Revving up for the V-Marketing Forum Report: Part One

I loaded myself onto the plane to Madrid with a pile of unread New Yorkers, prepped myself for an adventure. Read Julia and Byron by Craig Raine in the March 30th issues and reread almost every sentence, not for comprehension but to sneak over to the piercing white truffle, lift to my nose, and breathe it in deeply. 'When Julia was twenty-nine, her hair was already bar-coded.' "The medication had a beautiful name, Mandragorax.' 'I stripped the nerves of her heart,' 'I was the chemo before the chemo.' I left the plane, post Ambien, in a daze of language, into a language I could say no more than, buenos dias and gracias. Madrid, sunny, Francis Bacon show, unseen because my cards were not reading well in Spanish. Train to Zaragoza: tried the Cune crianza which has been reduced to watery oak juice. Sad. Drove to Logrono, past trees sprouting lavender fluff, past granite cliffs, white in the setting sun, and giant vanity bodegas, near to Logrono, those Murrieta old vines, en goblet, hooked up to the IV drip? Now we're up to speed. Almost. But first a terrific dinner with the ex-export director of Rioja Tom Perry, a few tapas on Calle Laurel (white anchovies, fresh and filled with herring goodness) and an honest meal at Restaurante Iruna--commencing with a plate of succulent spring which ranged from celadon to bottle greens and also a bottle of La RIoja Alta 904, 1995. Sigh of relief. 4Pm the V-Marketing Forum commenced. This was an edgy forum filled with counterpoint and head on clashing of ideas and points of view. I could barely contain my facial expressions from cracking new line in my face during Xavier Ybarguengoitia's presentation. The man is Presidente-Director General of Estates & Wines of Moet Hennesy Wine Division. If I feared I was going to offend anyone, hearing this outspoken and convinced of LVMH superiority man, set me at east. look for part 2