The last couple of days have been quite frantic in our bodega, as we have conducted two consecutive days of bottling. The reason for this was quite simple – we were running very low on bottled stock. Of course this is perhaps the way that it should be at this time of year, cleaning out the cellar at Christmas and then starting the new year with fresh stock. Precise planning I think it’s called…. 

Being very honest we did cut it a bit fine at the end of last year, but I am pleased to say that at least we didn’t run out of any wine, and that every order was fulfilled in a timely fashion (something that we pride ourselves on). Having said that, it’s really just as well that we did replenish our stocks so early in the New Year – the new bottlings have arrived just as a number of importers also need to replenish their own cellars after the holidays. Anyone in our business who thought that there might be a lull in our January workload has been sadly mistaken, but happily for all the right reasons. Quite naturally we have our fingers crossed that this positive start will continue throughout 2015!

The last couple of days have been quite frantic in our bodega, as we have conducted two consecutive days of bottling. The reason for this was quite simple – we were running very low on bottled stock. Of course this is perhaps the way that it should be at this time of year, cleaning out the cellar at Christmas and then starting the new year with fresh stock. Precise planning I think it’s called…. 

Being very honest we did cut it a bit fine at the end of last year, but I am pleased to say that at least we didn’t run out of any wine, and that every order was fulfilled in a timely fashion (something that we pride ourselves on). Having said that, it’s really just as well that we did replenish our stocks so early in the New Year – the new bottlings have arrived just as a number of importers also need to replenish their own cellars after the holidays. Anyone in our business who thought that there might be a lull in our January workload has been sadly mistaken, but happily for all the right reasons. Quite naturally we have our fingers crossed that this positive start will continue throughout 2015!

So what is your New Year’s resolution for 2015? To eat a bit less, or more healthily? Perhaps drink a bit less?…. No doubt all the usual ideas spring easily to mind. I did however read an interesting article the other day about ‘what not to publish in your 2015 wine blog’, and whilst the language was sometimes a little colourful, it did include one or two very valid, or at least thought provoking ideas that could help form the basis of your 2015 resolution.

For example there was a very interesting paragraph about natural wines, some of which I agreed with, and other parts that just made me smile. I will modify an odd word here and there, if only to clean up the language a little…. on the subject of Natural Wine. “Let it die. Your concern for the Earth and the holy temple of your body is fascinating, don’t get me wrong. But you’re boring everyone to death. Really. I’m not kidding. You’re just another middle-class white person who feels the need to instruct all of us on morality and taste.  I get enough of that in the news every day of my life. I drink wine to escape from people preaching at me. Fine, I admire you. You’re a better wine drinker than I am, with an incredibly sensitive and refined palate. You’re saving the world, if only people would listen!”

OK, perhaps it’s a bit strong, but I did like the part about drinking wine to escape….. I imagine simply kicking back, relaxing, glass in hand, not a care in the world. It’s true, you really don’t need people lecturing you about the rights and wrongs of a product created purely for your enjoyment. Let’s not over complicate matters, and get too tied up in the detail…… just enjoy!

He goes on to finish (still about Natural Wine): “You bought that Natural Wine produced in France, it was shipped in an ocean-polluting tanker to a busy harbour, loaded on an exhaust-belching truck to be delivered to a warehouse, driven in a truck getting four miles per gallon to your local wine shop, and you feel good about it because the guy who made it didn’t spray Roundup? Thanks. Now I get it. You’re a saint.” (Roundup being a brand of weedkiller)

The article was written by the Hosemaster himself, ex-award winning sommelier, Ron Washam, a contributor to the website of my friend Tim Atkin MW.

So what is your New Year’s resolution for 2015? To eat a bit less, or more healthily? Perhaps drink a bit less?…. No doubt all the usual ideas spring easily to mind. I did however read an interesting article the other day about ‘what not to publish in your 2015 wine blog’, and whilst the language was sometimes a little colourful, it did include one or two very valid, or at least thought provoking ideas that could help form the basis of your 2015 resolution.

For example there was a very interesting paragraph about natural wines, some of which I agreed with, and other parts that just made me smile. I will modify an odd word here and there, if only to clean up the language a little…. on the subject of Natural Wine. “Let it die. Your concern for the Earth and the holy temple of your body is fascinating, don’t get me wrong. But you’re boring everyone to death. Really. I’m not kidding. You’re just another middle-class white person who feels the need to instruct all of us on morality and taste.  I get enough of that in the news every day of my life. I drink wine to escape from people preaching at me. Fine, I admire you. You’re a better wine drinker than I am, with an incredibly sensitive and refined palate. You’re saving the world, if only people would listen!”

OK, perhaps it’s a bit strong, but I did like the part about drinking wine to escape….. I imagine simply kicking back, relaxing, glass in hand, not a care in the world. It’s true, you really don’t need people lecturing you about the rights and wrongs of a product created purely for your enjoyment. Let’s not over complicate matters, and get too tied up in the detail….. just enjoy!

He goes on to finish (still about Natural Wine): “You bought that Natural Wine produced in France, it was shipped in an ocean-polluting tanker to a busy harbour, loaded on an exhaust-belching truck to be delivered to a warehouse, driven in a truck getting four miles per gallon to your local wine shop, and you feel good about it because the guy who made it didn’t spray Roundup? Thanks. Now I get it. You’re a saint.” (Roundup being a brand of weedkiller)

The article was written by the Hosemaster himself, ex-award winning sommelier, Ron Washam, a contributor to the website of my friend Tim Atkin MW.

We have an expression called ‘tempting fate’, when we make a passing remark, which either comes true when we don’t necessarily want it to, or otherwise completely contradicts the original comment. In this case it was a comment that I made just before the end of December, when I said we don’t normally have a lot of frost during the winter. Here we are, just over a week later, and we have had frost every night since I made the comment! Of course this is not really a problem at all at this time of year, indeed it is quite a positive thing – the clear skies at night have extended throughout the day, and we have enjoyed long hours of sunshine.

We have just re-opened the Bodega today, after some extended holidays – three celebrations over a two week period. Christmas, New Year and Los Reyes Magos (the three kings), celebrated here on January 6th. Clearly this causes quite a lot of disruption to business, and it takes a little while to settle back into our normal daily routine……

We have an expression called ‘tempting fate’, when we make a passing remark, which either comes true when we don’t necessarily want it to, or otherwise completely contradicts the original comment. In this case it was a comment that I made just before the end of December, when I said we don’t normally have a lot of frost during the winter. Here we are, just over a week later, and we have had frost every night since I made the comment! Of course this is not really a problem at all at this time of year, indeed it is quite a positive thing – the clear skies at night have extended throughout the day, and we have enjoyed long hours of sunshine.

We have just re-opened the Bodega today, after some extended holidays – three celebrations over a two week period. Christmas, New Year and Los Reyes Magos (the three kings), celebrated here on January 6th. Clearly this causes quite a lot of disruption to business, and it takes a little while to settle back into our normal daily routine……

Now I realise as I write this that there might be a few people who view our social media pages using smartphones, so I will start with an apology to them….. I am sorry for what I am about to write! A question that I am increasingly asking myself these days is quite simply, how did we survive before mobile phones? Or perhaps, to refine the question a bit, how did we communicate without them? I was sitting in a restaurant yesterday watching a nearby table comprising two adults and their young child – the mother was messaging on her phone, the father was surfing the web on his, whilst the young child was left to stare at the ceiling. Is this really the example that we want to set to our children? Extending this idea a bit further, could it be that at sometime in the not-to-distant future we will lose the ability to communicate face-to-face altogether? I once saw a young couple in a very expensive New York restaurant texting throughout their meal, and it left me wondering if they were actually texting each other? Had they already lost the ability to talk to one-another? 

Wherever you go, bars, restaurants, airports, public transport, people appear transfixed by their phones. Certainly they are an indispensable tool in modern day life, but it still raises the question, where do we (or where should we) draw the line, before they take over our lives completely? On which occasion should we resist the incoming call or message, and show some respect to the people with whom we are actually sharing our time?

Or perhaps the final question should be….. am I just an old fuddy-duddy?

Now I realise as I write this that there might be a few people who view our social media pages using smartphones, so I will start with an apology to them….. I am sorry for what I am about to write! A question that I am increasingly asking myself these days is quite simply, how did we survive before mobile phones? Or perhaps, to refine the question a bit, how did we communicate without them? I was sitting in a restaurant yesterday watching a nearby table comprising two adults and their young child – the mother was messaging on her phone, the father was surfing the web on his, whilst the young child was left to stare at the ceiling. Is this really the example that we want to set to our children? Extending this idea a bit further, could it be that at sometime in the not-to-distant future we will lose the ability to communicate face-to-face altogether? I once saw a young couple in a very expensive New York restaurant texting throughout their meal, and it left me wondering if they were actually texting each other? Had they already lost the ability to talk to one-another? 

Wherever you go, bars, restaurants, airports, public transport, people appear transfixed by their phones. Certainly they are an indispensable tool in modern day life, but it still raises the question, where do we (or where should we) draw the line, before they take over our lives completely? On which occasion should we resist the incoming call or message, and show some respect to the people with whom we are actually sharing our time?

Or perhaps the final question should be….. am I just an old fuddy-duddy?

Well, Christmas is finally behind us, and now we look forward to welcoming the New Year, 2015. It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Galicia, a cloudless blue sky….. but of course this can only mean one thing. It’s bitterly cold. Some parts of Europe have witnessed their coldest weather of 2014, and been hit by some fairly impressive snowfall. Tales of people trapped in their cars abound – not the best way to celebrate the holidays.

We have not seen any snow in Galicia, but when I left our home in Pontevedra this morning, the temperature was registering -3°C (about 27°F). This was in the city itself, which is actually quite unusual – we sometimes see these temperatures out in the countryside, maybe two or three times during an average winter, but rarely in town. Of course sun and frost are the perfect conditions for the ongoing pruning, as long as you remember to wear your thermals and a good pair of boots!

Well, Christmas is finally behind us, and now we look forward to welcoming the New Year, 2015. It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Galicia, a cloudless blue sky….. but of course this can only mean one thing. It’s bitterly cold. Some parts of Europe have witnessed their coldest weather of 2014, and been hit by some fairly impressive snowfall. Tales of people trapped in their cars abound – not the best way to celebrate the holidays.

We have not seen any snow in Galicia, but when I left our home in Pontevedra this morning, the temperature was registering -3°C (about 27°F). This was in the city itself, which is actually quite unusual – we sometimes see these temperatures out in the countryside, maybe two or three times during an average winter, but rarely in town. Of course sun and frost are the perfect conditions for the ongoing pruning, as long as you remember to wear your thermals and a good pair of boots!

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There used to be a moment when I could simply wish everyone a “Happy Christmas” at this time of year, but I guess that in this day and age it is not always considered politically correct to do so. It has become so complicated in recent years that many junior schools in the UK are now slowly dispensing with their traditional Christmas Nativity plays (thereby depriving small children the opportunity of dressing up with their mother’s best kitchen tea towel on their head!). We now embrace a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society to the extent that many of the original, older traditions are now either dying out, or are simply being replaced with new non-partisan events. Sad, but true….

It leaves me with a bit of a dilemma therefore, when it comes to writing my holiday message – what do I say? Happy holidays? Seasons Greetings? Yuletide Greetings?….. Call me old-fashioned, but whichever I chose to write it never sounds quite right, I always want to revert, by default, back to the phrase that I always used, unerringly as an innocent young child – Happy Christmas!

Whatever your faith, I am sure you will completely understand the sentiment of my message. We simply wish to thank all our loyal customers, friends and importers around the world for their continued support, and whatever toast you chose to make at this time of year, just make sure that it is done with a refreshing glass of Castro Martin albariño in hand!

Click to enlarge message

There used to be a moment when I could simply wish everyone a “Happy Christmas” at this time of year, but I guess that in this day and age it is not always considered politically correct to do so. It has become so complicated in recent years that many junior schools in the UK are now slowly dispensing with their traditional Christmas Nativity plays (thereby depriving small children the opportunity of dressing up with their mother’s best kitchen tea towel on their head!). We now embrace a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society to the extent that many of the original, older traditions are now either dying out, or are simply being replaced with new non-partisan events. Sad, but true….

It leaves me with a bit of a dilemma therefore, when it comes to writing my holiday message – what do I say? Happy holidays? Seasons Greetings? Yuletide Greetings?….. Call me old-fashioned, but whichever I chose to write it never sounds quite right, I always want to revert, by default, back to the phrase that I always used, unerringly as an innocent young child – Happy Christmas!

Whatever your faith, I am sure you will completely understand the sentiment of my message. We simply wish to thank all our loyal customers, friends and importers around the world for their continued support, and whatever toast you chose to make at this time of year, just make sure that it is done with a refreshing glass of Castro Martin albariño in hand!

It occurred to me that there is not too much happening in the bodega at this time of year – the final countdown to the holidays. Overseas orders have long since been collected, and by now, most of the Christmas gift packs have been completed too. It’s like the lull before the storm (if you choose to describe vast over indulgence in food and drink as a storm)!

Last weekend, by contrast, was quite eventful. Stranded at home without telephone or internet connection, thanks to Telefonica (it is difficult to appreciate how much we rely on modern communication until it’s not available)! But this problem was incidental compared to what happened next…..Angela stumbled whilst clearing the dining table, her hands laden with glassware, crockery and a cheese knife. I looked on helplessly as she fell, in what appeared to be slow motion, hitting the floor with a loud crash. I don’t exactly know what caused it, but she had sustained a very nasty cut to her forehead! After the initial panic I drove her straight to the emergency room to have several stitches put in the wound, but thankfully there were no symptoms of a concussion. Now that she’s feeling a lot better, we can joke about her Harry Potter scar (although it really wasn’t funny when it happened).

It occurred to me that there is not too much happening in the bodega at this time of year – the final countdown to the holidays. Overseas orders have long since been collected, and by now, most of the Christmas gift packs have been completed too. It’s like the lull before the storm (if you choose to describe vast over indulgence in food and drink as a storm)!

Last weekend, by contrast, was quite eventful. Stranded at home without telephone or internet connection, thanks to Telefonica (it is difficult to appreciate how much we rely on modern communication until it’s not available)! But this problem was incidental compared to what happened next…..Angela stumbled whilst clearing the dining table, her hands laden with glassware, crockery and a cheese knife. I looked on helplessly as she fell, in what appeared to be slow motion, hitting the floor with a loud crash. I don’t exactly know what caused it, but she had sustained a very nasty cut to her forehead! After the initial panic I drove her straight to the emergency room to have several stitches put in the wound, but thankfully there were no symptoms of a concussion. Now that she’s feeling a lot better, we can joke about her Harry Potter scar (although it really wasn’t funny when it happened).

I’m sorry that my posts have been a bit infrequent recently, we have been doing a bit of re-modelling at home that has been occupying rather a lot of time. A poor excuse I know, but if I tell you that the project was started in June, you might understand my desire to get it finished before the holidays. I should mention that the main delay was in waiting for bathroom furniture and fittings, manufactured by Roca, a well-known Spanish company – I will say no more!

Meanwhile back at the bodega, we have been quite busy preparing gifts packs for Christmas. Like many retailers, our gift pack business just helps to gift our year end sales a bit of a boost – the proverbial icing on the (Christmas) cake. Regrettably, many of these order are all a bit last-minute, and it’s quite time consuming to repack the bottles, but we still pride ourselves in turning them around quickly. 

Out in the vineyards, the long, difficult slog of pruning continues, come rain or shine.

I’m sorry that my posts have been a bit infrequent recently, we have been doing a bit of re-modelling at home that has been occupying rather a lot of time. A poor excuse I know, but if I tell you that the project was started in June, you might understand my desire to get it finished before the holidays. I should mention that the main delay was in waiting for bathroom furniture and fittings, manufactured by Roca, a well-known Spanish company – I will say no more!

Meanwhile back at the bodega, we have been quite busy preparing gifts packs for Christmas. Like many retailers, our gift pack business just helps to gift our year end sales a bit of a boost – the proverbial icing on the (Christmas) cake. Regrettably, many of these order are all a bit last-minute, and it’s quite time consuming to repack the bottles, but we still pride ourselves in turning them around quickly. 

Out in the vineyards, the long, difficult slog of pruning continues, come rain or shine.

If I’m being honest ‘cellar door’ business does not represent a huge percentage of our annual sales – in fact we really don’t do very much at all. Part of the reason could be that we are not actively involved in any of the local wine tourism campaigns, and therefore do not receive too many potential customers at our door. This is not because we don’t want to participate in wine tourism, it’s simply an issue of time – we just don’t have enough people to host a stream of visitors turning up at random moments throughout the day.

Fortunately, we do however, receive visits from customers that come to buy our wines (sometimes because they’ve tried it somewhere and enjoyed it). Until now, one major drawback has been that all transactions were restricted to cash, as we could not accept cards. Of course it might not seem like a big deal in this day and age, but we have finally installed our very own POS machine to pay for goods. Obviously this means that our customers now don’t have to rush to the bank to draw cash, or organise time consuming bank transfers if they are ordering by phone (a very cumbersome system that is still widely used here in Spain).

A giant leap into the 21st century for Castro Martin…. Who knows what will come next – telephones without cables or perhaps cameras that don’t require any film?

If I’m being honest ‘cellar door’ business does not represent a huge percentage of our annual sales – in fact we really don’t do very much at all. Part of the reason could be that we are not actively involved in any of the local wine tourism campaigns, and therefore do not receive too many potential customers at our door. This is not because we don’t want to participate in wine tourism, it’s simply an issue of time – we just don’t have enough people to host a stream of visitors turning up at random moments throughout the day.

Fortunately, we do however, receive visits from customers that come to buy our wines (sometimes because they’ve tried it somewhere and enjoyed it). Until now, one major drawback has been that all transactions were restricted to cash, as we could not accept cards. Of course it might not seem like a big deal in this day and age, but we have finally installed our very own POS machine to pay for goods. Obviously this means that our customers now don’t have to rush to the bank to draw cash, or organise time consuming bank transfers if they are ordering by phone (a very cumbersome system that is still widely used here in Spain).

A giant leap into the 21st century for Castro Martin…. Who knows what will come next – telephones without cables or perhaps cameras that don’t require any film?