Todavino Spanish Wine of the Month Club, is hosting tonight’s “Cata de los Lacres”. Each year, they invite the top bodegas and their wines as determined by themselves to a wine tasting at the Palace Hotel in Madrid for a select few wine club members and press. Unfortunately, I had to pass up the opportunity to attend as a result of two other trips I scheduled prior this month leaving me a lack of travel funds. The irony to this whole situation is that during last year’s event, I went with one of the worst head colds I’ve ever had. I distinctly remember coming home that evening in tears because incredible wines such as Pingus, Clos Morgador and Vega Sicilia tasted of nothing but bitter tannins due to my congested nose. UGH! And the humor of having redemption at my fingertips but in the end, the joke is still on me! Oh well, at least Adrienne will make an effort to go in my place – but deep down I secretly hope she can’t make it because I don’t want to know what I’m missing!

In other news, we wanted to apologize for the delay in our Podcasts. Last night as Gabriella and I were about to record, we discovered that our microphone was out of commission. To be completely honest, it sort of works. The problem is that the sound levels are way too low and we’re not sure what’s causing it. So hang in there and we’ll be back very soon. For now, I’m trying to get some Skype interviews lined up but I need to quickly fix the mixer beforehand. If it’s not one thing with technology, it’s another! Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.

Finally, I’m headed to the States in a month. I’ll be there for about 6 weeks while I get some paperwork sorted out. Should be fun. I plan on checking out the Iberian wine markets in Illinois, Minnesota and potentially Wisconsin. I will also take some time to contact retailers and distributors around the States. Any suggestions on who I should call? After being away for 2 years, I wonder if I’ll recognize the place!

That’s it for now.

More soon,

Ryan Opaz