In this episode of 1WineDude TV, I am flying solo while the family is in FL and so have to fend for myself for dinner.  When my friends’ excellent book What To Drink With What You Eat fails to find me an appropriate match for my Trader Joe’s Lentil Soup with Ancient Grains, I grab two bottles of Montecillo Rioja and see how they match up with the thick, viscous soup.

Turns out the answer to the question of how well they match is “not so great” (the wines themselves turn out to be pretty decent, though), so I promise future wine & food pairing vids will feature the excellent cooking of my wife, and hopefully as a result more inspired pairings.  To make up for it, I conclude the video with a sexy photo of my wife.  Which she may or may not think is touching and funny.  We’ll see…

Cheers!

“Lagare volume dimensions are naturally dictated by the lowest testicles of the shortest man.”

Lagares, of course, are the long, low vats in which Port grapes were once (and sometimes still, though rarely) crushed by foot. The quote above is from the straight-shooting Miles Edlemann, the straight-shooting viticulturist for some of the Symington Family estates in Portugal’s Douro region. It was during a visit to one of those stunning Douro properties – Quinta da Cavadinha – that I met Miles and where he demonstrated one of the more… uhm… intimate aspects of Port wine production by climbing into one of the Warre’s wine company empty lagares and imitating an exaggerated, wide stomping stomping motion with his feet (pants still on, of course!).

You see, the dimensions of the workers stomping grapes were quite important, because the shortest of them had to be able to walk somewhat freely through the volume of grapes in order to crush them efficiently without certain anatomical aspects being compromised… or compromising the crush, as it were, and so… errr… you get the idea. Today, most Port grapes are crushed via large machines that emulate quite effectively the pressure of the human foot (though the machines lack testicles – or, at least, if they have them I didn’t see them and I’m not in any hurry to do so)…

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I hope you’ll forgive the low production quality and complete lack of credits/intro/music in this vid – I’ve had a pretty difficult time trying to post this from Portugal (due in part to a busy schedule with few breaks, fewer Internet access points, and a rather massive laptop PC crash… the HORROR!).

Anyway, I felt it important in the Going Pro saga to report in from Portugal while I was still actually in Portugal – and especially since I was here in a “pro” context.  In the short vid, I talk about a few of the inspirational things that struck me during the conference (most of which consisted of me getting to hang with some seriously talented MW peeps).  As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments, so long as they’re not about my hair or the fact that I had to whisper since I was recording this vid early in the morning!).

Cheers!

In the latest Going Pro series installment, I talk about what works (and doesn’t work!) for advertising on wine blogs.  Why? Because YOU asked for it!

I also engage in some very, very strange dancing behavior which I hope doesn’t offend anyone. (Sorry!).

Have a safe & happy Turkey Day, people!

Mentioned in this episode:

• Palate Press Ad Network

Cheers!