Today was a “day off”, which mostly means I had no scheduled tours or tastings (though there is always plenty of other work to do on the computer). But then I was invited to an event at a posh hotel (which shall remain nameless) so I decided to forego a cosy evening of Netflixing at home with the cats to check it out – mostly as a chance to meet up with a couple of friends I hadn’t seen in awhile. On the way to the hotel we passed by Enrique Becerra and through the window I saw Enrique sitting at the cash desk, so I waved and blew him a kiss (and got one back).

And so when the posh hotel thing turned out to be a dud, it just made sense to go back to Enrique Becerra for a snack on the way home. And wow, I’m so glad I did.

First of all, as soon as Enrique saw me he said “I’m so glad you came back!” because he wanted to invite me to his new book launch next week – as you can see, it is all about wines from Jerez and Sanlúcar. And then he ended up signing his last copy (well, until next week) and giving it to me. It says “To Shawn, Sevillana by adoption and by vocation. With much love…” Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Then, while we were having a light snack, Reyes and Juan Carlos from Casa Morales walked in and… seriously… we’re talking family-run traditional tapas bar royalty, seeing the three of them sitting together at the bar. So I got over my usual camera-shyness to get a pic taken with them.

On the way home I thought about how lucky I am to know all of these people, and to be recognised by them as a peer, and as someone they both like and respect. Because I honestly love them all, all these wonderful people I work with, interact with, every day, who are all so passionate about what they do, and who are so generous about sharing their passion and their friendship. Lucky me!