Question re Gironde/Garonne

[JimHow]

Naive question for Alex or anyone who can clarify for me.

I'm doing some final fact checking for my novel and in one scene I have the protagonist drinking a 1986 Gruaud Larose from, I write, "the left bank of the River Gironde in the Medoc region of Bordeaux."

Is that an accurate statement? Also at what point do Gironde and Garonne meet?

Thanks in advance.

[JimHow]

Also, for anyone who knows anything about Argentina:
My book has two characters in it from Buenos Aires.
The first one, who is 25 years old, I have named Miguel Oliveros.
The other one, who is in his fifties and is a member of the Argentine consulate in New York, is named Jose Santiago Melendez.
These are Spanish names that I just came up with off the top of my head.
Does anyone see anything in these names that would make it less credible that they might come from Argentina?
Is "Miguel" a name that a 25 year old might be given, or should I come up with a "younger" Spanish name?
If so, what might be some younger Spanish names?
The book is set in 2001-2002, the year following the terrorist attacks, if that has any relevance in the decision.
Thanks.

[Houndsong]

Argentina? For authenticity you might try something Germanic sounding. Jose Offerman maybe. But seriously/seriously ...

I'm drinking an interesting Bdx right now, but I won't post the TN until March.

[greatbxfreak]

Jim,

Here you are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gironde_Estuary

[AlexR]

Hi Jim,

The Dordogne is a river that rises in the Massif Central.
The Garonne is a river that rises in Spain.

The Dordogne flows westward, and the Garonne flows northward, and they meet at a the tip of a tongue of land called the Bec d'Ambes.
This is located just north of Macau on the left bank and just north of Bourg on the right bank.

From this point on, i.e., from the Bec d'Ambès to the ocean, there is no more Dordogne River or Garonne river, but the comingled Gironde estuary.
While it is common to hear the Gironde called "the river" (especially in the old expression that in the Médoc the best wines "overlook the river", this is incorrect).

So, to answer your question, St. Julien is on the Gironde, not the Garonne.

All the best,
Alex (10 minute walk from the muddy Garonne).

[JimHow]

Ok thanks Alex, that clears it up for me.

Likewise, Hound, that was what I was wondering about. The two characters are based on two actual people from Argentina. The 25 year old's last name in real life was Soriano, I can't remember the consulate's last name.

[JimHow]

One of the characters in my book is a migrant Mexican woman who at one point was doing day labor in Salinas, California.
I don't know much about Salinas but from google it appears to be 64% Hispanic, and is an agricultural region, the Salad Bowl of the U.S., etc....
So I'm assuming there is no obvious mistake in having a Mexican migrant day laborer who once lived for a while in Salinas....

[alchemeus]

Lawyer, Politician, web forum administrator, now author?

Will it ever cease?

HUZZAH!

Keep on truckin'...

[JimHow]

Man, I'm telling you Alch, life is so short and there's so much to do!

My latest client, a 20 year old kid who knocked over 100 gravestones in a cemetary with a couple of his friends in a drunken spree....
The public went crazy. Of course, there were a half dozen rape cases on the docket that barely garnered attention....

The world is going crazy, I'm telling you.

I'm seeing the faces of poverty and crime and misery every day, I want to write the great American novel about life in poverty in this latest gilded age....

[alchemeus]

Man, I'm telling you Alch, life is so short and there's so much to do!

My latest client, a 20 year old kid who knocked over 100 gravestones in a cemetary with a couple of his friends....
The public went crazy. Of course, there were a half dozen rape cases on the docket that barely garnered attention....

The world is going crazy, I'm telling you.

I'm seeing the faces of poverty and crime and misery every day, I want to write the great American novel about life in poverty in this latest gilded age....

Well, honestly, can't understand idiots knocking over gravestones. No matter what one thinks of respect for the Dead, it's stupid. However, how that can override rape boggles my mind. Knocking over gravestones shows low IQ, rape shows evil. Evil more important than stupidity.

[JimHow]

Yes, it was really stupid. But knocked over gravestones makes for a great visual in the newspaper. This kid got two days in jail, and it was all over the TV news. Other guys on the current criminal docket get years in jail and nobody knows about it....

[alchemeus]

Yes, it was really stupid. But knocked over gravestones makes for a great visual in the newspaper.

Ergo the American Experience. Sad.

No wonder we as the USA are not as respected around the world as we once were. We are now seen as idiots.

[AlexR]

Alchemeus,

That sounds very much like theme to explore - and debate - over a good bottle of wine or two...

I am taking a break from making a risotto and have just looked at my wine cellar file and decided on a 2000 Ch. le Boscq, AOC Médoc (Bégaden).

All the best,
Alex

[jal]

You want names? Use soccer or basketball players names. Javier Ginobili. Manu Maradona. Sounds like Argentine comic book heroes.

[JimHow]

Oh I like those names. It looks like an interesting population of different nationalities. Spanish the largest, but also Italian and German. I really need to visit Buenos Aires.