(Ready for anything!)

Why does it always happen this way? This weekend I leave for a wine trip to South Africa along with our esteemed Director of Wines at ABC, Brad Lewis. With one week to go before I leave, why do I always seem to have three weeks of work that has to be done before I depart? I mean, this week I’m teaching eight wine classes, attending an all day planning meeting at which I have to make an hour-long presentation, participating in a great annual wine and food event for The Centre (formerly The Centre for Women) in Tampa, and that’s not half of it.

            Luckily, I’m not one of those people who have to pack their bags days or weeks in advance. (I do know people like that.) No, I’ll throw some appropriate clothes into a suitcase a couple of hours before I leave the house. And I’ll choose two or three good books – this is going to be a lo-o-o-n-g flight! I rarely take a lot of electronics with me – just a phone on which I can get my emails and send the occasional tweet and take a picture or two. Occasionally I’ll bring an MP3 player, but really – international flights usually have tons of inflight music of all varieties, and I usually don’t have time to listen anywhere else. No, I like to keep it as simple as possible.

            So what will this wine trip entail? Most of it is centered around CapeWine 2012, which is the largest annual trade show of wines from South Africa. It’s a real thrill to be able to attend it. We’ll be participating in a Durbanville Sauvignon Safari in which we drive in safari vehicles off the beaten path to experience South Africa’s Sauvignon Blanc terroir firsthand. We’ll be attending a Green Tie (eco-friendly) wine and food event complete with local music, song and dance.

            We’ll be taking part in a lot of wine seminars and we’ve already received dozens of invitations to taste wine at various booths and stations. There will be a Born in Africa Bash – an evening of African hospitality – and so much else. After the trade show we are invited to get out into the countryside and visit the vineyards and wineries of the area. This will be particularly exciting.

            So all I can say is wish us a safe trip and keep reading these ABC wine blogs. You’ll hear a lot more about this trip in the future! Cheers!

Bill Stobbs, ABC Wine Supervisor (west coast)

(Follow me on Twitter at abcwinebills)