MATHIS

I was honored last week to represent the United States at the Pétanque World Championships, held in Ghent, Belgium. For those unfamiliar with the game, I can often be found playing on the Sonoma Pétanque courts when not tending the Mathis Vineyard and making wine. There were at least 48 countries represented this year at the championships. (See photos at bottom.)

The image above links to the Flanders, Belgium TV News video about the games. You can see footage of me playing in the games and an interview with me begins at 1 minute into the 2 minute tape.

What does Pétanque have to do with Mathis Wine? Not a darn thing! Except that like many sports games, it often involves a bit of imbibing, sometimes after the game, and for fans, sometimes during the game! You might as well be drinking something delicious. Hence, might I suggest some Mathis Überblend or Barbera (my current special offer)? Both represent some of the finest winemaking I've ever done. Enjoy!

One of the most exciting aspects of the games (which we didn't win, by the way) was meeting so many wonderful players from around the globe. Below, you can see us beginning to get a bit silly and a couple of nice shots taken by someone of me playing. Cheers!

For those wondering about the "Paul" on my team shirt: my good friend, Paul Yang, was unable to attend the games. I was honored that he asked me to take his place representing the U.S.