on July 1st, 2008 by mark
Word tonight from my friend James that Ventura Limoncello Company was awarded a Bronze Medal at this years International World Spirits Competition in Surrey England. He and Manuela deserve this, no question. I wish it would have been gold, but we are talking about a World competition, after all. We must leave some room for splitters, I suppose.
The product is remarkably worth while. There are few liqueurs that make it to my radar screen and when they do, I talk about them. Every time. James and Manuela are friends, yes–but we aren’t so close that I owe them anything or have to carry their water. They can do that quite well on their own. This product is phenomenal and, as with wine, it all starts in the orchard (vineyard for wine, of course).
The simple fact is that Ventura County between the Conejo grade and the Pacific Ocean to the west has some of the very best growing soil in the world. The top soil here, some of the richest anywhere, is some 13 feet deep. It’s a remarkable place to grow produce. If you’re in another state and you’ve ever eaten a Sunkist orange or lemon, chances are it was grown here. If you’ve bought avocados, strawberries, chili peppers, tomatoes, lima beans, the list goes on–chances are they were grown right here. It is a farmer’s dream. And, of course, it’s disappearing–one housing development at a time.
But make no mistake, Ventura Limoncello takes full advantage of the produce here and makes a superior product. It’s no more expensive than its competitors and it tastes remarkably better.
I’m wanderlusting tonight. I do this during summer time the most, I suppose, when my mind is not labored by school. I’ve been working full-time as a reporter for our local paper, as I’ve mentioned, but even as busy as it is, it doesn’t occupy my mind the way teaching does. that’s because I work from home and I still have the luxury of being a freelancer, not an employee per se. Peanut is getting older and a little, though not a lot, better at travel and I really want to start vacationing with her. However, we’re probably going to curb that appetite a little bit simply because we very much want to go to Belgium in the summer of 2011. That’s where Sofie lives and since we’re very much convinced that she was supposed to be our daughter (don’t worry Ben and Edithe, we’ll not steal her!), we want to go see where her life is and what it’s like.
Beyond that, though, I want Peanut to see her country as well. She’s been to Arizona and she’s been up north as far as Marin County and as far south as San Diego–but that’s it. By her age, I’d been in Delaware, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, California, Tennessee, Georgia and I believe, Florida. We don’t get around much and I want to start doing that. Next summer, I have some ideas for cheaper travel. We’ll see how it goes.
Off for a little reading, relaxing and sleep, gentles. A good night to all.
Posted in Family, Food and Wine
