Honoring Military Service for Veteran's Day

At Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville, Front End Manager Rick May served in the US Navy for many years. His military memorabilia is currently on display near the Customer Service desk. Rick wrote the balance of this post.

The military memorabilia on display dates from World War II up thru 1995.

William H. Buck, wife's Grandfather, served in and retired from the New Jersey National Guard in 1966. The items that are on display here are from the collection that he passed down to my wife. They include items such as Food Ration Books that were used during WWII, and his pay slip from November 6, 1960 for a 16-day Summer Camp, which shows that as a E-5 with 18 years of service he received a whopping $136.00.

Other items include an invitation to a Welcome Home Party dated May 4, 1946, a copy of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin newspaper that was dedicated to pictures and news clips from WWII, a book titled “The State Defense Force Manual” and several other items from that era.

Paul J. Cox Sr. was my Father-In-Law. He served in the Army from 1950 to 1953 and was stationed in Korea as a Communications Technician. The poster board was done by my wife and sons to honor Dad’s service at his viewing earlier this year. 

There are pictures of Dad over in Korea and the medals that he was awarded. In addition, there is a Letter of Appreciation and medal awarded to him from the South Korean Government for his service during the Korean War. There is also a clipping of a story about two childhood friends that entered the service at different times and met up in Korea. Also, there is a very touching plaque that was given to us from McGuiness Funeral Home when Dad passed last February. In the upper right corner is the crest of the United States Army and in the lower left corner is a picture of Dad in Korea and the following words that are meant for all who have served, are still serving, and will serve in the United States Military:

When American has an urgent need
These brave ones raised a hand
No hesitation held them back
They were proud to take a stand.

They left their family and friends
They gave up normal life
To serve their country and their God
They plowed into the strife.

They fought for freedom and for peace
On strange and foreign shores
Some lost new friends; some lost their lives
In long and brutal wars.

Other veterans answered a call
To support the ones who fought
Their country had requirements for
The essential skills they brought.

We salute every one of them
The noble and the brave
The ones still with us here today
And those who rest in a grave.

So here’s to our country’s heroes
They’re a cut above the rest
Let’s give them the honor that is due
To our country’s very best.

“Never was so much owed by so many to so few”

All of the remaining items are mine, Rick May, Front End Manager here at Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville.

I joined the Navy in January of 1970 and retired in January of 1995, after 25 years of military service. The items include a Shadow Box that walks you through my duty stations, the ranks that I held and the awards that I was given. There are pictures of two of the ships that I served on: the  USS Robert A. Owens, DD-827, and the USS Michael J. Estocin, FFG-15. Not pictured are the other ships that I served on: USS Forrestal, CVA-59, USS Independence, CVA-61, and USS Steinaker, DD-863. There are also some plaques and certificates that I was awarded, and for a good laugh, there is a picture of my company in Boot Camp at Naval Training Center Great Lakes, Ill. from 1970. And there is a picture of me when I returned from Boot Camp at the young age of 17.

I asked Toni, our Store Manager, if I could bring in a few items to display for Veteran's Day and what you see is her answer. I am very proud of the service of my wife’s family and my own; combined it totals about 130 years of military service.

On this Veterans Day we, the Joe Canal's family, wish to thank each and every person that has served, is serving and will serve in the days ahead. My God Bless each of you and bring you back to your waiting families loved ones safe and sound.

Rick's Excellent Adventures in Argentina - Part 4

We started the day packing and getting ready to spend the night in Mendoza. There, we would take our test and have our last meal with the fantastic folks from the Catena Winery and Vineyards. We also had to say goodbye to the wonderful staff at the family home that took such great care of us over the past three and a half days. They cooked all of our meals kept the house clean and were always there if we needed something.

We loaded into the van and were off to the Tupungato valley and the high altitude vineyards. The trip was about 2 and half hours long but the sights were unreal as you see from the pictures.


Once we arrived at the vineyard we were met by Belen Iacono, the Vineyard Manager. She explained the history of the High Altitude vineyards that were developed by Nicolas in the 1980s. The first planting was in 1989 and the first Malbec from this vineyard was in 1994, a five year period before Nicolas was satisfied with the quality.


Our first lesson was on pruning the vines and staking them out for the next year’s growth. Our task was to select a cane to act as the Loader Cane for next year. The diameter should not exceed that of a pencil. It should also have good spacing between the buds to avoid congestion. The vineyard manager will determine how many buds will be left on the cane based on the previous year’s yield. The selected cane should be as close to the trunk as possible to avoid interfering with the growth of the other vines. Once this selection process is done all of the unwanted canes are pruned away and the selected cane is laid flat against the first wire and tied down. We each did about 4 vines, and in the same amount of time it took us to do these four vines, a worker about twenty feet from us did and entire row. His job was very secure.




Soil composition is one of the most important elements of a successful vineyard. The structure of the soil must stress the vine. The staff dug a large hole in one of the rows in the vineyard to show us the soil. As you can see from the picture, it starts with rather soft sandy soil and then turns to clay and then very rocky soil. This makes the vine really fight for every drop of moisture and causes the fruit to become very hearty. This along with proper trimming makes for a yield of very healthy and juicy fruit.


We went over to another section of the Vineyard and there was a pavillion there with the two flagship single vineyard Catena Zapata wines, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. We tasted the wines and they were fantastic, rich dark fruits with well structured tannins with a finish that went on for minutes.

Of course next was lunch and boy what a lunch. We had about 9 different appetizers and then the main course. Along with the meal there were several different wines from the Catena Winery. I learned how to use a knife (didn’t have a saber around) to stroke the neck of the champagne bottle and slice the neck open.

We arrived at the hotel with enough time to shower and change then off to Francis Mallmann 1884 Restaurant in Mendoza for testing, graduation and of course dinner. The test was about 50 challenging questions ranging from dates to names to terms, but if you read the study guide and listened you would be able to pass. We all did and we received our Certificate of High Altitude Malbec Ambassadors. We then had dinner with a couple of folks from the vineyard and then back to the hotel to get ready for our flight to Buenos Aires.

Rick's Excellent Adventure in Argentina - Part 3

We are off and headed to the Catena Zapata Winery. Once we get there, Pablo Sanchez explains the root stock. He talks about the 145 different clones of Malbec that were planted, and the selection process they went through to narrow down the clones that they wanted to use. After much time, discussions and of course tastings they narrowed it down to 5 different clones.

We had a nice tour of the winery and tasted several different wines from the tanks. The taste difference between the wines at this stage and the finished product is amazing. We then went to several barrels of Chardonnay. We tasted the wine, it was very clear. We then learned how to stir or "rack" the wine with a paddle.


Once this was done, the wine became very cloudy and tasted very different. This process brings the sediment from the bottom and blends it back through the juice. Our next task was to fill barrels from the large tanks. We each had to fill a barrel and the trick is to fill it and not spill it. Well, I failed, but not too badly, only one of our team, Michelle, did not spill a drop.


Next we went into the tasting room and learned the history of how and why Malbec exploded in Mendoza, about the different vineyards and growing areas, and learned how and why Laura’s father decided to head for the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Laura talked to us about her efforts working with the government, trying to develop a map showing different appellations.

Next we learned how to blend a Malbec. At each seat was 6 glasses of wine. One of them was the final blend of the Catena Zapata Malbec, and the other five glasses contained wines from different Catena vineyards. Our job was to taste each of the five and determine the flavors in each. We then tasted the Malbec and had to determine what percentage of each was used to produce the final blend. Once completed, Laura would come over and taste your blend. Not to brag but when Laura tasted mine she said that it was delicious. She looked at my blend sheet and said that it was very close to the actual blend. They collected our blend sheet and we were off to lunch.

Another fantastic meal made ever better with Laura, Alejandro Vigil Head Winemaker for Catena and Pablo joining us. We talked and then Laura had to leave for a flight to Buenos Aires. When we went downstairs to the Hospitality Center and there on the table was 11 bottles of wine, and each had personalized label and mine said “Richard’s Blend”. While we were at lunch the winery staff took our blend sheets and produced a bottle of wine for each of us to match our sheet. Wow, I made a bottle of wine! I have yet to open it and taste but Labor Day is coming up so I may open and taste with the family and then take the rest to work to share with my co-workers.


We made it back the house. There was this wonderful little lady that was there to show us how to make Empanadas. God bless her, she was not a day under 90. We each made three and they were taken away to be cooked as part of the dinner. We all went out back to pavilion and had the chance to watch the making of our dinner of Rabbit Stew simmered in Chardonnay. Okay, here I go again, another food that I have never tried. The group would laugh at me at each meal. They called me the "Coors Light and Cheeseburger" guy. But in the end, with the help of my new friends, I did try about 95% of the food and to tell you the truth I liked just about every item I tried.

Rick's Excellent Adventure in Argentina - Part 2

We are up had a fantastic breakfast at the house and are now in the van heading for the Alma Negra Vineyards in Visit Flores. Alma Negra literally means “Dark Soul” and represents the depths of beauty in the shadows of our souls. Ernesto Catena, Laura’s brother, operates this winery. He was not able to be with us but Matias Fraga, his Export Manager and his brand new winemaker was there also. We walked the vineyard and learned about Ernesto’s passion for Biodynamic wine production.


We were told that last harvest he had llamas with baskets on their backs carrying grapes to the winery. They had a slight problem with the llamas eating half of the grapes, but that was something they would work on.


We saw a new winery on the property that is in the construction phase. We learned that there were no plans for the structure. Ernesto would come out and say we should have a door about here and we want the grapes to flow in this direction. There are only 3 guys working on the construction, no rush it will be finished sometime.


After our walk around the vineyard we came back to the reservoir and had pizza baked over open flame fire pit right next to the beef that was cooking for our lunch. Of course we had the Sparkling Shiraz to wash it down.


I did learn about the water issues here in Argentina, as you drive around the area you see troughs everywhere. These troughs carry the water that is used for the irrigation of the crops. When it is your turn a person from the water commission will come out and watch as you close the dam to this property and open it to yours. If you don’t need the water at that point you channel it to your reservoir for later use. So if you plan to move to Argentina and purchase a vineyard make sure you purchase water rights.


We then went into the winery and learned that they only did the sparkling at this facility. The still wines were across the street at the Alamos facility, owned by the Catena Family. We then tasted the Mystery M Blend, the Mystery and the Alma Negra. Wow, what fantastic wines! Of course we had the Sparkling Malbec with our lunch and snack.


We got back to the property and had a nice evening to relax and did a tasting of some wines that were not exported. They were under the El Enemico label. We had a Chardonnay, Malbec and a Cabernet, there were all excellent. The reds were big and in your face with a finish that just lingered on forever. The Chardonnay was creamy and very nice.


We finished the day with another fantastic dinner with a sneak peek of the family private wine cellar under the house. Boy, would I like to spend some time down there with a cork screw.


After that it was dessert, relaxation and some study time in the Family Room for our upcoming test.

(There really was a test that we all took on Day 4! Everyone that passed was awarded with a certificate as a Master in High Altitude Malbec Ambassador.)

Rick's Excellent Adventure in Argentina - Part 1

Day #1

I'm sitting at Philadelphia International Airport waiting for the first leg of my trip to Catena Winery in Mendoza, Argentina to start. The travel will be a little long but I am sure that the end result will be well worth it. I fly from here to Dallas, TX then to Santiago, Chile and then into Mendoza Argentina. From start to finish about 22 hours, but before I know it, I will be tasting Tilia Wines at the orientation on Sunday.

After a long, hard, boring flight I made it through my first leg of the trip. We all meet up in the airport in Santiago, Chille. We started the day with I was told is a Malbec Camp tradition, introductions at the Pesoc Sour Bar and a toast to the week ahead.

We boarded our plan for a quick flight over the Andes Mountains, it was straight up and straight down with a lot of up and down, and right and left. I now know what a ping pong ball feels like. I later learned was a form the Dunder Winds from Chile to Argentina.

We arrive at the family estate La Vendimia “Catena Zapata Family Estancia” compound & Vineyard located in the Rivadavia District of Mendoza. Laura Catena was waiting on the front porch for us. After the introductions we started the afternoon with some relaxation, I went horseback riding. My horse was very high strung so I was led around by the nose with a Gaucho holding the rains. It was still very nice because we rode around the vineyard and got the chance to see a lot of the property. After that, we had a lunch of beef and cheese. We also had a 2002 Vintage Catena Zapata Chardonnay. Wow, it was fantastic, golden in color with the flavors of the best Chablis I had even tasted.

Right after lunch a band came out and played Argentine folk music, two young couples demonstrated the traditional folk dances. Laura got out there with one of our team and then they played a song that Laura said we must all get up and dance to, well one of the very pretty young ladies came to me and I am very proud to say I didn’t step on her feet once.




Later we went out in the back yard to a pavilion and tasted the Tilia wines. We had Chardonnay, Malbec, Torrentoes, Bonarda and Malbec/Syrah. Very nice wines, easy drinking and nice to the pocket, my favorite was the Malbec/Syrah and the Torrentoes. Don’t get me wrong, all of the wines were very good and a great value.


Next,a butcher showed up with a side of beef that he hung in the pavilion and proceeded to cut. There was another guy that took the meat and covered with salt and then cooked the meat on an open fire grill. Laura and Pablo Piccolo who is in charge of exports for Catena Wines, joined us for dinner. I have to tell you, the meat was fantastic, as was the entire meal. We then shifted into the Sitting Room for dessert and espresso and talked well into the night.

That ends day one of Malbec Camp. My understanding is that in the morning we will head up to Ernesto’s Catena’s vineyard Alma Negra, where we will learn about organic an biodynamic vineyard concepts. So for now, good night and I will be back soon with my next installment!