Go Vatican!

I borrowed the title of this post from a teaser in the subject line of Karen MacNeil's (author of the Wine Bible) weekly e-zine, Winespeed (September 16th issue).  I subscribed to Winespeed a few months ago, but of late it has become something of a mini-obsession with me - I just love it and look forward to it arriving in my inbox each Friday.
Winespeed is packed with fascinating wine facts and tidbits of vinous information.  It's a fun, snappy read; included therein is a weekly wine recommendation, a 'Wine Question of the Week' and the 'Verbatim' feature - a quote from some or other wine-personage.  And other good stuff.  So what was so interesting to me about the 'Go Vatican!' item in Winespeed?  Everything, it's the type of wine-factoid that I just geek-out on.
"16.  Number of gallons of wine consumed per person annually in the Vatican City State--the highest per capita consumption of any country in the world.  Only 836 people live in the Vatican, but the country's voluminous wine usage is partly the result of the Catholic celebration in which bread and wine are consecrated during the Mass.  By comparison, U.S. per capita wine consumption is about 3 gallons."
Anyone interested can subscribe to Winespeed here.
Oh, and happy first day of autumn!

The Apostle of California.

I bought these rosary beads at the Vatican whilst on a family trip to Rome in 2000.  The beads are made from rosewood and in place of the more traditional crucifix there is a replica of one of the panels on the porta santa, or holy door, which is the north entrance to St. Peter's Basilica.  The porta santa was open when my family and I descended upon The City of the Seven Hills (not cemented closed as it usually is), as 2000 was a Jubilee year.  My family and I spent our days in the Eternal City sight-seeing, shopping and eating.  The evenings were spent soaking up the character of areas like Trastevere, laughing our bottoms off at news coverage of the 'hanging chad' debacle unfolding back in the United States and eating.
Watching the news the other day, I was happy to hear that Pope Francis has decided to canonize Father Junípero Serra when the pontiff visits Washington D.C. later this year.  Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988, Junípero Serra, a Majorcan missionary, is credited with the planting of the first grapevines in California (at Mission San Diego) for the production of sacramental wine.  Father Serra was the primera vineyard manager in California history.  I don't know if  Blessed Serra will ever have patron saint status conferred upon him, there are already a bunch of other saints that have winemaking and viticulture covered, but he's still one more for the team.  Siempre adelante, nunca retroceder.