Now here’s a very curious phenomenon, or should I say, question. (This can be my Christmas quiz question for 2010)……. Do birds get cold feet??

The reason I mention this is that in the cold weather I have noticed huge numbers of birds congregating on the electricity cables, and always seemingly adjacent to the pylons. Now, I am not 100% certain but I think I am correct in saying that these high tension cables do actually generate some heat as the current passes through them – so the question remains, is it just a coincidence that our feathered friends appear to use them when the temperature falls?

More riveting conundrums tomorrow!

Now here’s a picture with a bit more ‘Christmas sparkle’ to it, and there should be a prize for guessing what it is. There is no real explanation behind the idea except to say that someone has decided to view different alcoholic drinks under a microscope, the results of which form an impressive and highly colourful piece of art.

Each image is created by taking a pipette of the selected drink and squeezing a single drop of it onto a slide. The alcohol droplets are then allowed to dry out completely, which can take up to four weeks in an airtight container (the whole process can take up to three months). Simply using a standard microscope with a camera attached, the light source is polarized and passed through the crystal, and the photo is taken.

All I need now is a microscope for Christmas!

It seems like only yesterday that I was commenting about the lack of festive spirit in this year’s Christmas advertising campaign for our D.O. (Oh, just a minute, it was yesterday!) Little did I imagine when I was writing that post, that it could be superceded the very same day by something even less seasonal!

Each year we receive a greetings card from our local community office – very kind of them to take the time and trouble (not to mention the money in these times of austerity). Well, all I can say is that this year’s card left me cold, and I don’t mean in the weather sense of the word – judge for yourself from the picture above. Can someone please explain to me how a tinted photograph of a granite staircase and balustrade should remind us of the birth of Christ…. I feel almost compelled to go and ask them.

Now I don’t want to appear ungrateful as we really do appreciate the gesture of their card, but the picture did leave me asking the question, is this some sort of political correctness gone mad? Certainly in the UK it would appear that we are slowly starting to erase the ‘Christ’ from Christmas for fear of offending somebody. Could Spain be heading down the same road? I sincerely hope not…..

We recently received an e-mail from our local D.O. office highlighting the marketing campaign for our denomination this Christmas. The only comment that I can make is that it isn’t very Christmassy!

Now, I’m not saying that we should have pictures of Santa Claus sliding down a chimney clutching a bottle of Albariño, but the posters that they are using (see above) don’t appear to carry any Christmas message whatsoever. Indeed, the only message that they carry is written in Galician “Pídeo polo seu nome”, which I believe translates as “Order only by name”. I have to say that this slogan has a very familiar ring to it, and is not particularly original – it somehow feels like it must have been used in at least 1001 other advertising campaigns in the past, but then that’s only my personal opinion.

I am 100% certain (although this is not actually clarified in the message), that they are really trying to encourage consumers to use the name Rias Baixas, rather than the name of the grape variety – Albariño. I get the feeling that the D.O. office are unfortunately losing an uphill battle in this respect. I think it’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, to establish the Rias Baixas name in favour of Albariño. Sad but true.

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!