“My Life as a Golf Marshall” : Time to Say Good-Bye

What a miserable last couple of days. Yesterday 4 hours of bone chilling weather at 5 degrees but add on the wind chill I was shivering after hour three and suffering a bad windburn. I mean it looked like I’d spent too long at the beach in Cancun!

Then this morning I think that weather gave rise to a mild cold. Stuffy nose and a bit of a sore throat. And today I decided to call in to determine if they required my services. The answer was no. Its pouring rain and maybe even some snow mixed in. So I am glad the elements will not batter me but I wanted to say a good-bye to the golf course I worked two days each week and played golf two days in that week. I have worked through hail, sleet and nasty humidity that left you drenched in sweat at 10:30 a.m. I have seen coyotes, foxes, rabbits, deer and a whole lot of very poor golfers.

So what are my parting thoughts?

  • Would I do it again? My shifts were the “shit shifts” given to the new guy. Saturday morning was not that bad as the better golfers are out early. Sunday afternoon you hold your breath and hope for the best. Newbies, children and the drinkers. Try and go out on Saturday night after getting up to Marshall at 6 a.m.
  • Most golfers are good people. Golfers would not be out on the course unless they loved the game. That is what unites us. They are mostly polite and like to talk about golf and if I ask them to speed it up most will apologize and help the pace quicken. There are dickheads and racists out there that tell you explicitly and implicitly to fuck off. Then there are the painfully slow golfers making far too many practice swings, walking too slowly and waiting for others to hit. I used to call them selfish and rude but their appalling slow play I think is more a question of any mandatory etiquette courses not in place.
  • Golf is twisted game. Almost all golfers suffer from good day bad day syndrome. You are hot one day and pathetic the next. The mindful golfer accepts the bad days and the good days as inevitable and laughs about their erratic game. Too much thinking about that last bad shot or the awful game you are in the midst of ruins your mindset. Yes before I took a mindful approach I recall leaving the course either angry or upset. It’s simply not worth it. Move on and appreciate the camaraderie and beautiful settings.
  • I have become an extrovert. I am naturally an introvert and there is nothing wrong with that despite society seeming to value extroverts. Dale Carnegie wanabees. I find I am not shy approaching golfers and starting a brief conversation and giving advice when asked for.
  • Was I a good Marshall? At my golf course no one sits down and gives you a performance review. If I had done a bad job I would have been told or fired. Any compliments or negative vibes come from golfers. I have received many appreciative comments but no negative ones although some frustration about the pace may be directed my way.
  • Pace is king! Golfers want a quick game. That is me too. I play ready golf. One practice swing and not tortuous set ups for a shot. No practice putt swings either. It could be my Scottish heritage but I play Scotch golf. If there is any “management pressure” on a Marshall it is keep the round at 4:20. That’s a Marshall’s job and you have to be polite. No arguing just gentle persuasion.
  • A sense of humour is sometimes worth its weight in gold! A little trick I use is to give golf balls my Marshall blessing. It gets a good chuckle and even requests to bless sleeves of golf balls. I feel a bit like the Pope. And giving out candies on Halloween paid for out of my own budget.
  • Unlike Rodney Dangerfield I get respect. Respect is a two-way street. You have to earn it as a Marshall and the best way is find the laggards and get them sped up and go back to golfers behind them and letting them know you have asked for a “speed up”. They appreciate that and respect you because this shows you care about them. I suppose you can call this good service.
  • I am not the traditional grumpy old man Marshall. In all my years of playing golf my view of the Marshalls are that they are grumpy old men hiding behind the bushes and never engaging in conversation. They remind me of spies. If your only interaction with a Marshall is to be told to speed up what relationship can you have with the invisible man.
  • The compensation is miserable. At least I am getting paid half in cash and half in golf. Sneaky accounting indeed. However many Marshalls volunteer in exchange for free golf. However we all know very few things are free. Time for unionization.

Well I suppose its time to hibernate, Well not exactly as “Golf Cart Buddha” is coming your way focusing on mindfulness in golf as I am certified in mindfulness by the University of Leiden and the University of Toronto. We will offer mindfulness training, yoga and meditation on course. Golf Marshall training and etiquette courses will be available. International and corporate sessions can be available. Food and beverage consulting as well. Franchise opportunities will be available.

Health Canada authorizes the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine as a booster shot

From: Health Canada

Statement

November 9, 2021 | Ottawa, ON | Health Canada

Health Canada has authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine as a booster shot.

A COVID-19 booster shot is an extra dose of the vaccine given after completion of the primary vaccine series. The booster shot is designed to help people maintain their protection against COVID-19 over time.

Health Canada received Pfizer’s submission to approve a booster on October 1, 2021. After a thorough, independent review of the evidence, Health Canada has determined that the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine booster shot meets the Department’s stringent safety, efficacy and quality requirements.

The booster is authorized for adults 18 years of age and older, to be used at least six months after an individual has completed their primary vaccine series. The Comirnaty COVID-19 booster is a full dose of the regular vaccine (30 mcg).

Evidence continues to show that being fully vaccinated provides strong protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19, including against the Delta variants.

People in Canada should consult their local public health guidance, informed by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, for details on which individuals or groups of people are recommended to receive a booster dose at this time.

For information on authorized vaccines and treatments in Canada, visit the COVID-19 vaccines and treatments portal.

RKS Wine: Portugal’s Quinta da Rede: “The Douro Got Talent”

Can we expect yet another solid red wine from Portugal’s Douro Valley? Based on their track record with me over the years I am nodding my head up and down.

We try a Quinta da Rede 2017 Reserva. The nose shouts out “full bodied”! Rich black cherry, blackberry, blueberry at times touched with a floral tinge. If a proper descriptive term to describe an aroma is “creamy” I will say that this fits the bill.

On the palate there are creeping tannins that aren’t instantaneously noticeable. Great purity of black fruit with a moderately long finish. On the upper end of elegance whereas it could very well have been brutish. To paraphrase an awful American television show we should say the “Douro Has Got Talent” except there are only highly polished professionals participating in this wine show!

Give me this wine with a traditional Douro Duck Casserole or just about any duck like “Duck in a Can” from Montreal’s “Au Pied de Cochon”. Although I eat very little meat I may have this with a rare Prime Rib and Yorkshire Pudding on New Year’s Day.

While the wine is drinking beautifully now I can see it becoming more elegant in 3 years. A blend of indigenous Tinta Roriz, Tinta Franca and Touriga Nacional. The wine has been skillfully aged in French oak for 8 months.

(Quinta da Rede 2017 Reserva, Douro DOC, Quinta da Rede, Santa Cristina, Portugal, $18.95, 750 mL, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 431742, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 92/100).

“Mutantism on the March” Chapter 111 Is a Zorollian-Zortixian Friendship Possible?

A Zortixian spacecraft landed on Mount Royal that evening to take passengers back to Zortixia. Switchboards lit up at police stations throughout the island of Montreal reporting sightings of a UFO over the city! Squid had asked 10 earthling mutants to join him as a guest on the voyage but only two accepted. The first earthlings to visit another planet where there was a civilization opposed to rocks and an uninhabitable atmosphere. Montenez was staying behind for this trip and he gave Squid a warm embrace and suggested they make the next visit back to Zortixia together. Bertie Foonbean was there as well to say good-bye. Foonbean had just been released from jail after having embarked on a Canada wide tour advocating for the abolishment of psychiatric institutions except those for the most dangerous offenders. He had been picked up in Wa Wa, Ontario by the RCMP on a trumped-up charge of jay walking.

The Zortixian captain was anxious to get going as sensors had detected a large crowd of humans running up towards the mountain and the last thing the city wanted after the attack of the mutant killer ants was a confirmed UFO sighting!

The voyage from Earth to Zortixia took some twenty Earth hours and the two mutant earth observers aboard were given mild sedatives to calm them down for what they were about to see. One of them moaned “Shit….I’ve never even been in a plane before!”

Thousands of Zortixians were cheering as the craft docked in a landing station. A feverish excitement swept the crowd waiting to see the mutant Earthlings. When Squid emerged from the spacecraft the silence of the crowd was deafening. He waved and shouted, “Ami Tsech Curvi” the standard Zortixian greeting sending the crowd into orgasmic delight. A more restrained applause greeted the Earthlings. Garth Reseudo and Ergot stayed onboard the ship as they were travelling incognito lest they arouse suspicion of Zorollian spies who were no doubt on Zortixia.

The visitors were whisked to a State Hostel for a good sleep after their voyage and the next day there was a massive banquet in their honour. Eno had blown his cover after too many drinks of rum and marijuana after discovering them in his pirate and smuggling days on Earth. The Zortixians loved the rum and the weed and several prominent businessmen were already thinking about building a rum distillery and planting cannabis plantations.

Rumours began swirling about that Eno Ergot was on Zortixia to launch a mission to topple his despot uncle Redbeard. Zortixians has suffered under Oppositism for many years and they sympathized with Zorollians currently suffering under its oppressive yoke. The Zortixians had already executed one Jiber and they hoped Eno would do the same to Redbeard.

Eno was persuaded to take to the podium and say a few words, “There have been too many victims of Oppositism on both Zorollia and Zortixia. Zorollia must be liberated from the yoke of Oppositism eternally. The Zorollian status quo must be toppled by the Zorollian people and there is nothing that the tyrant Redbeard can do to stop it. Let Zorollians implement a government based on justice truth and equality.” After a round of hearty applause Eno lit up a cigarette (a bad habit he had developed on Earth) and continued, “I am positive there are Zorollian intelligence officers in our midst working for my evil uncle Redbeard and urge them to warn Redbeard that his time has come. Look to my left and you will see Garth Reseudo, an early protestor of the Redbeard regime, who was exiled to Earth for his beliefs. He will join me in my fight in a non-violent capacity. Both Squid and Reseudo have tirelessly carried on a struggle on Earth for dignity and civility. When we vanquish Redbeard I would be pleased to welcome Squid as an ambassador to Zorollia. We must thank Squid for the wonderful corruption smelling and battles against despotic rulers on Earth. My friends a toast to Zorollian-Zortixian friendship.

Poetry Corner :Big Bird A Member of Hitler Youth?

Yes a cute and a seemingly innocent and loveable character Big Bird
seemed to choke on his impartial turd
by saying to little children on November 6th in a Twitter Tweet get vaccinated and be safe
on my ass his comments chafe
he will soon be forming a Hitler Youth to be called “Vaccination Safe”
turn in your parents, friends and anyone at all that is not buying in to vaccination safety that
according to statistics is less than safe and effective
except for the sacred profits of Big Pharma and their media and political backers
really for profit hackers
brainwashing children to get the jab
you political-medico opportunistic scum
beat the drum of the politico-medico elite

Boom boom boom
you don’t say what we order
you are destined to deathly doom
an untested vaccine
a profit making no liability Big Pharma Dream
welcome to the brainwashed team
if not all the masses agree with your profit ridden dream
you’ll threaten us with a death statistic paper ream

RKS Wines: Ventoux Wines: Pesquié

If you hear the name Rhône you might be braced for sticker shock thinking of Châteauneuf de Pape or Gigondas. But Ventoux is not about ready just now to empty your wallet and again if you know the producers you can walk away with a smile on your face from both the price and the quality. One very respected producer is the Chaudiére brothers with their Pesquié label. By comparison just because you see or hear about a Bordeaux wine there are humdinger expensive wines but search within Bordeaux, you’ll find many regions long known for their quality and reasonable prices such as Côtes de Blaye. But isn’t searching part of the fun unless you are the consumer who just wants the same steady Eddy. I know a couple of friends that continually drink the same wines which are very poor representations of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio. But if ignorance is bliss and I am just a nut that looks for Romanian, Hungarian, Israeli, Brazilian and Bulgarian wines!

Although summers can be hot the cool winds flowing down Mt. Ventoux in the evening keep the grapes cool and fresh.

Wine critic Robert Parker has given the 2019 Pesquié Edition 1912M a 90 rating and knowing his preferred style for favouring richer wines and that the predominant grape is Grenache in the blend I don’t expect it will be pussyfooting around your palate. Grenache always reminds me of very ripe strawberries, almost overripe! You might want to say it is just about the direct opposite of Pinot Noir.

Sorry for the blah blah blah.

On the nose there is a lightness I was not expecting with Grenache and I am attributing that to the cool winds flowing down Mt. Ventoux. While there is some strawberry there is a heavy raspberry streak, cherry cola and blackberry. It was very difficult to single out distinct influencers on the nose as they are tightly intertwined into a delightfully complex bouquet. I could wimp out by saying “a complex combination and black and red fruits” but that might confuse you more than I may have already confused you.

Some mild and broad tannins but a delightfully complex palate makes describing this wine like jumping over the Berlin Wall from the DDR to the GDR! But at the risk of an East German bullet in my back I’ll start by saying the palate is a beautiful mixture of fruit designed by the Chaudiére brothers to thwart a Canadian wine writer deprived of European travel and wine media trips for two years. His palate moans for drinking European wine and eating food IN EUROPE PLEASE! As I rant get me out of this COVID prison quick. Now getting back to the palate lots of black cherry, blueberry pie with a crosscurrent of black licorice and root beer. The finish is moderate with a bit of spice and heat. With 15% alcohol content to beat US tariff restrictions on French wine no wonder there is a bit of heat. A classic Trumpian era French wine!

Now as for food after not being in France for 3 years and eating almost exclusively Vietnamese food when I was last there except when staying at my friend’s Parisian condo where I ate far too much dirt-cheap French cheese, rillette, paté, tomatoes and baguettes which would suit this wine perfectly of course with a great Parisian jazz radio station.

To conclude this wine is no heavy hitter. It is an elusive mid-weight like Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. Tight, muscular and determined not to lose.

As for ageing Parker suggests 10 years I will beg to differ and say the wine is so well integrated right now it might improve in the bottle for a couple of years but I say drink up to 2025. Looking for a Christmas party wine if the COVID police are permitting it this might do the trick if you have munchies going of course with French cheeses, paté and that Parisian jazz station of which I have forgotten the co-ordinates for. Switzerland has a few great jazz stations so happy internet searching.

(Edition 1912M 2018, Appellation Ventoux Protégée, Famille Chaudiére, Momorion, France, $17.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 636159, 750 mL, 15%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 92/100).

Big Bird’s Tweet; Unethical and Manipulative?

“I got the COVID-19 vaccine today! My wing is feeling a little sore, but it’ll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy. Ms. @EricaRHill even said I’ve been getting vaccines since I was a little bird. I had no idea!”9:09 am · 6 Nov 2021·Twitter Web App44.7K Retweets16.7K Quote Tweets285.1K Likes“

I am neither a pro or anti vaxxer. I believe in informed consent. Review the facts if you can find them in the waves of government propaganda disguised as public health information. Be aware if you aren’t already if you don’t roll up your sleeve you’ll be penalized in many ways unless you show your “papers” to the airlines, merchants, restaurants, hotels etc. that are being bullied into asking you for your papers all of course for the “good of public health”.

But when the propaganda is directed toward children isn’t that low, crude, manipulative and overreaching? What is the next step a new “Vaccine Youth” movement that rewards children for informing on their unvaccinated parents, relatives and neighbours?

Commenting on the use of popular children’s characters to promote vaccines, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., chairman of Children’s Health Defense, on November 6th said:

“The use of trusted and beloved figures in this propaganda assault to induce children into submitting as guinea pigs to injections with an experimental high-risk zero-liability medical product with no proven benefits for kids is unconscionable and revolting.

“Big Pharma has turned Big Bird into a child predator.”

CNN and Sesame Street collaborated on a 10 part series the “ABC’s of COVID” where Big Bird, Elmo and other Sesame Street characters are “educating” children on COVID.

(Photo Lawrence Jackson Official White House Photo)

“My Life As A Golf Marshall” : Some Final Reflections Before Closure of the Season

This Sunday I will have my last shift as a Marshall. The course will close at 4:45 and I will help round up the power carts, park them in a locked facility and then perhaps take a last look at the darkened golf course I have spent seven months of my life at and breathe a sigh of relief this punishing schedule of golf and Marshalling has come to an end. But I know there will be some reminiscing and reflection about being a golf Marshall and playing 40 rounds of golf. There will no doubt be a bit of sadness too that an interesting part of my life I never ever expected to have will conclude. So what are my final reflections?

  • The Ratio of Good People to Dickheads

When I was trained for 15 minutes as opposed to 4 hours due to a frost delay my veteran trainer Marshall said 90% of the golfers here are great people and 10% are dickheads. I would revise to say that if you are looking for a simplified black and white picture 98% are good people and 2% are dickheads.

  • The Hesitant Golfer

More than dickheads the slow golfer irritates me to no end. These are the golfers that overestimate their abilities stupidly. Beginners playing from the expert tees when regardless of sex they should be playing from the ladies’ tees. Then there are those that perform a time-consuming ritual of setting up and taking far too many practice swings. This delays the flow. Pardon my foul language but to these golfers I would like to say ( but do not), “Hit the fucking ball you selfish and ignorant bastards.” Mandatory golf etiquette courses should be implemented in Canada.

  • People Skills

There is the expression that you get more things done than being sweeter than honey. I have realized that I must set aside my personal thoughts and treat golfers as “patrons” and customers deserving of as much respect as I can give them. So it has been pretty please which is often ignored or not understood by many Korean golfers that seem to not understand what I am saying to them. So I’d like to tell the selfish golfers to move your ass but I have to do this in the politest fashion. As a customer I’d expect nothing less. A golf Marshall is in customer service.

  • Racism in Golf?

Who are the golfers? 70% Caucasian, 25% Koreans and the rest “others”. At my course the course is managed by a Korean owned management company. The staff are about 90% retired Caucasians who are not working for the scant money but golfing privileges particularly in COVID times where there is no place to travel to and few bookings are available to the public. One could argue up the percentage of staff so there is a better racial balance but the best Marshalls are those who know the course inch by inch and the fact is that golf is really a white man’s sport. I am not trying to defend anyone here but simply make a point to reflect reality. Yes I know black lives matter but blacks playing golf at my course are less than 1% of golfers. How can you implement global inclusion and diversity amongst golf course employees without a solid base of experienced golfers that reflect racial diversity? To do so is empty philandering to the phrases of the day. Corporate Canada plays this game so well.

And yes I know there is reverse racism being told in violent terms by a group of black golfers to stick my head up my fucking white ass when I so politely asked them could they please pick up their pace as they were two holes behind in timing. And I have been in a foursome where a Korean couple exploded against a black guy I played with in what I can only call a racist attack. Golf is but an extension of “real life”.

  • The Golf Marshall at the Low-End of the Power Structure

Who has the best overall view of what is going on at the golf course? Is it the Pro-Shop people who sit in the clubhouse having no idea what is going on or the Marshall in the thick of the action? The Marshall responds to reality and the Pro-Shop to complaints and these complaints are their selfish priorities. If a golf course was a plantation the Pro-Shop employees are house slaves and Marshalls field slaves. There is no democracy in golf.

  • Keeping People Informed

Aggravated golfers are the Marshall’s worst enemy. It is usually those ahead of us that are slowing the game they say but it is often 6 to 7 holes ahead that the culprits can be tracked down. Then you ask these culprits to speed up and circle back and inform the delayed golfers you have asked the laggards to speed up and most will look at you in the eye and sincerely thank you. Basic customer service.

  • The Ultimate Flattery

Having played the course for 35 years and playing 40 or so rounds this year I know, or I think I know, each inch and angle so when I am asked for advice how to play a hole I really get engaged and briefly and concisely explain the conservative strategy and the aggressive strategy and when each may be appropriate. I know this course better than a radical white wing preacher in Aylmer, Ontario knows his Bible!

  • Comedy and Lightheartedness

I have been told by “management” my communication skills and humour have been appreciated by golfers. After a year there are some 100 golfers that address me by my first name! Who are these people?

Could it be that those hang dog faces I have tried to cure with a few mindfulness trained phrases I have picked up in being certified in mindfulness in Europe and Canada have worked. I bless a few golf balls as a Marshall and receive heartfelt thanks about improving a golf game and then like the Pope I am blessing cases of golf balls. At times Marshalling can be a riot. I bless tees and give out golf balls to create huge goodwill. It helps to ask friends to speed up as opposed to hostile adversaries.

  • Golf is Love

If only all the world played golf we could unite and bypass starvation, hatred, racism and war. We ae a golfing world. Stupid naïve me.

  • The Ultimate Lesson

Not to belittle golf but I love it and its foibles and wrinkles. If I can make a difference by making the 18 holes a pleasant experience, I will do all I can. So please treat a Marshall with respect as he or she is under the guillotine of pace management. A cruel but necessary god.

RKS Films: Canadian 2021 European Union Film Festival: “Inventory”: Kafka Meets Hitchcock

The Slovenian film “Inventory” invokes memories of Hitchcock and Kafka. It is an interesting mix of dark comedy, a thriller and a man in the dark about who his enemies might be until it drives him just about mad.

Boris Robič is man just past middle age who is a technical assistant at a business college. He is an unassuming man. One night after dinner in his study two shots pierce his window. Boris is not injured. The police are called and an investigation begins. Boris responds to police questioning that he has no known enemies. The police encourage him to create an inventory of all his relationships so they can try and identify suspects. Boris obliges the police who review all his relationships and conclude there are no suspects or witnesses hence the investigation will be closed. But it is not closed in the mind of Boris who starts his own investigation and finds his best friend dislikes him for stealing his girl and marrying her but only enough to spit in his beer and not kill him!

It is like Josef K. in Franz Kafka’s “The Trial” who is put on trial for crimes he does even know what they are. There may be a killer out for Boris but it is beginning to drive him mad as he can’t figure out who that assassin may be! The tension mounts and Boris seems to be heading for a mental smash up. He starts to think his wife is poisoning his food so she can be a benefactor under his life insurance policy.

His colleagues and superiors at the business college urge him to take some time off for his own good but this seems more of a tactic to distance themselves from Boris and his perceived nefarious dealings than concern for his well being. One gets the feeling that Boris is like Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock’s 1954 “Rear Window” suspecting but not being able to prove that the person in his binocular’s sight is a killer. A feeling of hopelessness and the thrill awaiting the viewer of justice being done.

Then like magic the police appear to have cracked the case and discovered the assailant. Boris returns to his old self. Well the ballistics don’t match. Boris is back in the rabbit hole.

Boris played by Rados Bolcina is an everyday type of guy suddenly caught in a potentially terrible crime that at first puzzles him but then drives into unhealthy obsession very much like Jimmy Stewart in “Rear Window” but is not delivered the satisfaction of seeing the apprehension of a criminal.

“Inventory” is part of the 2021 Canadian European Union Film Festival and can be seen virtually on November 12 and 13.

The 106-minute film is written and directed by Darko Sinko. In Slovenian with English subtitles. For more information you can see the Festival’s website at https://www.cfi-icf.ca/euff

You can see the tailer here https://deadline.com/video/inventory-trailer-slovenia-comedy-thriller-san-sebastian/

RKS Wine: California Cabernet Sauvignon: Is This the Real Thing?

One might look at a bottle of California Cabernet Sauvignon and see the winery is located in Sonoma or Napa home to some high-end Cabernet Sauvignon. But look at the label closely and it may not refer to a specific American Viticultural Area (AVA) in California but state “California Cabernet Sauvignon” which means by law 100% of the grapes must be from California so in fact although the winery is located in Napa or Sonoma none of the grapes could be from those AVA’s. A similar note could be made for wines produced in Prince Edward County in Ontario. The label may state VQA Ontario but not VQA Prince Edward County. So the consumer may think the grapes are from Prince Edward County but in fact the grapes may have been trucked in from Niagara.

In this case we try a Mina Mesa Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles. This means at least 85% of the grapes made to produce the wine are from the Paso Robles AVA. So purchase an AVA designated wine and you are drinking at least 85% of grapes from that AVA.

How about this Mina Mesa 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles?

On the nose fresh picked blueberries, blueberry pie, black cherry, cassis and fresh sage leaves. On the palate some freshly baked blueberry pie predominates, pomegranate with a full mouth feel and gentle tannins. It has a gentle lingering finish with a tiny bit of brine to it. For $16.95 can we say a truly authentic Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles.

The wine drinks well on its own but I think it has a calling for grilled beef with Portobello Mushrooms marinated in soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame seed oil. Best consumed by the end of 2022.

(Mina Mesa Paso Robles 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, Mina Mesa Wines, Greenfield, California, $16.95, 750 mL, 13.5% Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 17808, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 90/100).