Let us be in no doubt that English is an important language, albeit that people these days are telling us that we should all be learning Cantonese. I am not sure exactly why, but it would seem that English is actually quite a trendy language when it comes to advertising, and we can find examples infiltrating posters, radio and TV adverts around the world. Only the other day I had a double take when on the Spanish radio station that I was listening to they announced “Stop flying, start Vueling” during an ad break. (Vueling is a Spanish airline whose name already derives from a half-English play on words – vuelo being the Spanish word for flight). Later the same day on the Spanish website of Adidas I noticed a t-shirt designed to support the Spanish national football team at the forthcoming Euro championships. The slogan? “España – All together”.

I wrote only the other day about a new Spanish gastronomy magazine called Clap & Wine, saying that I thought the choice of name was perhaps just a little ill-informed, or perhaps just badly researched – the moral being that you have to tread carefully when using a foreign language for your product or slogan.

A few years ago the French actually created new rules about the use of English infiltrating not only their language but also their airwaves. They were so upset about the number of English and American artists dominating their popular music stations that they actually moved to restrict the number of songs per hour that could be broadcast. This is quite apart from the English words quite commonly used in everyday life, such as ‘le weekend’ and ‘le parking’. So this problem is not unique to Spain.

Finally, on the subject of slogans, I have been trying to come up with something to promote our Bodega. My best effort so far is ‘What happens at Castro Martin, stays at Castro Martin’ – my only problem is that nothing ever happens!

Let us be in no doubt that English is an important language, albeit that people these days are telling us that we should all be learning Cantonese. I am not sure exactly why, but it would seem that English is actually quite a trendy language when it comes to advertising, and we can find examples infiltrating posters, radio and TV adverts around the world. Only the other day I had a double take when on the Spanish radio station that I was listening to they announced “Stop flying, start Vueling” during an ad break. (Vueling is a Spanish airline whose name already derives from a half-English play on words – vuelo being the Spanish word for flight). Later the same day on the Spanish website of Adidas I noticed a t-shirt designed to support the Spanish national football team at the forthcoming Euro championships. The slogan? “España – All together”.

I wrote only the other day about a new Spanish gastronomy magazine called Clap & Wine, saying that I thought the choice of name was perhaps just a little ill-informed, or perhaps just badly researched – the moral being that you have to tread carefully when using a foreign language for your product or slogan.

A few years ago the French actually created new rules about the use of English infiltrating not only their language but also their airwaves. They were so upset about the number of English and American artists dominating their popular music stations that they actually moved to restrict the number of songs per hour that could be broadcast. This is quite apart from the English words quite commonly used in everyday life, such as ‘le weekend’ and ‘le parking’. So this problem is not unique to Spain.

Finally, on the subject of slogans, I have been trying to come up with something to promote our Bodega. My best effort so far is ‘What happens at Castro Martin, stays at Castro Martin’ – my only problem is that nothing ever happens!

We often receive mail shots from odd places around the world inviting us to trade fairs and exhibitions. Obviously, from the point of view of selling wine (alcohol), these would only be attractive to us in places where there might be a reasonable demand. For example, there are an increasing number of fairs springing up in the Middle East, and it sometimes strikes me as a little odd to think that you might be exhibiting your wine in a country where the general consumption of alcohol is strictly against the law. Of course, in these Middle Eastern countries, and other places such as India, there still remains a growing demand as the number of foreign visitors, and the construction of new international hotels moves on a pace. In time, these locations may well become the markets of the future and therefore could be worth serious consideration.

I was however, mildly shocked the other day when I saw an invite from a country that would not perhaps figure at the top of your potential new market list…. Libya. Obviously it is a country that needs all the help it can get with its on-going reconstruction programme, but is it really ready for albariño at this moment in time? Probably not is my guess. After all, it’s not that long ago that the old despotic regime was overthrown, and tanks rolled through the streets, quite apart from the fact that Islam is still by far the most predominant religion.

One day in the future perhaps?

We often receive mail shots from odd places around the world inviting us to trade fairs and exhibitions. Obviously, from the point of view of selling wine (alcohol), these would only be attractive to us in places where there might be a reasonable demand. For example, there are an increasing number of fairs springing up in the Middle East, and it sometimes strikes me as a little odd to think that you might be exhibiting your wine in a country where the general consumption of alcohol is strictly against the law. Of course, in these Middle Eastern countries, and other places such as India, there still remains a growing demand as the number of foreign visitors, and the construction of new international hotels moves on a pace. In time, these locations may well become the markets of the future and therefore could be worth serious consideration.

I was however, mildly shocked the other day when I saw an invite from a country that would not perhaps figure at the top of your potential new market list…. Libya. Obviously it is a country that needs all the help it can get with its on-going reconstruction programme, but is it really ready for albariño at this moment in time? Probably not is my guess. After all, it’s not that long ago that the old despotic regime was overthrown, and tanks rolled through the streets, quite apart from the fact that Islam is still by far the most predominant religion.

One day in the future perhaps?

It’s quite amazing to think that in only a few week time we will have the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice – it doesn’t seem that long ago that the days were grey and cold. Oh, just a minute, that was only a week or two ago!

In our vineyards it seems that most of the flowering is just about complete, and whilst the weather was not totally perfect (with a couple of damp, grey days thrown in), it looks like it has passed off quite successfully. Certainly the number of bunches per vine is well down on last year, but of course, as 2011 was by far the biggest vintage ever recorded, this is only to be expected.

So, today starts a slight change in our daily routine as our Bodega moves from the winter timetable to the summer timetable. We are already quite different from many other businesses in Spain as our working day is not split in two by a long lunch break, and so today we will be working from 8am until 4pm. (In winter we work a simple 9am to 5pm). This gives us more time for the beach!

Although I am only joking about that last remark, I did notice a road sign the other day, giving directions to Praia do Caeiro (Praia means beach in Galician), but I should emphasise that there is absolutely  no connection between this beach and one of our main wine brands Casal Caeiro. Indeed, Caeiro is just a place name, and in this instance the place, or should I say beach, is actually several kilometers from our wine cellar. (Although I must say that having a business on the beach is an attractive idea – we could sell albariño ice lollies).

It’s quite amazing to think that in only a few week time we will have the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice – it doesn’t seem that long ago that the days were grey and cold. Oh, just a minute, that was only a week or two ago!

In our vineyards it seems that most of the flowering is just about complete, and whilst the weather was not totally perfect (with a couple of damp, grey days thrown in), it looks like it has passed off quite successfully. Certainly the number of bunches per vine is well down on last year, but of course, as 2011 was by far the biggest vintage ever recorded, this is only to be expected.

So, today starts a slight change in our daily routine as our Bodega moves from the winter timetable to the summer timetable. We are already quite different from many other businesses in Spain as our working day is not split in two by a long lunch break, and so today we will be working from 8am until 4pm. (In winter we work a simple 9am to 5pm). This gives us more time for the beach!

Although I am only joking about that last remark, I did notice a road sign the other day, giving directions to Praia do Caeiro (Praia means beach in Galician), but I should emphasise that there is absolutely  no connection between this beach and one of our main wine brands Casal Caeiro. Indeed, Caeiro is just a place name, and in this instance the place, or should I say beach, is actually several kilometers from our wine cellar. (Although I must say that having a business on the beach is an attractive idea – we could sell albariño ice lollies).

The other day I visited a website where the author described himself as a ‘Master of Wine Business’ – an expression that I had never encountered before. I have of course come across the title Master of Wine, and I must confess to personally knowing a fair few of them – all very knowledgeable members of the wine trade. Subsequently, I came across a BBC webpage written by a Master Sommelier, and it occurred to me that despite all these people no doubt being highly qualified, that by overusing the term ‘Master’ this only serves to undermine it’s true value. Indeed, Angela has a Masters degree in wine making from the University of Madrid, which she did as a follow on to her degree in Biology, and so by the same token, should she now refer to herself as a Master of Oenology?

Incidentally, in the same BBC article that I mentioned above the ‘Master Sommelier’ answers a few commonly asked questions about wine, one of which is quite simply “Why does wine get better with age?” He launches into a great technical explanation as to how the molecules reform and change, breaking down and going from very primary flavours to more complex flavours….. very impressive! If someone had asked me (Master of Nothing), I would have started my reply by simply saying that not all wines improve with age, and then explaining why!!

The other day I visited a website where the author described himself as a ‘Master of Wine Business’ – an expression that I had never encountered before. I have of course come across the title Master of Wine, and I must confess to personally knowing a fair few of them – all very knowledgeable members of the wine trade. Subsequently, I came across a BBC webpage written by a Master Sommelier, and it occurred to me that despite all these people no doubt being highly qualified, that by overusing the term ‘Master’ this only serves to undermine it’s true value. Indeed, Angela has a Masters degree in wine making from the University of Madrid, which she did as a follow on to her degree in Biology, and so by the same token, should she now refer to herself as a Master of Oenology?

Incidentally, in the same BBC article that I mentioned above the ‘Master Sommelier’ answers a few commonly asked questions about wine, one of which is quite simply “Why does wine get better with age?” He launches into a great technical explanation as to how the molecules reform and change, breaking down and going from very primary flavours to more complex flavours….. very impressive! If someone had asked me (Master of Nothing), I would have started my reply by simply saying that not all wines improve with age, and then explaining why!!

Back to the boring subject of weather I’m afraid. I am not sure if it’s my imagination but we seem to be experiencing more extremes of weather with each day that passes, and certainly, it would appear that our seasons are becoming much less predictable. For example, I think there was a town in Scotland where recently they were sunbathing one day, and then suffered sub-zero temperatures with snow less than one week later.

Now, I’m not suggesting that Galicia has suffered from the same extremes, and we have certainly not shifted suddenly from drought and water shortage one day, to flood and catastrophe the next, as they have in some parts of the UK, but our weather cycles are certainly evolving in some very unpredictable ways. I think I wrote only a few weeks ago that March and April appeared to be reversed this year, with March being much warmer than April, and the fact that we had virtually no rain for a period of 2-3 months prior to the Easter holidays, but since then our climate has been even more changeable. Indeed, the barometer has been up and down like a roller coaster – one day hot, up to 27°C (80°F), and then the very next day back down to 14/15°C (just under 60°F). Quite honestly I don’t know whether to come to the Bodega in shorts or my thermal underwear!

The flowering in our vineyards is almost upon us and so, as always, we have our fingers crossed that the weather will remain good at least for the next week or so……

Back to the boring subject of weather I’m afraid. I am not sure if it’s my imagination but we seem to be experiencing more extremes of weather with each day that passes, and certainly, it would appear that our seasons are becoming much less predictable. For example, I think there was a town in Scotland where recently they were sunbathing one day, and then suffered sub-zero temperatures with snow less than one week later.

Now, I’m not suggesting that Galicia has suffered from the same extremes, and we have certainly not shifted suddenly from drought and water shortage one day, to flood and catastrophe the next, as they have in some parts of the UK, but our weather cycles are certainly evolving in some very unpredictable ways. I think I wrote only a few weeks ago that March and April appeared to be reversed this year, with March being much warmer than April, and the fact that we had virtually no rain for a period of 2-3 months prior to the Easter holidays, but since then our climate has been even more changeable. Indeed, the barometer has been up and down like a roller coaster – one day hot, up to 27°C (80°F), and then the very next day back down to 14/15°C (just under 60°F). Quite honestly I don’t know whether to come to the Bodega in shorts or my thermal underwear!

The flowering in our vineyards is almost upon us and so, as always, we have our fingers crossed that the weather will remain good at least for the next week or so……

I think we should have a competition to see how many old film titles I have used as a ‘header’ to our blog over the years – I can certainly think of a few, and today is of course, a further addition to that list. I wanted to finish the story of our new bridge here in Pontevedra that I started a couple of months ago – not so much a case of the ‘Bridges of Madison County’ (oops, there I go again), but more the ‘Bridges of Pontevedra Province’.

Architecturally, we have a real potpourri of bridges in our city, from the extremely old, to the elegant, to the downright ugly (and I think I already know what category this new bridge belongs to!) Probably the ugliest of all is the huge concrete motorway bridge which spans the Lérez river nearest to the sea. I believe that it is know as a rigid frame bridge, built in large concrete sections and then simply hoisted into place using different types of concrete supports – hardly the most attractive or imaginative design, and pretty ugly at the same time.

Next comes the rather charming La Barca bridge, an open-spandrel deck arch, suspended high above the river – this is probably the busiest of the local traffic bridges, and is by far the biggest bottleneck at peak times. No doubt it is the reason behind this latest construction, in an attempt to spread the traffic load.

The new bridge (I don’t know if it has a name yet), comes between La Barca and the old Roman bridge, the Burgo, which as I mentioned in an earlier post, helped put the ‘Ponte’ in the name Pontevedra. This is a simple Roman stone arch bridge, and yet its simplicity is also a part of its beauty.

The next, quite nondescript bridge, is just a busy workhorse, that might even be busier than La Barca, but does certainly not experience the same level of queuing. It is a low, wide cantilever span bridge, which I think is called the Santiago bridge, simply as it links the old road to Santiago.

Finally, we have the Tirantes bridge, which must be the most visually attractive, or at least most original in its design. It is a single tower, cable-stay suspension bridge, with a very dramatic, sweeping design – illuminated at night it is certainly quite a visual landmark for our city.

So, this brings me back to the new bridge. It is a solid ribbed, tied arch bridge, which looks like it came in a self-assembly kit from Ikea! (Actually that comment probably does a disservice to Ikea). Suffice to say that I think it’s a bit of an eyesore that stands out for the wrong reasons. Firstly, because of the lack of imagination in its construction, and secondly because…. well, it’s just plain ugly and simply doesn’t fit in. In my photo you can actually see the contrasting, old Roman Burgo bridge in the background. I will allow you to judge for yourselves…..

I think we should have a competition to see how many old film titles I have used as a ‘header’ to our blog over the years – I can certainly think of a few, and today is of course, a further addition to that list. I wanted to finish the story of our new bridge here in Pontevedra that I started a couple of months ago – not so much a case of the ‘Bridges of Madison County’ (oops, there I go again), but more the ‘Bridges of Pontevedra Province’.

Architecturally, we have a real potpourri of bridges in our city, from the extremely old, to the elegant, to the downright ugly (and I think I already know what category this new bridge belongs to!) Probably the ugliest of all is the huge concrete motorway bridge which spans the Lérez river nearest to the sea. I believe that it is know as a rigid frame bridge, built in large concrete sections and then simply hoisted into place using different types of concrete supports – hardly the most attractive or imaginative design, and pretty ugly at the same time.

Next comes the rather charming La Barca bridge, an open-spandrel deck arch, suspended high above the river – this is probably the busiest of the local traffic bridges, and is by far the biggest bottleneck at peak times. No doubt it is the reason behind this latest construction, in an attempt to spread the traffic load.

The new bridge (I don’t know if it has a name yet), comes between La Barca and the old Roman bridge, the Burgo, which as I mentioned in an earlier post, helped put the ‘Ponte’ in the name Pontevedra. This is a simple Roman stone arch bridge, and yet its simplicity is also a part of its beauty.

The next, quite nondescript bridge, is just a busy workhorse, that might even be busier than La Barca, but does certainly not experience the same level of queuing. It is a low, wide cantilever span bridge, which I think is called the Santiago bridge, simply as it links the old road to Santiago.

Finally, we have the Tirantes bridge, which must be the most visually attractive, or at least most original in its design. It is a single tower, cable-stay suspension bridge, with a very dramatic, sweeping design – illuminated at night it is certainly quite a visual landmark for our city.

So, this brings me back to the new bridge. It is a solid ribbed, tied arch bridge, which looks like it came in a self-assembly kit from Ikea! (Actually that comment probably does a disservice to Ikea). Suffice to say that I think it’s a bit of an eyesore that stands out for the wrong reasons. Firstly, because of the lack of imagination in its construction, and secondly because…. well, it’s just plain ugly and simply doesn’t fit in. In my photo you can actually see the contrasting, old Roman Burgo bridge in the background. I will allow you to judge for yourselves…..

There is, and has always been, a somewhat strange, romantic notion surrounding the food and wine industry – owning your own restaurant, or perhaps having a wine with your name on the label is actually a very fashionable idea, or so it would seem.

There are a growing number of Hollywood stars that are putting their names to a wine or vineyard – Francis Ford-Coppola, Dan Ackroyd and Antonio Banderas, to name but a few. Indeed, our very own Cliff Richard (an English pop star from the 60’s), has also put down roots in the Portuguese Algarve, if you’ll pardon the pun. His property, Adega do Cantor, also boasts an English wine maker, Max Birch.

Then only today I discover that the one and only Lady Gaga is thinking of branching out into wine production too (sorry, that pun was not really intended), surveying wine properties in Sonoma, California. In the very same article they mention that actress Drew Barrymore, and pop star Fergie have also purchased vineyards. Now I doubt very much if any one of these will be rolling their sleeves up to do the pruning, or drive the tractors, but they will no doubt, be looking forward to sampling the fruit of their labours. I should mention by the way, that Drew Barrymore’s wine is actually a Pinot Grigio from the Trentino region of Northern Italy, and is described as “fresh, dynamic and fun” reflecting her own style and personality!

If these wines are truly a reflection of the people who make them, then my own wine would have to be old, tired and grumpy!

There is, and has always been, a somewhat strange, romantic notion surrounding the food and wine industry – owning your own restaurant, or perhaps having a wine with your name on the label is actually a very fashionable idea, or so it would seem.

There are a growing number of Hollywood stars that are putting their names to a wine or vineyard – Francis Ford-Coppola, Dan Ackroyd and Antonio Banderas, to name but a few. Indeed, our very own Cliff Richard (an English pop star from the 60’s), has also put down roots in the Portuguese Algarve, if you’ll pardon the pun. His property, Adega do Cantor, also boasts an English wine maker, Max Birch.

Then only today I discover that the one and only Lady Gaga is thinking of branching out into wine production too (sorry, that pun was not really intended), surveying wine properties in Sonoma, California. In the very same article they mention that actress Drew Barrymore, and pop star Fergie have also purchased vineyards. Now I doubt very much if any one of these will be rolling their sleeves up to do the pruning, or drive the tractors, but they will no doubt, be looking forward to sampling the fruit of their labours. I should mention by the way, that Drew Barrymore’s wine is actually a Pinot Grigio from the Trentino region of Northern Italy, and is described as “fresh, dynamic and fun” reflecting her own style and personality!

If these wines are truly a reflection of the people who make them, then my own wine would have to be old, tired and grumpy!

I think that I made a post a long time ago about the virtues of researching your brand name before putting it on the market, and more especially if you are choosing a name that is not in your own native tongue. I say this because there is an increasing fashion, perhaps not only in Spain, to give your product or service an English name, which I imagine must be seen as being more trendy. (This is quite apart from the slogans that I see appearing on t-shirts in the street, supposedly making some statement or witticism in English, but which are in fact written in total gibberish and make no sense whatsoever!)

Now, I’m not sure if it’s just me and my distorted sense of humour, but I received a mail shot a couple of days ago for a new gourmet magazine – and the name? Clap & Wine! Perhaps someone can explain to me exactly what this is supposed to mean, before my imagination runs away with me completely. The only explanation I can think of is that the authors believe that wine should be ‘applauded’, hence the use of the word clap? On the other hand, and more negative side, there is of course another colloquial meaning for the word clap (Google ‘clap’ in English and see what I mean). Maybe someone should have a quiet word with them and explain?

I think that I made a post a long time ago about the virtues of researching your brand name before putting it on the market, and more especially if you are choosing a name that is not in your own native tongue. I say this because there is an increasing fashion, perhaps not only in Spain, to give your product or service an English name, which I imagine must be seen as being more trendy. (This is quite apart from the slogans that I see appearing on t-shirts in the street, supposedly making some statement or witticism in English, but which are in fact written in total gibberish and make no sense whatsoever!)

Now, I’m not sure if it’s just me and my distorted sense of humour, but I received a mail shot a couple of days ago for a new gourmet magazine – and the name? Clap & Wine! Perhaps someone can explain to me exactly what this is supposed to mean, before my imagination runs away with me completely. The only explanation I can think of is that the authors believe that wine should be ‘applauded’, hence the use of the word clap? On the other hand, and more negative side, there is of course another colloquial meaning for the word clap (Google ‘clap’ in English and see what I mean). Maybe someone should have a quiet word with them and explain?

Many people think that weather is quite a boring subject (myself included), but as we are essentially fruit farmers, it obviously has an enormous influence on the quality of our end product, and we are therefore obliged to pay attention.

The month of May so far, has been cool and wet, following the same pattern as the last three weeks of April. However, in the last 48hours the sun has finally re-emerged, sending our tractors scurrying to the vineyards to give the first treatment of the season (protection against mildew after all the rain). It also gives us the time to appreciate a splash of colour at the front door of the Bodega.

Time to break out the Speedos perhaps?!

Many people think that weather is quite a boring subject (myself included), but as we are essentially fruit farmers, it obviously has an enormous influence on the quality of our end product, and we are therefore obliged to pay attention.

The month of May so far, has been cool and wet, following the same pattern as the last three weeks of April. However, in the last 48hours the sun has finally re-emerged, sending our tractors scurrying to the vineyards to give the first treatment of the season (protection against mildew after all the rain). It also gives us the time to appreciate a splash of colour at the front door of the Bodega.

Time to break out the Speedos perhaps?!

Did you know that this Wednesday, 9th May, is Albariño Day? Well no, neither did I…. Apparently it has been organised by a marketing company in the United States, which is great – hats off to them. It just seems a shame that this initiative only applies to the U.S. market, and then to only a handful of Bodegas (represented by this particular company). Personally I would have thought it more appropriate for such a celebration to be organised here in the region of origin, especially when the Spanish are so great at holding Fiestas for more or less any reason. Of course we do have our local Albariño Festival held on the first Sunday of August, so why didn’t we attempt to export this idea around the world, and invite the planet to drink albariño at the beginning of August?

Anyway, I’ll climb down of my soap box for a moment to ask if anyone knows the significance of this date? In other words, why was the 9th May chosen specifically for this celebration? This is the first time that albariño day has been held, so I just wondered why they would pick a Wednesday? (I have asked this question on their Facebook page, let’s just see if I get a response).

Don’t get me wrong, I do think it’s a fab idea, and I will join them in my own private party at home, following their advice:

How to Participate in Albariño Day?

It’s easy! Open a bottle of cool, crisp Albariño and share your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook. What do you love most about Albariño? What are your favorite pairings? Where do you enjoy Albariño in your area? Albarino Day is all about spreading the love and also learning (or trying) something new.

Did you know that this Wednesday, 9th May, is Albariño Day? Well no, neither did I…. Apparently it has been organised by a marketing company in the United States, which is great – hats off to them. It just seems a shame that this initiative only applies to the U.S. market, and then to only a handful of Bodegas (represented by this particular company). Personally I would have thought it more appropriate for such a celebration to be organised here in the region of origin, especially when the Spanish are so great at holding Fiestas for more or less any reason. Of course we do have our local Albariño Festival held on the first Sunday of August, so why didn’t we attempt to export this idea around the world, and invite the planet to drink albariño at the beginning of August?

Anyway, I’ll climb down of my soap box for a moment to ask if anyone knows the significance of this date? In other words, why was the 9th May chosen specifically for this celebration? This is the first time that albariño day has been held, so I just wondered why they would pick a Wednesday? (I have asked this question on their Facebook page, let’s just see if I get a response).

Don’t get me wrong, I do think it’s a fab idea, and I will join them in my own private party at home, following their advice:

How to Participate in Albariño Day?

It’s easy! Open a bottle of cool, crisp Albariño and share your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook. What do you love most about Albariño? What are your favorite pairings? Where do you enjoy Albariño in your area? Albarino Day is all about spreading the love and also learning (or trying) something new.