’?