This is the time of my life. I can feel it like one feels the approach of the end of a love affair. The telling moments are impossible to ignore, but they are absolutely true and unstoppable as they reveal themselves. Where all this travel and work is leading me to is anybody’s guess. And it’s appropriate to be asking these questions since these are my last few weeks in SA. I’ve completely turned my life upside down to see how it reassembles. Why not? *Play opening chords to The Strokes “You Only Live Once”. Coming Down Under seemed to be the right place to flip it, everything is already backward here compared to my life in the Northern Hemi. 
The Port Elliot bowling club can’t help me, although you have to admit it’s a gorgeous place to bowl. The flathead and chips at the Flying Fish aren’t so bad either. I had a bottle of 2005 Radford-Dale Riesling with mine and it was as good as any food and wine pairing I ever created. Sitting on the cusp of Horseshoe Bay watching the search and rescue team flex, the Port Elliot version of Baywatch, and run some serious looking drills. Last week a body of a 15 year old girl washed up on this beach, her killers, a father and son combo, were fortunately trapped and revealed. For some reason, these types of things happen all too frequently in SA.
Beauty is rampaging over Adelaide, according to Dolce and Tom Ford, the big wig fashionistas. I’ve never seen such wholesome beauties. They come from the great city of Chicago, as well. A group from Heritage Wines in Chi town came through here recently. They swam and drank, and a few really brightened up the place.
All the red grapes from the 2007 vintage are now going into wood, mostly American oak. I’ve spent a lot of time numbering hundreds of our new Heinrich barrels. I do worry about the winemakers sometimes. Are they going to be able to work and blend this vintage with a clear vision? They will blend and blend, but who knows what a wine called “Suxxx”, one of our latest brands, should and will taste like? There is no terroir, no place, no vineyards, just brands. After hearing Aussie sales in the US are high, lets hope they can push these brands into the stratosphere.
There is a beautiful lab tech at the winery named Aurelie from Le Mans, France. I love the story of James, a veteran celler hand, quietly eating a vegimite sandwich and watching Aurelie’s brother come into the lunch room and nonchalantly grab her entire ass cheek. Not lightly, but up in her flank. Aussie’s are tough, but even Jame’s jaw dropped at the sight of such brazen behavior. This is family love European style. They remind me of Richard Gere and Brooke Adams in Terence Mallick’s film “Days of Heaven”, a film so gorgeous it’s hard to watch. Are they really brother and sister? My sister would knock my block off.