Gryff Says Farewell

OK, as much as I'd love to spend even more time off gallivanting through exotic locales and drinking all sorts of wines that I'll never find at home, I have yet to win the lottery. So, it's back to day-to-day life in the Northern hemisphere.

Luckily, I don't have to give up altogether on the wine. After all, I may have been able to add another 21 bottles to The List during our recent trip, but we've still got quite a ways to go to reach 2001.

I'm not completely back into the swing of things yet though. We were having a bit of a drinks after work/farewell party for Gryff - as he's taking off for an extended (as in four or five months) trip to the Indian subcontinent. But, I didn't even bring along my camera. I may be able to get a shot from someone else at work, but, for the mean time, the bottle I get to add to The List shall remain photo-less.

629. Bodega y Vinedos Renacer - Punta Final Malbec (Mendoza - Argentina)

Boo and I might be back from South America but that doesn't mean that we've completely got that world out of our system. Since the work crowd would be asking as much about our recent adventures as they would about Gryff's impending trip, I figured I'd bring along a little taste of what we experienced - especially since I don't think there are any Indian wines to be found in our market. India Pale Ale - yes. Indian Merlot or Chardonnay - not so likely.

Renacer was another of the Argentine wineries that I was particularly fond of after the Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival earlier in the year - and I'd hoped to visit it while we were in Mendoza. That on-site visit was not to be, however, as the winery was closed to visitors during the short time that we were there. And here I'd travelled all that way to see them. The nerve.

I guess it'll just have to be a case of the mountain coming to Mohammed after all.

As for Gryff, it looks like this will be the last bottle that I'll be sharing with him for awhile. In fact, we don't even know if he's ever coming back to the office - he might just retire outright. I look forward to that next bottle though. I know he'll have some stories to tell after all the mountains that he'll have gone to.