It's been like Christmas!

Suzanne and Roger  in their new casa, upstairs in the sala de familia.

    

    The trials and tribulations of getting our container to Ecuador are over  (thank you for that!)  We went 20% over budget and it took us six weeks instead of the expected two but those are stories for another day and future blogs.  The important thing is that our most prized personal possessions are here with us in our new home! We have spent the past week like giddy kids on Christmas morning unwrapping their presents.  Some of these treasures have been in storage since August of 2010 when we first listed our Arizona home for sale so each unwrapping was a special nostalgic moment.    

   Regular readers will note that this is the first photo we've posted in awhile.  We have been limited to a wireless Ipad and now that the big computer is out of the box, we can start being a little more thorough.  The photo above was actually taken from our computer's built in lens as it sat on the desk in our family living room upstairs.  The second floor of our house contains the bedrooms and has a generous sitting room at the top of our skylight lit stairwell.  The lady palm in the background was one of first purchases after moving into the new house as we camped out, awaiting the arrival of our container.  She likes it there and in addition to the desk, the sala contains a secretary bookcase and two rocking chairs. We've also included an old antique table and chairs so we can enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning and/or the occasional glass of wine.

  For our Ecuadorian friends (who will be soon reminding me I haven't reviewed an available Cuenca wine lately....give me a break...I've been unpacking!):  the wine in the photo comes from Conde de la Cruz, located here in Cuenca and owned by Riunite. It is their Vino Tinto Italia and while somewhat of a fruit bomb, it is reasonably priced at about a $5 retail.  Conde de la Cruz skirts the import duties on alcoholic beverages by importing raw juice from Riunite in Italy and then fermenting the juice here.

Anyway, the toast above was in celebration of the fact that we are almost settled in our new home...there is a table in the dining room and a full set of dishes.  We have a guest room with clean linens so stateside friends are welcome to come visit.  Expadorian and Ecuadorian friends...be on alert...after a few more chores and a little rest and recovery, we plan on sending invitations for some open houses to introduce you all to our new home.

  We feel blessed and fortunate in our our new home and to be continuing our journey "juntos en el camino de la vida"!

A Wine Guy Ecuadorian Wine Reccomendation and other stuff!

Suzanne and I have recently been in Quito, primarily to obtain certificados de censo and cedulas. We were partially succesful (Suzanne yes...Roger ooopsie) on that score. Look for more details in an upcoming blog which will be entitled "Do I lawyer up or not? - Part 2!"

On another front, if you're headed to Quito and looking for quality accommodations in the new town area, we heartily endorse the Hotel Sebastian! It's a quality facility at a more affordable (although not cheap) price than the Hilton a short distance away. Even if you don't stay there, take the time to dine out in their restaurant. The house wine at $4 per glass is Concha y Toro and the food quality, presentation and service was well, well above their mid price range!

On the wine front, The Wine Guy finally got to sample some wine from Chaupi Estancia, one of Ecuador's most established and successful wineries. I had heard about them well before my first visit to this country and had been anxious to sample some of their wine. They are located at a higher elevation in the Andes north of Quito. They are mostly renown for their white wines including a palomino fino type sherry which has earned accolades in international wine competition. THe Wine Guy, however, was impressed with their their red wine "Alyce" a meritage blend. Chaupi Estancia happens to be an international member of the Meritage Association which was found by California vintners to create a branded red wine blend somewhat comparable to French Bordeaux. The Alyce Meritage, in my opinion, ranks as the best red wine being produced in Ecuador and is retail priced in the $20-$25 range in Quito. We will be hunting for it in Cuenca and hope any of our friends will let us know if they spot it in our area. It is worth seeking out.

As always, Suzanne and I remain "juntos en el camino de la vida"!

Good fun, good wine and great pizza!

As with so many good things and places we've discovered in Cuenca, the source of the best pizza we've enjoyed here was tucked away in an unpretentious nook, with a small sign that was barely noticable. It was the kind of place you could easily walk past without seeing.

Truth be told, we hadn't gone there for the pizza! Fellow boomer and refugee from the 60's and 70's Bill Keyes had become one of our new found friends here in Cuenca. Bill is a long time bass guitarist and he performs with some regularity at the pizza parlor in question. We had gone there specifically to hear our friend "jam". The place in question was Mitti's Pizza (Hermano Miguel 4-37 y Calle Larga). It was easily found because Bill had told us it was directly across the street from Carolina Bookstore.

We arrived at our normal dinner time but slightly ahead of Bill's expected play time so we proceeded to examine the menu curiously labeled Marco's Pizza. It turns out the current proprietor is a native Argentinean from Buenos Aires named Marcos. He was a delightful host and his pizza turned out to be excellent, expecially when accompanied by a glass of Argentinean Cabernet.

A short note about pizza here in Cuenca: While there are many fine Italian establishments in Cuenca, there is a challenge in finding really, really good traditional pizza. Pizza buffs know the three keys to this kind of pizza is crust, cheese and sauce. Crust is not a problem but cheese, as a whole, in Ecuador is OK but not very classy unless you go for the more expensive imported stuff. As to sauce... well this is a country where most people prefer dipping their french fries in mayonesa rather than salsa de tomate(ketchup). As you might image, most pizza is served with a notable absence of tomato sauce. At Mitti's we were specifically asked about the inclusion of tomato sauce (we ordered the Hongos grande with the works on the sauce). Our verdict: yum, yum, yum! No pacquete a via for the Yazell's with this baby despite its grande size!

As to the music, owner Marcos joined in on the jam with our friend Bill. The music later included an accomplished guitarist/ singer from Australia whose friends were enjoying wine and pizza of their own at the front table. At the height of the jam, we were joined at our table by an Ecuadorian friend of ours who had stopped in for a glass of wine with a Canadian client in process of becoming an Expadorian.

So there we were, clientele from Ecuador, Australia, Canada and the U.S. listening to an American and an Argentinean rocking out to the Mexican "La Bamba". That was followed up by the entire room joining in vocally on a version of the Beetles "Get Back". All this took place in the historico centro of Cuenca Ecuador.

Some might call our evening out a very unique experience. For us it was a part of yet another wonderful and blessed day, juntos en el camino de la vida!

Wine in Ecuador

During our cross country trip and our initial foray into Ecuador, I took a sabbatical on my wine blog, Roger's Grapevine (www.rogersgrapvine.blogspot.com). It probably didn't come as a surprise to friends and readers who knew of our plans to explore Ecuador that my first return to the Grapevine chronicled a wine bottled here in Cuenca: Conte de la Cruz Vinto Tinto Reserva. Suzanne, after reading it, told me that I need to be including some of my Ecuadorian wine observations on our new blog. O.K. Boss, here goes:

Observation number one: Ecuador is far from being a wine lover's dream come true.
While many come to Ecuador for its reasonable cost of living in such areas as real estate, health care and fresh foods, don't count wine among those things you'll save money on. Ecuador is not a high volume wine producer and while great wines are found in nearby Chile and Argentina (wines from these two countries dominate the shelves here) prices are high. Ecuador imposed high import duties on alcohol a short time ago and is considering raising them in the coming year. The result is that I found many of my Chilean and Argentinian favorites at higher prices here in Cuenca than they were in the USA. Not exhorbitantly higher, but higher nevertheless. Variety is also a little more limited and focuses on basic mainstream varietals, some sparkling and a few dessert wines. While I've only been here just over a week, I'm fairly certain stumbling onto a good Brunello or Nebiolo will be an event worthy of a fairly significant celebration. As a result of costs, the bulk afforability of box wines is popular here. That's a growing trend back in the states, as well. But here, the box selection is still restricted to wines that are fairly fruity and young wines, often produced from second run juices. Nothing wrong with those unless you prefer more complex aged and dynamic wines. Wine is readily available here but it is either costlier or simpler in style or both.

Observation number two: Wine merchants are much less sophisticated here.
That's an economic reality and not a reflection on retail capabilities. With higher prices, less variety and lower wine consumption, Ecuadorian merchants are simply not going to invest in developing sophifisticated wine knowledge and expertise. That might change in the future if consumer demand increases. However, don't currently expect a lot of help in choosing from among the labels (most of whom may be unfamiliar) here. You have to do your own wine homework. You also need to be aware that merchant unfamiliarity with wine may extend to proper display and storage as well. Beware of the mercado proudly displaying nearly his entire selection of wine in one of his front windows. Intense sunlight is one of wine's three worst enemies when it's in the bottle and the uv index here exceeds anything regularly seen in the US.

Observation number three: There ARE opportunities here (as there always are where ever wine is sold) to find some really decent wine values, particularly if you're a red wine drinker. Because of the lower consumption levels here, the larger retailers seem to be regularly willing to offer quantity discounts to keep up inventory turns. Smaller shops do not turn inventory as fast and some of these bottles may stay on the shelf for extended periods. However, if it's a well made red wine capable of ageing and it's adequately stored, it just improves. If the retailer purchased it from the wholesaler before the import increased, he probably has kept the old retail. You potentially have a well aged wine at a better retail than its younger vintage counterpart at the big retailer. This can make for a fun outing, exploring the smaller neighborhood shops in search of these potential gems. Remember, many well made wines will have fairly extensive shelf life if not subjected to oxidation, heat or sunlight.
If you enjoy younger, fruitier and sweeter wines, there are some Ecuadorian products (to the best of my knowledge there are three current wine producers in Ecuador) that will please you at very affordble prices. Other saving alternatives are the afoementioned box wines or a line of wines from a Chilean producer labeled Guyasamin. These wines honor renown Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guyasamin who died in 1999 and are produced under license from the charitable foundation in Quito created by his estate. As a result of this and support of the foundation, this wine gets a modification on its tariff and you get a slightly better price point than many of its comparable counterparts.

No, Ecuador isn't a wine lover's dream come true, but wine is available here and with all the lifestyle affordabilities, you certainly don't have to do without a good glass of wine
That's a good thing because Suzanne and i do enjoy an occaisional wine break as we continue juntos en el camino de la vida.