Another day, another airport I should start by explaining that Angela and I were married just over 7 years ago, six months before I actually packed my bags and moved over to Spain. Perhaps what I shouldn't tell you is that we married in secret, for which my present mother-in-law has never forgiven me! (We both wanted a quiet wedding, as we had both experienced the 'full-on' white wedding with previous partners).
Well, the point is that, from the day that I arrived here, Angela and I have both been working flat out to try to put our Bodega on the map, with the consequence that, not only did we not have a honeymoon, but we have never really enjoyed more than an odd few days holiday in all that time - and nearly always tagged on to the end of a business trip.
Of course, when running your own business there is never really a good time to go away for any length of time, and in the wine making business there are times of the year when absence is simply not an option. Fortunately though, there is often a lull just after Christmas, when the new vintage is sitting quietly on its lees, and sales tend to slow a little, so this year we decided to take advantage.
Without being too specific, our journey included at least a couple of wine making countries, and there was always going to be a great temptation to start visiting cellars along the way. The danger being that our long-awaited holiday could rapidly turn into what the English call a 'busmans' holiday, trawling from cellar to cellar, trying hard to enthuse at the sight of yet another stainless steel tank!
In the end we opted out of the cellar visits, although I should make mention that our trip did include no less than 3 tastings with customers, two dinners with importers/customers, one press interview and one live radio interview - so not a complete escape from the world of wine.....
I would like to say that it's great to be back, but we have pampered ourselves so much over the last few weeks, staying in beautiful hotels and eating great food, that I have to confess that I would be lying.
Hopefully I will find more time in the coming weeks to expand on our adventures once I have caught up a little.
