We are sometimes asked about ‘own label’ or ‘white label’ brands – in other words creating a new brand for one specific customer or market. We have done it before, but only very reluctantly, for one or two very good reasons. Firstly, it does not benefit your own brand, and indeed might even detract from your sales, as you are effectively competing against yourself. Then even if you are lucky enough to pick up one or two accolades for the own label wine, it does nothing to enhance the reputation of your own bodega if your name is not mentioned.

On the other hand it is of course an alternative way to sell wine, and in tough times we all need to look at different options. However, in the long term it might not be the best solution for every business and really depends on your overall marketing plan.

Anyway, this leads me on to the real reason for writing today – brand names. It always amuses me to see products with funny names. What I really mean by this is a name that gets lost in translation. In your own language it can be something pretty innocuous and inoffensive, but then translated it can take on a whole different meaning – take the photo above for example, snapped on my cell phone at a local airport.

Indeed there are entire websites dedicated to these unwitting marketing gaffs, but it still makes me wonder why the producers simply don’t do a bit more careful research before they launch their brand? It’s a small world after all……

No, this is not a reference to the Spanish air traffic controllers who have wreaked havoc in and around the country this weekend, but actually relates to the forthcoming working week – or should I say, non-working week to be a bit more accurate.

The first week in December is riddled with public holidays – two National, on 6th and 8th December, and one local on 10th December. Translated this means that we work only Tuesday and Thursday and have the rest of the week at leisure! Hardly the most appropriate respite for an already ailing economy….

Whilst on the subject of the highly unpopular air traffic controllers, here are a few facts to help you understand why they do not garner much public sympathy over here. Out of the total 2,300 Spanish controllers, ten were paid between €810,000 (£725,000) and €900,000 last year. A further 226 were paid between €450,000 and €540,000 and 701 were paid between €270,000 and €360,000.

Their average basic salary is €200,000 but most double or triple this amount by working overtime, that contrasts quite dramatically with the average salary in Spain, which is a miserly €18,087, according to government figures.

Always trying to remain at the forefront of fashion and innovation Castro Martin have now decided to follow the example set by our Spanish broadband provider – in future all bottles will be “up to” 75cl in capacity.

Working at the ‘current acceptable averages’ this will mean that in future your bottle will probably contain somewhere between 25cl and 50cl of albariño, whilst the price you pay will remain completely unaltered!

Imagine what might happen if other industries were able to escape by giving such vague assurances to their customers….. For example, you might pay €120,000 for a new Aston Martin car which the manufacturer claims has a top speed of “up to” 240 km per hour, whereas in reality its best speed might only be around 100 km per hour. What they have failed to tell you is that the maximum speed can only be achieved in exceptional circumstances, going down a steep hill with a hurricane blowing directly behind you – in other words, in conditions that you are hardly ever likely to encounter.

I am sure that no Aston Martin driver would ever accept this, so why do we accept it with our broadband? I pay for 6MB, so why do I only get an average of around 1.6MB?

I understand that this worldwide phenomena now appears to be the accepted standard, and so I have to ask myself why other industries don’t simply follow suit (apart from the fact that they would never get away with it)!

Angela recently attended a tasting in La Coruña showcasing the wines of Galicia. It was just as well she told me that she was going because the following day her picture appeared in a local newspaper.

There is no escaping ‘big brother’ these days – if it’s not getting caught at a tasting, it could be walking in your local town centre, or perhaps even on a traffic speed camera……

I will make no comment about Angela’s police record!

Unfortunately Thanksgiving is not a holiday that is shared around the world, but only within the borders of the USA (for obvious reasons).

Here in Europe there is no Thanksgiving turkey, nor pumpkin pie, and life carries on pretty much as normal. Perhaps the only noticeable difference is to be found in the TV schedule where we can enjoy the traditional NFL games played on this holiday (assuming that you follow American football).

And so, all that remains is to wish all our American friends and customers a very Happy Thanksgiving 2010!

Ironically the sun is shining today….. I say ironically because for the last few days it hasn’t been shining at all, and on the day that I chose to write about all the rain we’ve had, the sun has come out!

You may recall that we had a very dry summer, from the month of June until well after the harvest we hardly saw a cloud, and you could count the number of rainy days that we had on one hand. Finally it would appear that normality has been restored, the rainfall simply demonstrating why Galicia is the most verdant corner of Spain.

I really just wanted to write so that I could post this picture of our new pool at the front of the Bodega – for a few moments it seemed like a monsoon was sweeping over our area leaving our roads momentarily more like rivers.

As you may have seen over the summer the uniforms of our guys have taken a bit of a pounding, not only with all the vineyard and bodega work that they do, but also with the building work that we have completed this year. Poor old David started the year with his improvised ¾ length trousers, which by mid-summer had shrunk to a pair of Bermuda shorts. Our fear was that by the autumn he would be working in a tanga!

Joking aside, we are in the process of buying some new uniforms, and believe it or not the big discussion has been about the colour. There are of course some traditional colours here in Spain, whereby specific professions can be identified by the colour of the uniform that they wear. For example, professions such as electricians and plumbers tend to wear blue, people who work on the land (including Bodegas) tend to prefer green, and so on.

The most practical colour for our guys might, for example, be black (which I think would also look quite smart), but then again this would not be very practical. Imagine working out in the vineyards in the heat of summer wearing a nice black, heat absorbing uniform – I doubt if they would thank me for this, no matter how smart it may or may not look.

OK, so all of our wines are now classified as ‘sobre lias’, which means that we usually allow them between 5 and 6 months ageing on the lees. Under normal circumstances this would mean that they are not racked (clean wine drawn off ), until around April or May. That is of course, except for the tanks that we have to rack now – a contradiction perhaps, but please allow me to explain.

During the alcoholic fermentation the tanks are never filled to the top, simply because we need to allow space in each tank with which to work. When making additions to the fermenting wine, such as the bentonite that we use for fining, they have to be ‘pumped over’ in order to mix the product thoroughly with the juice. I can tell you from experience that when some of these additions combine with the carbon dioxide suspended in the new wine, the reaction can be quite violent and generate a huge amount of foam. If we do not allow the extra ‘head space’ at the top of the tank then a lot of new wine will quite simply end up on the floor!

When the fermentation finally finishes we seal the tanks and allow them to settle, but at this point they are still not filled to capacity. They do not oxidise because of the trapped carbon dioxide, and indeed we have to release the trapped gas every couple of days to more or less stop the tanks from exploding under the additional pressure.

Eventually the partially filled tanks have to be topped up – hence the reason that we have to rack some of the tanks now.

My picture today (apologies for the poor quality) shows the racking pipe at the bottom of one of the tanks, where the lees have come to settle. As you can see it looks like a row of mini stalagmites, or perhaps on the extreme left of the picture, the spine of a stegosaurus…..

Clearly I have been watching to many Jurassic Park movies!

Forget the phishing e-mails from Nigerian philanthropists anxious to share their millions, there is one e-mail that I enjoy receiving above all others….. from the anonymous wine buyer.

All too often we are approached by individuals posing as prospective buyers, claiming impressive international customer base, extensive sales team and all the trappings of an established business. Of course they are looking for exclusive representation of our wine, no doubt in return for a healthy commission.

Closer examination however reveals something a little closer to the truth – no fixed contact address, no website, a mobile phone number and a hotmail address – in complete contradiction to their claimed business credentials.

Suffice to say that I do not send samples!

Less than 24 hours after the anouncement the UK is already being swept by Royal Wedding fever! Within hours the television channels were filled with royal engagement specials, and this morning every newspaper is crammed with details (not to mention a good deal of speculation), about the wedding itself – the date, the venue, what the dress will be like, what they will eat etc., etc. In addition, there is also the complete story of the latest branch to be added to the royal family tree, which to be honest, sounds rather like a TV mini-series in the making….”Meet the Middletons”.

I could go on, but suffice to say that the coverage is already breathtaking, so heaven only know what it will be like by next year when the wedding actually takes place.

Of course, the announcement of the engagement came as no real surprise, and had been expected for some time, so much so that a few commemorative plates and tea towels are already on the market – but this did get me thinking…..

Who will be the official supplier of wine to the wedding banquet, and will they select an albariño to go with their food? There are already labels on the market such as “Great with Meat” and “Great with Fish”, but what about “Great with Swan” – my guess is that it has never been done before!

We also know that the Queen is partial to a glass of German riesling (no mention of the Saxe-Coburg connection please), and let’s be honest, albariño is quite a similar wine style. I have to admit that being awarded a Royal Warrant would make a nice addition to our label.

Just as a quick footnote, I did a bit of research this morning, and you would be astonished to note how many albariño producers have claimed to be suppliers to the last Spanish Royal Wedding back in 2004. Apart from the fact that all the official suppliers were sworn to secrecy (they produced a special wedding label), if the number of bodegas making claims were true then it must have been one hell of a party – perhaps even a Royal Botellon!