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Thanksgiving 2002-10-14

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Diaryland

Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Canadians!

Oh man, I love Thanksgiving. I love it because there is not one hint of pasta throughout the whole meal. Nary a penne to be found. I'm Italian, people. This is a big deal!

But, oh, the turkey, the potatoes, the corn, the stuffing, the glazed carrots, the array of bread and vegetables... But that's not all! Then there are the apple pies and the pumpkin pies and the ice cream, and this year, my mother even made a pumpkin cheesecake! I adore pumpkin cheesecake! There's so much food here, such a bounty of tasty and wondrous gastronomic bliss... and it WILL get eaten... but not by me!

That's right, ladies and gentleman, I'm sacrificing my favorite food holiday for the greater reward of a fine looking arse.

(I'm making you sick, aren't I? Hell, I'm making myself sick.)

Let me tell you about yesterday, instead.

Yesterday morning, my cousin Cute-and-Funny came over to help my father start the wine. Along with him, came my cousin The-Other-Mare and her fianc�` Spanish-and-Fun; my other cousin Pretty-and-Fashionable and her husband Strong-and-Silent, as well as my cousin Skinny-and-Sarcastic and his son Adorably-Cute.

And they all arrived before I had time to shower. However, all's well that end's well, as 4 hours and 35 cases of grapes later, they looked just as mussed up as I did.

Thirty-five cases of grapes! My father takes his wine seriously you have to understand. He mentioned that he had almost waited too long to make wine this year, as he only has another 60 liters in the cantina...

Well Lordy, 60 liters! That just can't take us very far!

For all those who are interested, what we did yesterday (and as soon as I learn how to do stuff like this, I'm gonna post some pictures) was take those thirty-five cases of Alicante grapes, and kind of rubbed them up against some chicken wire to de-stem them. The grapes would fall into a large container under the chicken wire, and the majority of stems are tossed. Lots of people don't bother with the de-stemming, and just throw the whole thing in the squeezer, but the stems contain a lot of acidity, which makes the wine taste lousy. You end up with vinegar before you get a decent glass to go with your T-bone...

Anyway, then, the grapes go through this squeezy-mulchy type process, are poured into large barrels (we've got three filled downstairs), covered up, and the waiting begins. We await the fermentation.

According to my father, this wine will actually be drinkable in about a month to 6 weeks, but it will be a young wine, and will lack character.

Too easy to drink. It'll taste like juice. Why bother?

February should be about right, he said.

I'll keep you posted on the process.

In the meantime, eat a lot today people. Enjoy it all. But while you're doing that, also think about the plethora of food in your cupboards. Do a lot of people a favour, and put some of the non-perishable stuff in a bag, and take it to your nearest fire station. Those good men will duly deliver it to your city's Food Bank, and eventually, some cool but unlucky lady and her three smart and funny kids will get a whole week's worth of decent meals.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

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