blads blog

You have eye colour, for example, blue eyes like your mom and long legs like your dad. Things like this are incredible when you think about it: we inherited every physical attribute from our parents, from copies of their genes. But what other things came from our predecessors?  One thing I inherited from my mum was Hammertoes.  So what are Hammertoes, you ask? Hammertoe is typically a bending of one or both joints of the second, third, fourth, or fifth (little) toes. This abnormal bending can put pressure on the toe when wearing shoes, causing problems to develop. Hammertoes usually start out as mild deformities and get progressively worse over time.  Hammertoes are progressive – they don’t go away by themselves and usually they will get worse over time. I elected to have my hammertoes corrected by surgery, starting with the left foot. This was performed by Dr G. Dracopolus and his great surgical team, on October 30. For the skirmi...

Besides being tricky to pronounce, Montepulciano is one of the more complicated grapes. You see, there's an Italian town called Montepulciano, which produces a wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. But, this wine is mostly made from  Sangiovese , and doesn't actually include any of the Montepulciano grape! The most famous examples of Montepulciano (the actual wine) come from the Italian region of Abruzzo, but it's planted throughout much of central and southern Italy, but nowhere near the town of the same name. Thankfully, this grape is also grown in Australia, it's much more straightforward and in true Aussie style, we've taken away the pronunciation problem by shortening it to 'Monte'. One that I tried very recently is Atze’s Corner Wines “The Mob” Montepulciano where it’s appeal lies in its beautifully generous fruit, including red plum, sour cherry and boysenberry, and moderate acidity, so I reckon if you love Shiraz you'll lov...