Der Geschmack der Farben.

I arrived home in one piece.  My flight from SFO to Manchester, via Zurich, was without incident - very smooth and painless.
Now that I am home, I am in a state of amazement.  I have experienced better weather here in the past four days than all of 2019 in California and I have loved every minute of it.  Thing is, England is hard to beat when the sun is shining, it is just so pretty.  And so green.  Spring has always been my favourite season in Blighty.
Family OTW and I have busied ourselves with lots of activities; shooting, archery, bingo and other games.  Every meal has been outside, breakfasts, lunches and dinners.  Of note, yet another fabulous wood-fired pizza event (my sister-in-law's Thai chicken pizza could give California Pizza Kitchen a run for their money) at which I discovered that a particularly spicy pizza paired well with a Prosecco that Thud pulled out of his wine-stash.  Fun.
The Taste of Colours, kindly reproduced with the permission of Swiss Air (well, I'm sure they would have approved it if I'd asked), is not about the neurological trait synaesthesia.  Rather, the wine-article in my seat-pocket magazine maintained that there was a correlation between the colour of a wine and the way in which a wine is produced, even a vintage's growing conditions, with the qualities therefore inherent in a wine.  Not sure I totally buy the whole premise of the article as it's a little simplistic, besides I don't read German, but it made for some light, in-flight entertainment - a bit like the colour, Blasses Weissgelb.

Get back...

...to where I once belonged, Part 13.
Yup, I'm on my way back to Blighty this evening, I'm excited.
Apparently, it is 'British Spirits and Sparkling Wine Week' in the U.S.A., it is a shame I'll miss some of it.  I received a nice email (from Shari Mesulam, I don't know her) that informed me that October 22nd to 28th is a celebratory week of campaigning by the British government (you'd think they'd have more important stuff to do), as part of their 'Food is GREAT' showcase.  In the email, I learned that "whisky is the largest food and drink global export for the United Kingdom, and the United States is the largest export market for both British Gin and English Sparkling Wine."  I could find neither aforementioned tipples in the pantry, so I had to make do with an old bottle of Vinomaker's Drambuie.  It's the spirit that counts, titter, titter.  So I'm going to export myself over to Blighty and hopefully do some catching up with the English bubbles bit.
Get back JoJo!

Overachievers in Oakville.

No sight of veraison in Vinoland yet, but up in Oakville (at TWWIAGE) the onset of ripening in the Cabernet Sauvignon vines has definitely begun.  It's not a question of commercial farming over amateur farming (me, being the amateur), it is quite simply a matter of climate - it's quite a bit toastier 15 miles north of Vinoland in Oakville.  The first sign of veraison in Vinoland is usually in the Syrah and/or Pinot grigio vines, so I will keep an eye on them.  It's an exciting time of year if you're a grape because Mother Nature has decided that you need filling up with sugar, yum!
Posts have been a bit scarce on Vinsanity as my family arrived from England last Thursday.  I have had 5 fun-packed, but tiring days.  I intend to do some wine related outings with Thud, so hopefully I will have some fresh material to write about.  Stay tuned.

Where in the US of A is Vinogirl?

This morning I seem to have woken up in Utah.  I know this because there is a massive mountain outside my hotel window. 
I'm excited to visit the local state owned liquor store in Springville and have a gander at the wine selection.  And holiday with all my family members, of course.

Invasion².

As reported in the local newspaper, the veraison invasion of 2014 has begun (shown here in TWWIAGE's Cabernet sauvignon vines) and it seems to be about two weeks ahead of schedule.  Not that Mother Nature has a set in stone schedule, but nevertheless it's still a little earlier than average.
The British Invasion has also begun; my family arrived from England last Saturday, all 10 of them, and since then they have been keeping me quite busy.  Fun, fun, fun!

It's a boy!

Well, of course it's a boy. I already knew the new bundle of unmitigated joy due to be delivered into our family was going to be a male child, the first in almost a dozen years. What I didn't know was how tardy the little tinker was going to be. After a long delay, which necessitated changing my flight to extend my holiday by 5 days, my new nephew finally made an appearance...in 45 minutes. Seemingly he was making up for lost time!

Welcome to the world little one, your Auntie Vinogirl loves you very much.  Now, Veuve Cliquot all round!

Vinalia rustica.

"The 19th day of August is an especially auspicious day for a wedding, for it is the feast day of 'Vinalia rustica', a day that has a rich place in mythology and ancient traditions. On this day, the people of ancient Rome during the dedication of a temple to Venus, vowed a libation of all the wine of the succeeding vintage. Venus the goddess of love and beauty, was also the goddess of gardens and vineyards. So this is a day when love and nature are in perfect balance..."
I wrote these words three years ago for my and Vinomaker's wedding.
Happy anniversary Vinomaker.