Dr. G Travels: Santiago

Thank goodness my flight to Santiago, Chile was for all purposes straight down south with no time difference. This time around, I got to sleep! This frequent flyer has no problem sleeping, especially after flying from the other side of the world the same day!

So you may be wondering why I travelled to Mendoza, Argentina?  Well, I just recently became the proud owner, with three other “strategic” partners, in a planted vineyard of 1.3 Hectares of Chardonnay and 2.6 Hectares of Malbec. Our vineyard is located smack dab in the middle of a multitude of well-known Mendoza vineyards, in the valley of Lujan de Cujo, in the town of Perdriel. The soil is so rich and so fertile that if you throw a watermelon seed into the vineyard, I’d bet my bottom dollar we would have watermelons within a very short time.

 Our vineyard is called Vinedo Los Flaneurs and our Malbec will be called El Flaneurs, while our sparkling will be called Elisabeth, with an "S". It was a timely visit as our Chardonnay now a Champenois was maturing beautifully in a contracted out Champanera into an amazing sparkling wine! We had a tasting of our sparkling and even without adding the necessary sugar, it tasted amazing! After it has matured for six months in the bottle the borras sediment will be removed and we will end up with over 3000 bottles, which should yield around 350 cases. Sparking anyone?

 My flight to Buenos Aires from Mendoza was anything but uneventful. On approach to the runway, about 30 feet from the ground, wheels up and the terminal a short distance away, the engines roared to life and the plane took off at what appeared to be a 90-degree angle straight up. The passengers along with myself started to panic. Countless scenarios ran through my head as we gained altitude back to 32,000 feet. After about 20 minutes, the captain came on over the PA system and explained in Spanish what had occurred. Have you ever had your life flash in front of your eyes?  Well mine did! However, we arrived safe, a little shook up, but safe.

I attended the COSAE Endodontic Conference, which hosts endodontists from all over Latin America and provides an opportunity for exceptional networking and learning from the most intelligent minds in our profession.

My half-day, fast paced presentation went smoothly and the ballroom filled with over 600 docs from around all over Latin America, resonated with appreciation for what I had to offer them with the latest and greatest in technique and technology. The next day, I gave a hands on workshop and then participated in a debate with three other world renowned endodontists on the merits of the technique that we each advocate.

All in all, the COSAE Endodontic conference was very successful and I look forward to returning to this world-class city real soon. Thanks to Steve Jones, VP of Sales and Marketing for SybronEndo and one of my strategic partners in the Vineyard.

Back up at 32,000 feet and heading back home. Ill arrive in Toronto at 5:30 am in the morning, just enough time to go home, unpack, throw a load of laundry in the machine then go pick up my son Cory and take him to London, Ontario to help him get settled in for his four years at the University of Western, Ontario where he got accepted into the Ivey Business School.