Gooseberry Wine 2020 - First Bottle (6), 21st February 2021

Claire requested a wine that was white and sharp and nice. Though I ran through a few options that fulfilled two of the three, the end result as always going to be Gooseberry. I am also being trained by Claire to break my rule of waiting a year before having the first bottle of anything. Her argument is that if the wine is nice at the point of bottling, why wait any longer? As always, she has a point.

This gooseberry wine was fabulous - white and sharp and nice.

The day had been a typical Sunday - make a cake in the morning (Cranberry Bread - a total success) and go for a local walk in the afternoon. Happily the gang of threatening looking teenagers I encountered down an alleyway merely said "Hello" rather than mug me.

Cranberry Bread

The recipe.

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

Blackcurrant Wine 2019 - Eighth Bottle (B4), 20th February 2021

This was such a good bottle of blackcurrant wine - sharp and fruity with a taste of summer. We drank much of it whilst watching Snakes on a Plane as a Snarkalong Film Club choice. The movie was predictably entirely ridiculous (and ridiculously entirely predictable). That is not to say that I didn't enjoy it however. About two thirds of the way through, Wiggy entered the room with a large and feisty mouse. She promptly dropped it and 20 hours later, it has yet to be found.

Wiggy - a couple of hours before the Mouse

Rhubarb Wine 2017 - Fifteenth Bottle (B1), 19th February 2021

Two things of note happened today: I gave a training session to the Sales Department in the morning, and I made a smoked haddock risotto in the evening. For the former, because it was outside my comfort zone, I wore my battle-armour - a nice shirt with Uncle Gerry's waistcoat. It worked, and I found myself enjoying giving the talk. For the latter, no special clothing was required and the result was delicious. I can now do Risotto! The wine went well with it: an ordinary white wine strangely not dissimilar to one made from grapes.

Some of the ingredients for the risotto

Rose Petal Wine 2018 - Ninth Bottle (A2), 17th-18th February 2021

When Claire asked what bottle of wine was next on the list to get rid of, I chose Rose Petal - a flavour that we drink slower than we might if it were better! This bottle was actually fine and I may make Rose Petal Wine again one day.

There was nothing exciting about either day on which we drank it, save that we watched The Death of Stalin on Thursday, which had a fabulous cast and managed to be both brutal and funny. Not a light comedy, and it explored the nature of power with a satirical eye. Recommended.

Taken on 18th February - A Study in Circles.

Rhubarb, Elderflower & Mint Wine 2020 - First Bottle (6), 14th February 2021

Our Valentine's meal was sponsored by mint. Not only did we drink this bottle of wine, but we had gin & tonics with a mint garnish, Vietnamese Mint Chicken and Nigella's Vietnamese Salad, featuring mint. We must have had delightful breath after all of that.

The wine was excellent and I opened this vintage because Claire has been disparaging about the previous two years. It is zingy and light, and it is a shame that I have given a bottle to Liz!

Our Vietnamese Chicken was another Padian Food pack that we cooked along with Rachel & Duncan. (Who says Valentine's Day should be a romantic meal for two?) It was blistering hot but delicious - the correct level of sourness. Another lovely evening.

I also made cake - a nut meringue slice

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

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2018 - Final Bottle (A4), 13th February 2021

What a splendid bottle of Xmas Tutti Fruti. It was rich and full of berries, and it is a shame that this was the last of its vintage. We drank it after having a Zoom Gin & Tonic (or two!) with Catherine and whilst firstly eating sausages (sausages are a wonderful thing) and secondly whilst watching Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Apart from the zombies, it was remarkably close to Austen's original - but I flaked out three quarters of the way through and had to go to bed.

Pinned to a park notice board.

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2021 - The Making Of...

Saturday 6th February was a dismal day. I woke to heavy rain and it did not let up throughout the lighted hours. When Claire suggested that I drive to collect the week's groceries rather than walk to Chapel Allerton, I took little persuading. Whilst I prefer to buy my parsnips from the independent Fruit Stall, carrying home 4 lbs of them together with my other shopping in a downpour would have been entirely miserable, so I drove to Sainsbury's instead.

Prunes and Parsnips

I left the wine-making until Sunday, 7th February, which was a much more productive and happy day. I managed to have a 5 mile walk, do a modicum of bassoon practice, make a 'Fly Leg' cake (no flies were harmed in the process) and make my Prune & Parsnip wine. The wine making was done whilst listening to the whole of Hansel and Gretel on Radio 3 - such a fabulous opera, and I know nothing else by Humperdinck.

Parsnips, sliced and in the pan of water

Anyway, to make the wine I sliced 4 lbs of parsnips into small bits and put them into 16 pints of cold water, bringing this up to the boil and then simmering for 20 minutes. (This was done in two lots.) Meanwhile, I snipped up 1 lb of prunes, each prune into 4 or so pieces, and put these in my bucket along with 5 lbs 8 oz sugar. When the parsnips had boiled their 20 minutes, I poured the water into the bucket through a colander and threw out the vegetables.

An enthusiastic fermentation

On Monday morning I added a teaspoon of pectolase, a teaspoon and a half of nutrient and two teaspoons of yeast (though I started the yeast first in a jug with a bit of sweetened water, because I am suspicious of this yeast brand). The wine fermented enthusiastically in its bucket until Saturday morning, 13th February, at which point I put it into its two demijohns, this time listening to Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite. The wine is far lighter, far more golden, than it has ever been before.

The wine in its demijohns