5 Comments

San Martino is a Venetian holiday too. In the countryside it is imperative to eat goose & here in Venice there is a special decorated cookie & the littlest children wear red capes & bang on pots & ask for sweets.

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I'm a bit like you Al. I like to have a go of fixing stuff myself. You can save a load of cash and the sense of achievement you get from doing-it-yourself is great.

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Entropy. Everything needs maintenance, it's just a question of what type...

https://open.substack.com/pub/tonymartyr/p/fixin-and-broke-stuff?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2jswp

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You are amazing Alistair. Love how you reinvented yourself after years of being on the frontline of war and disaster zone reporting. But I always knew you had tenacity when I met you in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina. I’m so impressed with joe you’ve learnt to be so practical and learning new things to make your place work albeit off grid.

Hope to come visit you there sometime soon. Love Ruhi x

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I'm surprised I haven't seen you at Amphora Day or any of the St Martins Day gatherings over the years. I'm the expat-Yank who first discovered the talha revival and have been writing about it since 2012. My book, Talha Tales: Portugal's Ancient Answer to Amphora Wines (Amazon) details the journey we've all been on since. I was instrumental in bringing together Georigian Qvevri wineries and the lost tribe of Alentejo talha winemakers in 2016 up at Italy's Terracotta and Wine 2016, which inspired Pedro Ribeira to create the annual Amphora Day. Just a little background for your story. The revival of talha wine culture from near extinctin is one of the great wine stories of the decade. Everyone should come participate and drink some history with them all. Keep up the good work Alastair! Here's a few columns and links if you are insterested further. https://worldoffinewine.com/news-features/amphora-day-2023-clay-time-in-alentejo

https://worldoffinewine.com/2022/07/13/terracotta-vino-2022-fine-amphora-wines/

https://worldoffinewine.com/2021/11/25/amphora-day-portugals-festival-of-clay-pot-winemaking/

https://www.winedisclosures.com/amphora-wines/alentejos-talha-tradition

also

published articles on Terracotta and Wine events

https://worldoffinewine.com/2022/07/05/la-terracotta-e-il-vino-art-amphora/

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