Balsamic Government

I could drink it!

Just typed, "how to make your own white balsamic vinegar" into that magic, invisible university known as Google and discovered there are some things that cannot be easily DIY'd...white balsamic vinegar being one of them. Unless, of course you have access to grapes from the Modena region of Italy, along with master-level winemaking skills.

While I do have the winemaking equipment and posses a novice-level skill at making it, I don't have the grapes or the time. And one out of three ain't good enough in this case.

Daunting to think, however (referencing my previous post) that in the wake of the Collapse of Everything we may have to do without our beloved white balsamic vinegar. How will we eat our post-apocalyptic homegrown watermelons and salads? That alone seems a good enough reason to keep our democracy and basic infrastructure going. So back off, Doomers.

Who would best support continued importing of white balsamic vinegar?

I do make my own laundry detergent, soap, cleaning products and a fair amount of "basics" kind of food, such as tomato paste. But other things are just not worth the time, equipment cost and skill level they take to produce on an individual basis, for one household.

So I probably can't make white balsamic...But I can start using my copious supply of eggs to make my own mayonnaise (very easy) and making ketchup from a jar or two from the store of canned tomatoes (also easy) I have put aside, so those will be projects in the weeks to come.

I'm always looking for ways to make things from scratch using basic ingredients, but the key to success is sometimes to know what do make yourself and what to buy.

And of course support the infrastructure that supports the products you can't live without. I'm willing to put up with a lot of political and governmental crap in order to keep my First World need for chocolate, white balsamic vinegar, bananas and the occasional bar of Halvah coming into the nation.

My vote goes to whomever supports that. And universal healthcare, of course.

Tales from Wine Country, Episode #996

Photo courtesy CNN.

So last night, on the way to a party at the winery (as guests -- not pouring!) we saw this amazing sight in the western sky. Having worked in both the aviation and astronomy fields when I was younger, my point of reference was that it looked not unlike the tail of a comet.

Big Ag and I discussed, seriously, the possibility of it being either a comet or asteroid which came in rapidly and was heading towards Earth as we were motoring along.

We decided that some pre-apocalypse sparkling wine and a nice dinner couldn't hurt and were, in fact, probably a good idea if, in fact the end was near.

You discover your priorities in times of crisis, people.

We later heard on the news that the strange sight in the sky was an unarmed Trident missile shot from a submarine and going airborne in the sky off the coast of Southern California. But, hey, better to be proactive in the case of something serious, right? 

In case of emergency, break out the bubbly. Plenty of time to load the weapons after dinner.