2020 must go down as one of the most difficult on record, for a multitude of different reasons. However, I’m sure that many of our American friends will still find at least one thing to be very thankful for this year…. (no names).
We simply want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Kick back, enjoy the turkey, enjoy the football, and enjoy a refreshing glass of Castro Martin albariño!
With the holidays fast approaching I think it would be fair to say that we were all hoping that the pandemic would largely be behind us by now, and that we might be returning to some sort of slightly revised normality. Of course, it is now beginning to dawn on us that this hope is quickly fading into the distance. Very regrettably, in an increasing number of countries, the term ‘lock down’ is once again rearing its ugly head, whereby slowly but surely our freedom of movement is being eroded on more or less a daily basis.
As I have mentioned before, our business is, to a large degree, dependent on the restaurant trade, and with increasing restrictions some of our customers are now reluctantly closing their doors (albeit temporarily we hope). Consequently, in 2020, our two peak selling seasons, summer and the winter holidays, have been somewhat curtailed.
Inside our bodega our 2020 wine is completely finished, now resting quietly on its lees, and with another month to go before we can start the pruning, there is something of a lull in activity. Fortunately, a couple of our people have decided to take a short holiday (perhaps in fear that new restrictions might confine them to their homes).
As I write the US Presidential election hangs on a knife’s edge. It feels like some sort of wacky soap opera playing out in front of our eyes…. until we realise that no script writer could ever have come up with a story line as twisted as this one! I’m sure that this will play out for much longer than we had all hoped, with many more twists and turns before it reaches a final conclusion!
In the coming days Europe is opening it’s air corridors to International travel, although there are still a few exceptions. To be honest it’s really a bit complicated – some countries are, apparently, still subject to quarantine restrictions, depending on where you are travelling from. On top of this, it is evident that some countries are applying these rules far more strictly than others.
Until recently, Galicia has been isolated from the rest of Spain as travel between the different Spanish provinces was banned almost completely. Our local beaches, normally thronging with Madrileños (many of whom have holiday homes and apartments here), have been pretty quiet for the time of year…. until now. Much to the chagrin of locals, the people of Madrid are now filtering back. The reason for their disquiet is simple – Madrid has been the epicenter of Coronavirus, whilst Galicia has escaped comparatively lightly. Galicians simply do not want ‘outsiders’ carrying potential danger into their region.
Having said that, a large part of our local income is from domestic tourism, and so the bars and restaurants are, understandably, quite keen to have them back (with just one or two small reservations). I have to confess that this should mean a revival of sales for our wine too, and so, in the end, we have to be happy about this…..
As publicity to encourage visitors, our local tourist board have produced this rather nice video.
Although my beloved Liverpool FC dominated the English Football League in the 1970’s and 1980’s, they have not won the Premier League for exactly 30 years… until last night! I think it’s true to say that they are the most successful English club ever, winning 19 League titles, 6 Champions League titles, 3 UEFA Cups (now known as the Europa League) and countless domestic trophies.
This season 2019/20 we are Premier League Champions, European Champions and World Club Champions – apart from the virus not a bad year for Liverpool fans!
Last night our manager Jurgen Klopp was in tears as they tried to interview him…. he was not alone, and will Never Walk Alone!
Champions!
OK, so the subject of lock down has nothing to do with wine, but it is still a topic of interest to almost everybody, everywhere at the moment.
How is it defined, and what should it mean? Certainly it seems that during this crisis, there are some widely differing ideas of how it is adopted, and perhaps more importantly, how it should be enforced.
Here in Spain we have been under a full lock down for more than a month. Opportunities to leave home are few, and these are strictly controlled – there are both police and army patrols, and fines are issued to transgressors, as simple as that. No latitude is afforded for exercise, except for those with dogs, and only essential shopping is allowed – food and pharmacy.
By contrast, lock down in the UK appears to be much softer, albeit that recent guidelines issued by the police have, if anything, confused the definition even more. It seems that there are now so many potential loopholes that it could make the thorny issue of enforcement even more complicated.
Of course, as no one has any previous experience of this particular pandemic, it is difficult to say which approach can, or will be the most effective. The problem is that whilst we are all still desperate to learn, the number of victims is growing day-by-day and only history will reveal who has made the most beneficial choices.
Whilst Spain is almost at the end of its second week of lock down, the news is still very grim – in the last 48 hours we have seen the death toll increase to nearly 700 per day. Obviously it is the most populous areas, such as Madrid, that have been hit the worst, and locals were very worried when, shortly prior to the lock down, hundreds of Madridlenos decided to flee the city to seek refuge out in their Galician summer homes. Apart from the obvious health risk, the infrastructure (now in winter mode), was, and is, simply not geared up for this sudden influx of visitors. Supermarkets were stripped bare (in a country where panic buying hasn’t really been an issue at all).
Our streets are completely deserted, but today they were frequented by a rather unusual type of vehicle; a farm tractor with treatment tank being used for spraying the streets – presumably with disinfectant, and not a treatment for protecting grapes! Probably just as well there were no pedestrians….
Since last weekend Spain has been on total lockdown, everything is closed and the streets are deserted. It’s actually very eerie! Supermarkets are still operating, but as you will see from today’s photo, the public are carefully observing the rules of ‘social distancing’ as shops allow only a few people at a time to enter.
As a comparatively small business, we are already beginning to feel the impact, but all we can do in these difficult circumstances, is to continue monitoring government advice and react accordingly.
In the meantime, our primary thoughts are with our customers, staff, family and friends.
It seems that we now have our first cases of coronavirus within a few km of our bodega! A young man, recently returned from Madrid, has been admitted to a local hospital.
Of course, we will take every precaution that we can to stop it entering our business, but the reality is that there is a limit to what we can do. We can thoroughly wash our hands, and disinfect some surfaces, but there are just so many ways that the virus can be transmitted. Short of a complete lock-down, all we can really do is to minimise the risk.
As restaurants and hotels empty, as consumers stay at home, it is inevitable that consumption of our wines will be reduced. We can only hope, for everyone’s sake, that the whole episode will be behind us sooner rather than later.
Happy Women’s Day! There are an increasing number of women winemakers here in our Rias Baixas denomination, including our very own boss and winemaker, Angela Martin!
After year’s of discussion, debate, argument (and perhaps just a little coercion), Brexit is finally done… on paper at least. Of course, there are still a further 11 months of negotiation to complete before we finally know how the UK economy will emerge from this, the biggest political upheaval in modern history.
At midnight last Friday (11pm UK time) it was all over, with perhaps just 52% of the UK population in celebration whilst the other 48% were possibly still reeling in shock and disbelief. To say that the UK was polarised by this event is something of an understatement. Crowds gathered, corks were popped – some for joy, others in consolation. Some wanted bells to ring out around the nation, whilst others held candlelit vigils. It was a moment of great division.
In reality, after all the brouhaha, the ‘celebrations’ ended up being a bit of a non-event. For me, there was one person in particular who summed up the moment beautifully by offering us the best possible solution – “we’ll just have a cup of tea and go to bed”!
For now at least, we have no real option but to sit back and see what the future brings for our trade with the UK.
