an expensive november

november is probably one of the most expensive months for me.  on top of the usual mortgage payments, utilities, and daily living expenses, i also have to make sure there is a budget set aside for christmas presents. i have to say, black friday is a blessing.  :)  so christmas presents?  check.

then comes automobile maintenance.  winter tires swapping and windshield replacement.  my friends have been hassling me to get my windshield replaced for safety reasons.  it cracked due to extreme heat back in May and i had been driving with a U shaped crack in my windshield for about 6 months before i decided it was time to get it replaced.  safety is important and it had to be done.  so car maintenance?  check.

next biggie is tuition.  with old world wine regions coming to an end in a few weeks, i have to look ahead to the winter semester.  i have three courses left to complete the program!  can you believe it?  it feels like i just started yesterday and now i'm almost done.  all that's left are a few fun courses:  food & wine pairing, a beer course, and advanced sommelier.  i totally dread the last one but i didn't take all of the courses for nothing.  in the winter semester, i enrolled in food & wine pairing as well as the beer course.  both courses are apparently pretty straight forward so i figure i'll tackle both in one semester.  so tuition fees covered?  check.

this year, i'm spending my christmas holidays in the US with my brother and his family.  i'm excited!!  :)  i got lucky and found a seat sale with Porter airlines.  the deal ends on friday so i had to book immediately.  flights booked?  check.

sigh .. it's a good thing i'm working 10 hr days .. pudgy gotta make pay some big bills in december.

p.s. the lcbo has been taunting me with their november wine selection.  usually around this time of the year, all the good stuff is released.  did i buy any?  nope.  i can wait.

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short trip to Niagara

I've been meaning to go to the Niagara region for the longest time but just never had the time to go out there. Usually when I drive home on a long weekend, it is mainly to see family. But Remembrance Day weekend, I decided to skip out on the food & wine show this year and make a short trip out to Niagara instead.

Before my trip, I contacted the winemaker at Vineland Estates to see if he was going to be around. Brian kindly arranged for me to tour the facility and do a tasting as part of my tour. The main reason for my visit was because I had chatted with Brian about their Pinot Meunièr still wine. Pinot Meunièr is a grape that is mainly used in making sparkling wine or champagne. But a single varietal still wine? I've never seen that before and was curious to try it. In all of Ontario, there are only two wineries that produce this - Keint-He vineyards in Prince Edward county is the other producer. And just between you and me, the Pinot Meunièr at Keint-He is awful. I tried it at a wine event recently and it was so bad that I could not believe they thought it was good for public consumption. It smelled like week old hockey equipment that was marinated in garbage. Btw, Pinot Meunièr is a red grape varietal. I was assured by my fellow wine friend that Vineland makes a very nice Pinot Meunièr.

Anyway, due to a mix up .. I didn't get a full tour but I got to see the barrel room and had a nice chat with the guide. Vineland graciously contacted me and invited me back for a private tasting. I hope to go back for a visit in the spring .. Maybe this time, I'll be able to have a talk with Brian about his wine making philosophy.

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October has come and is almost gone.

wow .. october came and went pretty quickly, huh?  i honestly can't remember much of what happened in the last 28 days.  all i know is ..

i went home for thanksgiving - last time i was home was back in august so it was a while before i went home for a visit.  my visit home was really good - i got to get out and do stuff with family.  we celebrated my nephew's birthday - he turned 5?  ;)  i'm bad with ages because it's so hard to keep track of 8 nieces and nephews.  i always try to do some baking before heading home so i made cupcakes and oatmeal cookies for everyone.  due to the nut allergies among the children, i was limited in what i could bake so oatmeal cookies was my go-to recipe.  plus, i had all of the ingredients at home.

the next day, i made plans with my sister to hit yorkdale.  i haven't been there in years and it has changed so much.  before the mall, i took my mom out for breakfast.  my mom loves bacon and eggs so we indulged a little bit.  she wasn't up for shopping at first but we convinced her to go with us.

yorkdale was like heaven.  i could swear i heard the angel's singing.  i think i spent the most time at holt renfrew's handbag section.  marc jacobs, balenciaga, prada, burberry .. it was tough to decide what i wanted.  i wanted it all!  :)

we spent about 3 hrs at the mall and did a bit of damage on the credit card.  females at a mall?  dangerous.

i do miss home a lot.  i still flip flop between moving home and staying here.  i have about a year left in my program so i know i'm not moving any time soon.  i think if all goes to plan, i would finish around jan 2014.  the best time to put the house on the market is in april.  the house is pretty well built and the layout is one of the best (imo).  trouble for me is, i have had a difficult time looking for a house that i like in toronto.  even the new homes are just average and super expensive.  sigh .. i dunno .. maybe i'll just move back home with mom and dad.

ok, that's just crazy talk.  hahaha .. i love my parents but i can't live with them after being away from home for so long.

anyway, i'm already making plans for christmas .. i think i'll be in toronto for the annual christmas eve lunch group lunch!  i know it's early but i hope to see as many of my friends as possible.  i think larry, ivy, chris, and damien have already booked some time .. how many days am i going to be available again??

larry:  i want a bottle of your famous rum punch this year!  :)

before i end this post, just something interesting i read today ..

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel

Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love. 

Don't take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of endless suffering.

Don't make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment to moment, it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

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my first 5k run - mission accomplished

i've always hated running.  i tried running in the morning once when i was in toronto and my skin would itch and break out in hives.  my endurance was horrible. i remember running with sluggyb and i barely made it out of the parking lot of the ibm lab before i felt exhausted.  i was convinced that running was not for me.

that was many years ago.

since then, i've taken up cardio sports like badminton and ultimate frisbee to improve my endurance.  but i never went back to running.  it took several years before some friends decided that i needed to add 'run a marathon' to my to-do list.  and it was decided (not by me!) that the Army Run would be my first race.  the Army Run is a race that raises money for our soldiers, war veterans, and their families.  the race has become very popular over the last few years and it's a pretty good cause.  so four of us signed up for the 5k run at the beginning of summer.  i had 4 months to train for this and i had no clue where to begin.  so i consulted the oracle - phil.  phil gave me some great advice about getting started.  i followed his advice and slowly began training.  running has improved my badminton game as well.

this past sunday, was race day.  when i registered for the race, i didn't think of how cold it would be on race day morning.  oh my goggles, was it ever chilly!  i didn't back out of it though.  i was determined to do it.  i have to say .. it was an amazing feeling to get your first run under your belt.  as soon as the gun went off, i crossed the starting line and immediately started to run at a slow pace and built it up as i went.  my goal was to complete the 5km without having to stop and walk portions of it.  i wanted to run the entire race so pace was not a concern of mine.  seeing the injured soldiers participate was very inspiring.  their spirit was not broken despite their disability.

in the end, i completed the run in 36:13 minutes.  i also got an awesome dog tag for finishing.  :)

we may have been bitten by the running bug now.  my friends and i are thinking of taking part in the CIBC run for the cure race next weekend, and the Ottawa Race Weekend 10k run in May 2013.

i really never thought i would ever run in a race or even like running.  but i guess you don't knock it until you've tried it.  it's not that bad.  phil was right - "it is an amazing test to see what you are made of when the going gets tough.  when your brain is telling you to stop, when your body is beyond fatigued, when your feet hurt.  it would be so easy just to stop.  but you can dig deeper and punch that pain in the groin.  tell yourself that you didn't run all this way to settle for average results."

it may sound very cliche but it's quite true.

running definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone.  and sometimes that's what we all need to do.  to get out of our comfort zone and try something different that challenges you physically, mentally, or emotionally.  that's how we grow as an individual.

as always, i encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and do something different.

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a weekend in prince edward county

this year, the weather has been pretty hot and dry - great for wine country but not so great for fruit and vegetable farmers.  i'm pretty excited about this year's vintage because everything i've heard from the vineyard managers has been positive.  the fruit got lots of sunshine and with little last weekend, i spent the weekend in prince edward county doing some work with two vineyards:  norman hardie vineyard & winery and black prince winery.

on saturday, i woke up bright and early to make the three hour drive out to norman hardie.  those of you who know me, know i'm not a morning person.  for me to get up at the crack of dawn on a saturday?!  i did it anyway and it was a great drive.  norm greeted me and told me that the crew was over at casa dea winery's vineyard to pick chardonnay.  i had brought along a pair of garden snips and gloves so i spent a good 5 hrs snipping off bunches of chardonnay with 20 other volunteers.

the last time i was at norm hardie's, i was "attacked" by mosquitoes and it left me almost scarred for several months.  this time, i dressed appropriately and was covered from head to toe.  although there weren't any mosquitoes, there were some bees around.  as long as i left the bees alone, they didn't bother me.  that was another weird thing that i noticed.  i'm usually squeamish when it comes to bugs and when i was picking grapes, there were bugs all around and it didn't bother me at all.  i was so focused on what i was doing and enjoying the moment.  i really did think about the bugs and creepy crawly things.  i guess when you love what you do, you're willing to face the bad stuff.

picking all morning and afternoon, the crew at the winery rewarded the volunteers with a big feast.  there was a whole hog roast, wood oven pizza, and lots of veggies to keep things healthy.  :)  oh .. and the wine was flowing.  it was unlimited chardonnay and pinot noir.  and norm makes a killer pinot noir.

since i went alone, a few folks invited me to join their table.  greg, patti, janet, and gary were kind enough to have me join them for the late lunch.  they were very interested in my wine background and we got to know each other very well.  by the end of the meal, greg and patti told me how proud they were of me and my pursuit of my wine knowledge.  they even gave me their contact info should i ever need a place to stay in Kingston.

the next morning, i opted to head to black prince winery for some hands-on winemaking duty with geoff webb.  i started off with a bit of vineyard work - picking grapes with a couple of other students.  after being at norm's vineyard, i could see why norm's wines are priced appropriately.  the vineyards at norm's was very well maintained.  the canopy was trimmed nicely and there was less fruit on the vines.  don't think that this is a bad thing.  in fact, it's better to have less fruit on the vines because if there are too many bunches on the vine, the nutrients are distributed among the many bunches .. leaving you with many "average" bunches.  whereas if you had fewer bunches on the vine, those grapes would not have to compete with other bunches for nutrients and as a result, you get better quality fruit.

at black prince winery, the canopy was out of control and the vines were full of fruit.  it took forever to pick the grapes from one row.  in fact, 3 vines would have filled a large bucket.  the bees in the area were also more active.  there were lots of bees.

the interesting thing about the black prince operation is how they keep the birds away.  at norm's, there's a cannon that goes off every hour.  the cannon sounds like a double barrel shotgun and it would fire every hour or so.  the noise is supposed to scare off birds looking to eat grapes.  black prince winery is closer to town so having a cannon go off every hour isn't the best solution for their location.  geoff had a solar powered sound system installed and every so often, you would hear the sound of birds in distress.  this signals to other birds that trouble is near and this scares the birds away.  pretty neat.

after a bit of picking, i got back to the crush pad and watched the winemaker drain the free run juice from a tank of merlot.  the smell was like heaven.  so sweet.  he took a sample from the free run and asked me to analyze the juice.  it smelled like iced tea.  when i took a sip, it tasted nothing like grape juice from my childhood.  this was better than Welch's.  :)  the plan is to use the free run merlot juice for a rose.

for the rest of the afternoon, i got to help the team crush and destem the merlot batch.  meta bi-sulphite was added periodically to prevent the juice from fermenting prematurely and to keep the freshness during cold soaking.  the pulp resulting from the destemming process was like sludge.  i don't know how you'll get juice from that.

around 3 pm, i had to call it a day.  the process wasn't over yet but i had to keep in mind that my drive home was going to be a 3 hr journey.  before i left, the assistant winemaker collected a number of bottles of wine for me to take home.  i got a bottle of cabernet franc rose, pinot gris, riesling, and their signature cabernet franc.  hmm .. will work for wine?  :)  it was a nice gesture and i hope to go back and do some more work with them later this year. 

my journey to gain knowledge in winemaking has allowed me to connect with some very interesting people.  i've also been on some great adventures.  one day, i'll have some great stories to tell my nieces and nephews.

this weekend will be another new adventure - the army run.  my first 5km run.  i won't be doing it alone though.  my girl friends will be joining me for the early morning run.  wish me luck .. :)

cheers,
pudgy

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harvest 2012

it's harvest time in the vineyards!  i'm headed to Norman Hardie's this weekend to help with this year's vintage.  it'll be my first time attempting hands-on work in a winery .. i'm so excited!  i've always wanted to spend a summer working on a farm and shed my princess ways.  :)  not a lot happens at the winery in the summer but it's even better when the action happens during my favorite season - autumn!

i'll try to blog about it after i'm done.  i've been in touch with a few folks about assisting with the winemaking duties so hopefully i'll be able to get more experience out of it.  i'm also scheduled for duty at Black Prince Winery in PE County. 

my friend reviewed my 8 page report on my okanagan trip.  he said it was very well done.  it's been a while since i've had someone review my written work so i was pretty nervous.  i hope i impressed.

school has started and already i've had a quiz.  i guess i should get used to having weekly quizzes again.  i chose to take one course this semester because old world wine is supposed to be one of the tougher courses.  we talk about france in a span of 6 weeks!  every appellation, region, sub-region, is dissected, tasted, and analyzed.

the french definitely has their own style of winemaking and it shows in the wines we've had.  the only way i can describe it is .. it doesn't have that "manufactured" taste that you get with the mass produced stuff.

anyway, i hope you all have a great weekend.  remember: there's an adventure out there waiting for you to discover it.  i've discovered mine .. :)

cheers,
pudgy

 

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homework

i spent the last two days writing up a report on my trip to the Okanagan Valley.  my trip wasn't all pleasure - although it may have seemed like it.  much of it was for educational purposes.

on my final day, i got a chance to meet the winemaker at the Osoyoos Larose facility.  Osoyoos Larose produces two wines:  Le Grand Vin and Petales - both are Bordeaux-style blends.  The winemaker, Pascal Madevon, was a really nice host.  We toured the fermentation tanks area and the barrel cellar.  The facility is one of the cleanest I've seen.  I got to taste the upcoming 2009 release of Le Grand Vin and it was very nice.   I'll be looking out for that at the LCBO for sure.

anyway, my summary report covered all 27 wineries that i visited in a span of 5 days.  i made notes of all the wine that i sampled and even the discussions i had with each winemaker or vineyard rep.  the report is 8 pages long.  sigh .. i wonder if my friend is willing to go through all 8 pages.  i tried to make it as entertaining as possible.

tomorrow is the first day of class.  it's going to be a tough semester because we are covering Old World next.  wish me luck.

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