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![]() by Fred McMillin A Wine From Gibraltar??Prologue
Monkey BusinessIn Gibraltar, I saw many happy monkeys running wild around The Rock. As for wine, I saw no vineyards. Yet, the label on today's wine reads, "Product of Gibraltar." Furthermore, the red wine is named Herakles. I think we better go back to ancient Greece. Herakles is another spelling of Hercules, the mightiest of the Greek heros. A giant named Erytion guarded oxen to the west of Greece. The oracle of Delphi pulled some hanky panky and Hercules found himself assigned to recover the beasts. On his way west, he passed the 10-mile-wide strait that separated Spain from North Africa. Here he placed a large rock on each side of the water, the Pillars of Hercules. Hence, Gibraltar is the northern Pillar of Hercules. Later, the vine-carrying Phoenicians establish vineyards in Spain, but not on The Rock. Nor did the Spanish, nor the Moors, nor the British when they seized it three centuries ago. OK. So, how does Crag Wine and Spirits (Gibraltar) Ltd. do it? They bring in wine from France, Italy, and, of course, Spain. They blend and bottle in the stone caves of Gibraltar, and name their wine, Herakles, Pride of Europe. Availability— Ask a friend to bring back a bottle. One of my sharp-palate panelists, Doris Hadley, brought today's bottle. Postscript—The Name GameThe origin of "Gibraltar?" A thousand years before the British took Gibraltar by force, a Moorish invader named Tarik crossed the Strait and did the same. Hence, the name Jebel Tarik (Rock of Tarik). JEBel TARik became "JEB-ral-TAR."
WineDay Annex WineDay Archive November 2000
11/24/00—Help! Help! 11/23/00—Your Thanksgiving-Day Toast 11/22/00—Buy a Rothschild? 11/21/00—Overmatched 11/20/00—Worthless or Wonderful? 11/17/00—The Wizard of Mendocino 11/16/00—Terrified at the Temple 11/15/00—Will This Zin Make It? 11/14/00—A Tale of Two Coups 11/13/00—The Gorilla Cometh 11/10/00—Food and Wine by the Best 11/09/00—Washington Elected President 11/08/00—Pick of the Decade 11/07/00—Risky Business 11/06/00—Presidential Pinks 11/03/00—Where Are the Women? 11/02/00—It's Derby Time 11/01/00—Where to Grow Great Merlot? This page created November 2000
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