How does an aspiring winemaker earn money in the "off-season"?

Well this one is loading and unloading trucks (or lorries as Brits call them) full of fruit bound for UK supermarkets!

A day after registering at all the local temp agencies I have got a job from 3pm to 11pm driving a forklift for one of the largest importers of fresh fruit in the UK. Yesterday I shuttled pallets of Pineapples from Costa Rica, Peppers from Israel and Tomatoes from Egypt from the cold room to the packing area, where they were labeled with the barcodes and tags of the supermarket chain they were bound for, and then onto waiting lorries.

Not much money, it will take a bit over a month to earn what I used to in a week in advertising sales, but the squid should help keep me out of mischief. Unfortunately the pay also means that it takes me 8 hours to earn enough to afford a bottle of Saxum, Dehlinger or Copain!

In the UK, the Americans have conceded the Shiraz/Syrah war

Why fight it?

Fetzer, one of the biggest US brands on UK shelves (not that there are many here outside of Gallo, surprising since the dollar is so low is against the pound) has given in to the Australian juggernaut that is SHIRAZ!

I had a bit of a giggle myself so I had to buy the bottle. I suppose with people having to remember Côtes du Rhone and Shiraz, the marketing department at Fetzer must believe that there is not enough space for Syrah in the public consciousness and went "Bugger It! We lose to the Aussies enough in sport, might as well throw in the towel on varietal spelling as well!"

And Americans have the gall to call the French "cheese eating surrender monkeys"!