History and Culture in a Glass

Russ Bissett was born in the windy city of Chicago, spent most of his youth under the rain clouds of Tacoma near Seattle, and now enjoys the almost permanent sunshine of Valencia, where he is engaged in a major operation to educate the city’s many foreign visitors in the intricacies of one of Spain’s best kept secrets; that Valencian wines are just as good as the better marketed Rioja ones.

Like the Village People, Russ spent four years in the Navy, without once leaving the shores of the USA, not even for a paddle, after which he transferred to the US Coast Guard where, ironically he travelled abroad extensively.

Russ defended the US coast all over the Caribbean, and among his many duties was at one time responsible for the highly dangerous and extremely complex task of counting the number of goats on uninhabited islands. Despite this experience he has never yearned to become a consultant.

Another rewarding experience for him was visiting each and every one of the Aleutian Islands, a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming part of the Aleutian Arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean, to the west of Alaska. There he shared one of the greatest and most embarrassing secrets of American history; that part of American was actually occupied by the Japanese during the conflict. Not only did the Japanese occupy some of the islands, they actually built submarine bases there, and probably evacuated in a rush, as when Russ visited it was like a ghost town, with crockery and cutlery set at the tables waiting for diners.

After sixteen years weighing anchors, Russ retired and started travelling around Europe, taking in Italy and France before discovering what everyone else already knew; that Spain is the best country in Europe.

In 1997 he finally found a nice place to spend a couple of years learning Spanish, and has lived in Valencia ever since.

Like most people in search of perfection he eventually found a delightful Valencian girl and now lives with his wife Marie Luz and son Alexander in a village just north of the city.

He tried various jobs, working in a print shop and in catering, before trying his hand as a chauffer for luxury cars. One of the jobs involved taking tourists on trips to Valencian vineyards, and after three years he decided that he could do that himself, and so he set up his own company ‘Valencia Wine Country’.

With his passion for history and his effusive charm Russ was able to offer tourists from the USA, Norway, Finland, China, Germany, Russia, Hungary and Rumania complete day tours of Valencian vineyards, including fascinating historical information about the area where the Romans were planting vines as long ago as 500 BC. He was even able to return some misplaced Aleutian cutlery to Japanese visitors (no hard feelings), and recite an aria of information for the Director of the Korean National Opera.

The trips are from Wednesdays to Sundays and in his eight seated people carrier Russ takes his clients to the wine growing area of Requena-Utiel to visit some of the over 100 small-scale family wineries, where generation after generation of Valencians have tenderly tended the vines and affectionately squashed the grapes in an area which boasts the Bobal grape, one that mixes well with other varietals to give a surprising variety of original flavours.

Even that sombre monk Martin Luther once said “beer is made by men, wine by God”, and on his trips Russ looks after each detail, transporting his lambs to the closest thing to Heaven.

The trips include an impressive meal in an exceptional restaurant in a tiny village with amazing gastronomy; so special in fact that he has forbidden me to print the name in case coach loads of tourists spoil its originality, although for a small bribe I could be persuaded to whisper it in the small print.

During 2009 Russ organised 25 trips, each one of which included visits to at least four different vineyards, as well as an immersion in the famous caves, carved into the rocks of the medieval Requena by the Moors in the 8^th century. Another stop is the old silk museum to learn about the history of Valencian silk making, although Russ is always flexible enough to limit his offer to the preferences of his clients.

All in all Russ’s service is unique and highly personalised, a welcome change from the impersonal tours of monumental souvenir shops and cultural cafeterias that so many historical cities offer these days.

Further information can be found at: www.valenciawinecountry.com