Xmas Tutti Fruti 2020 - Third Bottle (B5), 5th February 2022

Angie & Phil had an impromptu wine, cheese and games evening so we grabbed Blockus and this bottle of Xmas Tutti Fruti and walked the 200 metres to their house. It was a wonderful, drunken evening and the first time in an age that we stayed up past midnight. I am really quite poor at Blockus - and it is a vicious game with tactics I have yet to grasp. The wine went down nicely, with Phil and Angie having the lion's share. We (Claire and I) took the opportunity to drink more real wine than was sensible.

Taken on 30th Jan - I haven't any more recent!

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2020 - Fourth Bottle (5), 23rd October 2021

It has been a quiet Saturday, though originally Chris & Kate were meant to stay for the weekend. That they have both fallen ill (not Covid, I think) is unfortunate but at least it meant that I didn't have to spend two hours tidying frantically. Instead I have shopped, played my mother at Scrabble, made a fabulous bread & butter pudding (from the remains of the Gugelhopf) and tried to watch Lego Batman, which was a fail from me. Oh, and drunk half a bottle of Prune & Parsnip, which is Perfectly Pleasant

Wiggy on 23 October

Blackberry Wine 2020 - Third Bottle (B3), 10th July 2021

This bottle would have been another exploder, but this time I caught it with the cork protruding upwards and bunged it in the fridge. Two days later, Saturday, the wine remained safely in its container so I removed the cork and we drank the lot. I don't think 'fizzy' adds to the whole red wine experience, but otherwise this was a decent bottle of wine.

The day was uneventful, save that I played BATHROOM on a triple word score in my weekly Scrabble session (98 points, thank you very much) and ordered a mini-freezer for this year's excess fruit.

Raspberries ripening in our garden 

Blackcurrant Wine 2019 - Tenth Bottle (A4), 12th June 2021

A Saturday bottle of wine. The day had been lovely. I spent most of the morning making an asparagus and emmental quiche - which was a Triumph (he said, modestly). Then Richard & Linda came round for lunch, during which the Triumph was eaten with relish. We stayed outside enjoying a British summer's day and it was great to be entertaining again. Late afternoon I played Mom at Scrabble (always a weekly highlight) and in the evening we drank blackcurrant wine (another Triumph) whilst being disappointed with Gross Pointe Blank - far duller than I remember it being in 1997.

The Triumph

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2020 - Second Bottle (2), 23rd May 2021

I am a weak man. After Saturday's excesses I thought that I would have an evening away from the booze. But then Claire said that she would quite like a bottle opening and I found myself in the cupboard under the stairs fishing out a bottle of Prune & Parsnip. Oh well.

The day had been excellent. I spent much of the morning wandering around York trying to see it as a tourist might (and there were lots of tourists there). Then it was Big Breakfast and a game of Scrabble with Mom & Claire - Proper Actual Scrabble rather than playing virtually on-line. I lost badly, but that is only slightly important. The wine was actually a fitting end to the day.

Our Scrabble Game

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2019 (C2), 15th May 2021

I am so pleased with this Tutti Fruti. I obviously did something right when making it. Though it is clearly a red, it has a lightness and a refreshing quality that one would expect from a white.

Saturday was a gentle, undemanding day, in which I got caught in a downpour and lost to my mother at Scrabble (by only 7 points!). I said at the end of April that we were desperate for rain, and there hasn't been a dry day since. One day I'll be able to mow the lawn.

We finished the day by watching Bill with the Snarkalong Film Club - a comedy from the Horrible Histories Team about Shakespeare as a young man. I had expected it to be excellent, and it was merely amusing.

The downpour in which I got caught

Rhubarb Wine 2020 - First Bottle (B4), 8 May 2021

The brown sugar I used when making this rhubarb wine has definitely had an effect. There is no hint of pink to this wine - it is instead a golden yellow. Its taste has a burnt element to it, but not in an unpleasant way. This is an unusual rhubarb wine but I think one that is rather good.

We drank it on Saturday evening after a lazy, wet day. The rain hardly stopped, but after the driest April for a generation that is a good thing. I played my mother at Scrabble, getting my highest ever score of 510 and in the evening we watched The Kid who would be King with the Snarkalong Film Club, which was entirely satisfactory. So, a gentle Saturday (which makes for a dull read - apologies!)

Taken on 8 May

If you want to see how I made this wine, click here.

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2020 - First Bottle (3), 6th February 2021

This Prune & Parsnip is entirely acceptable but not quite as good as previous years. Claire describes the taste as 'more urine-y', which I suspect is not a compliment. It is thinner, more acidic and less like sherry. Maybe future bottles will be better.

The day felt wasted, though I don't know why. I wrote a letter to Ellis, played Scrabble with Mom and stocked up with groceries at Sainsbury's. The weather didn't help: nonstop rain which was oppressive and frustrating.

The view from my car window, on our drive.

If you want to know how I made this wine, click here.

Elderberry Wine 2018 - Fifth Bottle (A4), 24th January 2021

Claire still thinks that this elderberry is a little young. I'm not certain that I agree. There is a hint of fizz, which is never that positive an attribute in red wine. 

A panorama from my walk

Sunday was a fabulous day, despite an under-par bottle of elderberry. I had a frosty 8 mile walk (bumping into Zoe), made a Victoria Sponge (I have decided that I now make cakes), played Scrabble with my mother, ate sausages, finished the bread & butter pudding, watched The Crown and had an hour's call with Paul.

Bumping into Zoe

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2019 - Ninth Bottle (B6), 16th January 2021

Saturday was one of those days where I pottered. It was much like all other Saturdays have been stretching back for months. Post Office, grocery shopping, Scrabble with my mother, bottle of wine (as prune & parsnippy as ever) and Snarkalong film (Ocean's Eight). The only different thing was that I made a serious effort with our Book Group Book: Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford. It is 824 pages long. I have reached page 144 and Nothing At All Has Happened. I am relieved that I still have nearly four weeks until Book Group.

Parade's End

Blackberry Wine 2019 - Seventh Bottle (B1), 28th December 2020

The period between Christmas and New year has an individual feel. It is one of enforced idleness - and that is far from being the same as 'boredom'. The days stretch out and are filled with gentle activities. As with the two previous days, I spent my time on jigsaws (two), a gingerbread house and a moderate walk (one of each). Also, this bottle of wine, which was earthy in its brambleness, drunk to a fabulous duck cassoulet and and episode of The Queen's Gambit, which is a very 'Now' thing to watch. Who'd have thought that a drama about chess would be quite so engrossing?

The Gingerbread House (plus scaffolding)

Elderberry Wine 2018 - Fourth Bottle (B5), 1st November 2020

What a fabulous bottle of wine! This elderberry is smooth as velvet and dark as midnight. We drank it to a venison sausage casserole towards the end of a proper Sunday. I listened to Broadcasting House in the bath, had a long yet local walk, played Scrabble with my mother (she won) and did a modicum of bassoon practice. Then in the evening we ate and drank well, ending the night in front of the fire watching Line of Duty. This is definitely how Sundays should be spent.

A tree with a heart, encountered on my walk

Elderflower, Mint & Rhubarb Wine 2019 - Second Bottle (2), 26th September 2020

Saturday had the feel of 'Every Saturday' about it: rising later than a weekday, morning trip to the post office to send out the week's documents, afternoon shop followed by Scrabble with Mom. Nice meal in the evening, and then the Snarkalong Film Club: Heathers this week, which I did not much enjoy. Making the day slightly different was installing our new garden bench and christening it with coffee and cake. Also, drinking this bottle of wine (one of my rarer flavours), which I think is splendid but which Claire thinks has a touch of mouthwash.

Christening the bench with coffee and cake

Rose Petal Wine 2017 - Fifth Bottle (A1), 19th September 2020

It has been many years since I last worked on a Saturday. I don't think that I have done so since I joined Stonebridge Homes in 2012. That is until today. Strangely, I didn't hate the experience or feel hard done-by. This suggests that I enjoy my job and am loyal to my employer, and both these things are true.

Otherwise, I played Mom at Scrabble (only winning because I got all the letters out with UNDERAGE) and we watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, which took me straight back to living in Arizona in 1989. Plus we drank this bottle, which was hovering around 'Quite Good'.

Taken on 19 September

Apple Wine 2018 - Fourth Bottle (3), 5th September 2020

Saturday was one of those days where I could have achieved far more than I actually did. But what I did do was lose spectacularly at Scrabble to my mother (418 to 282) and make a yoghurt & raspberry cake. We have been collecting large pots of plain yoghurt - three at last count - and Something Needed To Be Done.

The cake before it went into the oven.

In the evening we drank cold and delicious Apple Wine to hot and delicious Fish Cakes, and watched The Lost Boys with the Snarkalong Film Club: a ridiculous film with too much going on in terms of genre. Not one that I will bother watching again.

The cake after it came out.

Blackberry Wine 2019 - Second Bottle (B1), 23rd-24th August 2020

Blackberry Wine felt like the appropriate bottle for Sunday. We had returned from York with 10 lbs of blackberries between us and I was in the process of turning them into wine. It had been a lovely day; as well as spending time foraging for blackberries, we ate Big Breakfast with my parents and Simon Weeds sat outside in the garden and then Claire won at Scrabble.

The wine was a solid red with an earthy taste. We saved half the bottle for Monday night where, unusually, we watched nothing on telly but had an early night instead.

Taken on 24th August - one of my regular walks

Elderberry Wine 2017 - Eighth Bottle (B5), 2nd July 2020

Delia Smith's moussaka recipe requires half a glass of red wine, and I (correctly) identified that elderberry would be the right flavour. The resulting moussaka was fabulous - there were no leftovers - as was this wine (also no leftovers). That some of it went into the food meant that we had pretentions of respectability: we did not drink an entire bottle of wine on Thursday night.

Whilst making the moussaka, I was also playing (remote) Scrabble with Mom. I had terrific luck and my favourite words were RELATING, DILATION, SABOT and (best of all) HOMINIDS

Taken on 2nd July on my morning walk

This is the street on which we used to live

Blackcurrant Wine 2018 - Eighth Bottle (B2), 24th April 2020

Just because we are on Lockdown doesn't mean that Claire and I cannot go on holiday. Last night we had a mini-break and camped in the back garden, underneath the apple tree, in our two-man tent. Our meal was (mostly) cooked on a camping stove and we drank the local wine - a splendid bottle of blackcurrant. As night fell we played Scrabble and increased the number of layers worn. Whilst we have camped in colder (north rim of the Grand Canyon), I was in four layers plus fleece hat. It was a lovely evening, though not the best night's sleep. I woke to the Dawn Chorus and bumble-bees collecting nectar.

This is my favourite ever photo of Claire and me.

Strawberry Wine 2017 - Fifth Bottle (1), 22nd December 2019

Sunday was a two party day. In the afternoon we went to Ilkley for 'Mendelssohn and Mince Pies', where Claire played in an octet and I played board games. Then in the evening we went to Phil and Angie's, where I took this bottle of strawberry wine. I sang carols at both. This year we were unable to go carolling around the neighbourhood due to new red-tape regulations about collecting money (we hadn't given the requisite 28-day notice) so stayed in and drank strawberry wine instead. It was a bottle universally enjoyed - as it should be!

Apple Wine 2016 - Final Bottle (6), 22nd February 2020

Apple wine and roast gammon with mustard - a winning combination. Claire described this wine as akin to apple-y sherry and the further I got down the bottle, the better it became. Saturday began in York - where I won at Scrabble - and ended slumped in front of the stove not really concentrating on a Midsomer Murders.

Nothing to do with the wine, but I took this photo the following day.