Dad has been on my mind lately – partly because of a recent day trip. A bunch of us went to DeRose Vineyards a couple weeks ago. The winemaker there is also making wines in Chile, south of where I grew up. I would have liked more time to chat with him about the vineyards and logistics, but it was a little crazy in the winery that day (a kid rattling thru the space on a big wheel – a bunch of people cemented to the pouring table – random relations popping in to chat and distract). I bought several bottles to bring home and pour at some future event, hopefully side-by-side so we can get a feel for his style. Kind of disappointing visit though, must not have had my expectations in line. 
I can’t even begin to express my disappointment at the 2nd winery we visited that day. The objective was to pick up a futures order I had place last year in April and taste through the new releases. There were many obvious new features to the site since the last time we visited, and it was exciting to see how much they’ve grown. The wines were just ok, but my tastes are changing and I found them all a little too sweet for my palate. Doesn’t mean they were bad, doesn’t mean I’m a valid critic, just means what I said, my tastes have changed and these wines are no longer my preference.
The huge disappointment though was picking up my box of futures, the 3rd year I’ve committed to this special release, and they handed me a cardboard box. Blah! I balked! I wanted to know where the very cool wood box was??!! They ditched the wood box for a double stacked, 3 over 3, cardboard lay down box – not as cool, soooo disappointing. I unloaded the bottles when I got home and recycled the box. My plan is to pull the older ones down since they are just about ready to drink and store the latest ones in the wood.
A friend of ours that was supposed to go day tripping with us that day was instead visiting with his friends that were up here visiting from Chile – on winter break. He said they’re Americans though, living down there, not Chileans. Curiosity made me ask what they do for a living and he said they teach, at an international school. No kidding, I went to Nido de Aguilas, an international school in Santiago. “No way! That’s where they teach!”. Small world. We spent the afternoon going thru his photos from his last trip in Chile visiting them and me reminiscing about living there.
