Xmas Tutti Fruti 2018 - Tenth Bottle (B1), 26th-27th November 2020

It has been an odd Thanksgiving this year. Rather than a houseful of friends & family, we celebrated alone. Actually, we had two Zoom sessions - one with the Taylors to mark the opening of Whisky Mac season, and one with Richard & Linda for Thanksgiving Proper. The other odd thing was no turkey. Claire roasted a guinea fowl instead, which is not strictly North American, but is rather better than the traditional bird. Also more suited to two. We washed it all down with a bottle of Tutti Fruti, which was as good as ever, but did not finish it. Friday was a working day and, as mentioned above, it was the start of Whisky Mac season.

Our Thanksgiving meal (plus wine)

Rhubarb Wine 2017 - Fourteenth Bottle (A5), 15th-17th November 2020

I've done it again - left a bottle many days before writing about it. Always a mistake. As far as I can remember, it was a decent wine and we drank it to Tuna Surprise. The highlight of Sunday evening was chatting to Todd & Anne via Zoom. If there is one good thing about this pandemic it is that we have spoken to a greater number of distant friends and family more often than we might. Though going into central Leeds would now be an adventure, chatting to someone in Oregon feels normal. Because of the time difference I flaked out somewhat earlier than ideal - and we hadn't even finished the bottle. That was done on Tuesday to The Great British Bake Off's semi-final.

Taken on an 8 mile walk done on Sunday

Rhubarb Wine 2019 - Fifth Bottle (A6), 7th November 2020

Of course today's big news was the US election being called for Joe Biden - and the World suddenly feels like a better, safer place. I have been fascinated - unable to stay away from The Guardian live feed. We celebrated with a Manhattan (shared via Zoom with the Bentcliffe Massif) and then this bottle of rhubarb wine, which as always was a decent bottle.

The Snarkalong Film Club watched Dangerous Liaisons - the last third of which is a masterclass in acting, all about sexuality and power. The first two thirds, though, are just so cruel.

A Manhattan in our front room

Blackberry Wine 2019 - Fifth Bottle (C3), 4th-5th November 2020

This is being written three days after we finished the bottle under discussion, which is always a mistake. I cannot, therefore, remember its taste but I imagine that it was a great deal like blackberry wine. 

On Wednesday I was fretting about the American election, as I was on Thursday, but not quite so hopelessly. I cannot understand how a man with so little grace, who is so blatant in his lying, bullying and self-centredness can remain as popular as he is. "Darth Vader? Sure, I'll vote for him."

Taken on 5th November on my morning walk

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2019 - Fifth Bottle (B4), 30th September - 1st October 2020

Prune & Parsnip is the 'Go To' wine when you don't fancy a red but nothing has been chilled. One does not drink cold gasses of sherry, after all. 

This time last year we were in Croatia and two years ago it was Denver. In a week's time my holiday will be spent walking in Yorkshire. Again. Ho hum.

Both Wednesday and Thursday were pleasant, unremarkable days.

These arrived in the post on Thursday

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

Damson Wine - Third Bottle (5), 2nd January 2020

Rachel requested a bottle of damson wine specifically for New Year, and who am I to refuse? It is excellent and has vanilla overtones. We drank it after a day spent in Cambridge where we went to a zoological museum full of bones and animals preserved in jars, followed by dim sum at a Chinese restaurant which possibly got some of their ingredients from this museum.

We finished the damson wine before sitting down to eat salmon, where Richard & Wendy joined us. The May holiday has been organised - we are off to Shropshire this year, though it is possible that Richard & Wendy won't be able to make it. Richard is off to Alaska to climb USA's highest peak.*

My 2nd January photos have disappeared from

my phone - here is a 1st January one instead

* Oh, if only we had known. Obviously the holidays didn't happen.

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.

Cherry Wine - Third Bottle (4), 21st December 2019

I took this bottle to York with me as something a little bit different to foist onto my parents. They claimed to like it, but I think it has a vaguely poisonous aftertaste and Claire refuses to drink it. I hope Mom and Pop don't think that I am trying to speed up the inheritance! We didn't quite finish the bottle and there is still a glass or so lurking in my parents' fridge.

It was a lovely evening in which Mom served duck in rice and I recorded Pop telling the familiar tale of how he and Mom met on a train to San Francisco. This included the events immediately before that, which I had not known - how he travelled to America by boat and where he changed trains.

At a Chamber Music Party, the day after I drank this bottle

Blackberry Wine 2019 - The Making Of...

Last year I learnt that sometimes Blackberry Wine is not exclusively to be made in September. I do not plan to make that mistake twice.

Fruit has generally been early to ripen this year, so Claire and I first visited York Victorian Cemetery to inspect blackberries on Sunday 11 August. Whilst it was clear that blackberry season had only just begun, the berries that were ready were the largest, most luscious blackberries that I have encountered. After only about half an hour's foraging we had more than 3 lbs between us.

The following Sunday we were in York again, making sure that Pop was alright in Mom's absence now Keith and Jaki had returned up north. He was fine and all three of us went to the cemetery to gather blackberries. This time we got nearly 7 lbs. For a triple batch I need 12 lbs of blackberries, so we went a third time on 25th August, making it a hat-trick of weekends in York - this time the excuse was to see Mom, freshly back from her 60th High School Reunion in Nebraska. It was a hot day and Pop and I went to the cemetery ourselves to finish the job. This was idyllic - the sun beat down and the place was full of birdsong. I had a lovely hour with my father, chatting about this and that, discussing blackberries and getting nettle-stung.

My father, picking blackberries

(I love this photo of him)

The graves I must mention are (as always) Thomas Douthwaite - though his patch is so overgrown you can no longer see his grave -; Margaret Ann, Corporal W and John Doughty Pratt; Dorothy and John William Dobson; George Carlill (a slater); and Walter & Annabel Chambers. Claire picked from Dorothy Akers, who was only 9 when she died, and possibly Fanny Taylor, the beloved wife of Alfred Watson (solicitor of this town).

On Monday morning, 26th August, I mashed the blackberries and added 8 lbs sugar and 16 pints of boiling water. This cooled over the (hot and humid) day and I added a teaspoon each of yeast and pectolase, and two teaspoons of nutrient that evening. By Saturday night, 31st August, the liquid was ready for the demijohns. This went without a hitch and I now have three demijohns full of potentially delicious blackberry wine.

If you want to see how this wine turned out, click here.

Muscat of Alexandria - The Making Of...

When I was in America last year, I received a Facebook message from Nick's brother-in-law, who I had met in May. Would I be interested in sharing his bumper harvest of grapes? I replied that I would be more than interested. Could I collect them in 48 hours? Being in San Francisco, about to travel to Nebraska, presented a problem. I suggested that he give a bag or two to Nick, who could store them in his freezer until my return. This was somewhat presumptuous, but no-one raised any complaints, so that is what was done. And there the grapes remained. Every now and again I would say "I must collect those grapes" but nothing was organised until last week.

On Tuesday, 8th January, Nick took the grapes into work and I collected Claire and them that evening. I had not realised quite how many there would be. It was an entirely full freezer-box. Claire and I spent that evening stripping frozen grapes from their stalks. It was finger-numbing work and in total there were 20 lbs and 10 oz. These went into my large bucket and I left them 24 hours to defrost.

The uncrushed grapes

On Wednesday I took a potato masher to the grapes and spent about 20 minutes crushing them. The bucket was too narrow and my feet are too disgusting to do it in the traditional manner. It is clear why wine is made from grapes - they produce so much liquid and do not require any water.

The more disgusting of my disgusting feet

For the first time in many years I regretted not having a hydrometer as I did not know if any sugar would be required. All I could do was take a sip and guess. I added a pound. Having consulted my wine making books, I though it wise to add 2 crushed Camden tablets to stop any natural yeast fermenting,

The crushed grapes

The next evening - so 10th January - I added a teaspoon each of yeast, nutrient and pectolase. I left the wine until 16th January before removing the grape skins and putting the wine into its demijohns. That huge number of grapes resulted in only a demijohn and a quarter, which is less than I would have guessed. I will give away 4 bottles of this: one to Nick and three to Rick. I will not, however, make any promises about its taste.

If you want to see how this wine turned out, click here.

Blackberry Wine - Twelfth Bottle (C5), 18th-19th October 2018

Back to normal life after a fortnight in America. It hasn't been a bad week, all told. Okay, the cats have returned from the cattery with fleas and work has been busy (though not awful), but both of those were foreseeable. Claire returned home late on Thursday so I opened her a bottle of blackberry wine before dashing out to Pat & Peter's (where we played particularly untunefully - they were on C clarinets). I had a glass on my return - there was an initial blackberry hit before sinking into ordinariness. Claire finished the bottle on Friday whilst I was out for curry and beers with the boss, introducing him to Gujarati vegetarian cuisine.

Blackcurrant Wine - Third Bottle (A4), 24th-28th September 2018

I do reckon this is the best blackcurrant wine that I have made. Whilst there is a definite kick to it, there is something rounded about it too. More judo than karate.

The bottle has lasted the entire week, and what a frantic week (from a work point of view) it has been. Tonight I was there until gone seven, trying to get everything done before I went on holiday. Mostly I have been successful and I will attempt to avoid thinking about my job over the next fortnight. America - here we come!

One of my favourite photos taken whilst in America:

on our way to Alcatraz.

Orange Wine 2016 - Tenth Bottle (A2), 15th September 2018

Something quite wonderful has happened to this orange wine. Since last having a bottle (February this year) it has smoothed itself out and developed a hint of sherry to its taste. Orange wine is always good, but this maturity has improved it beyond the merely 'good'.

Claire and I had a lovely evening with this wine. We spent much of it in the kitchen - Claire cooking, me sitting and chatting. Our fortnight in America is rapidly approaching and we are both excited and nervous in equal measure. Making plans is always fun and whilst we know what Nebraska will be like, San Francisco will be entirely new (unless one counts the day I was there aged 11).

Rose Petal Wine and Rose Petal & Orange Wine 2018 - The Making Of...

Roses in our garden

This summer has been good for roses. Our white rose has produced blooms in abundance and the red rose doubled its output from last year's two flowers. Meanwhile in my parents' garden Pop has been under strict orders to collect as many roses as are available. Claire and I went over on Saturday 14th July to visit, though in truth the primary reason was to collect rose petals rather than filial duty. Mom has been away in Nebraska and I do try to see my father at least once when she is absent. Collecting wine ingredients is as good an excuse as any. It was a lovely evening - Pop cooked us smoked mackerel, a food I disliked as a child but now love, and we chatted about friends and family.

Rose in my parents' garden

Back home, on Sunday morning, I started the wine and again have made a double batch of rose petal and a single batch of rose petal & orange. For the 'pure' rose petal I measured 8 pints of rose petals and put them in the bucket. I minced 1 lb of sultanas, juiced two oranges and measured 5½ lbs of sugar. All these went in the bucket, were covered with 15 pints of boiling water and stirred round until the sugar dissolved (Liz had come round and helped with this bit).

The rose petal & orange was more fiddly. I began by peeling three oranges very thinly, doing an excellent job of avoiding the pith (for once). I put the peel in a bowl and covered it with a pint of boiling water. I then juiced six oranges (including those three) giving me a pint of orange juice. This and 4 pints of petals went into a bucket with 3 lbs sugar and 5½ pints of boiling water.

Most of the ingredients for both wines

That evening I put yeast, nutrient, pectolase and tannin into each wine (1 teaspoon of each of the last three into the orange, about a teaspoon and a half into the pure). On Monday morning I poured the water that had previously covered the peel into the rose petal & orange, throwing out the peel.

The wine went into its demijohns on Friday evening, 20th July, with all solids having been strained out. All demijohns are brick orange in colour, with rose petal & orange being ever so slightly darker.

The Rose Petal & Orange is on the left

If you want to see how the Rose Petal & Orange turned out, click here.

Blackcurrant Wine - Third Bottle (2), 27th January 2018

This bottle of blackcurrant wine rounded off an excellent day. Chris and Kate came over, and the first thing we did was to experience an Escape Room. This is a concept where you are locked in a room for an hour with a series of puzzles to solve against the clock. It was a huge amount of fun, and we did it with 3 minutes to spare. Then we chatted to Todd and Anne via Skype, planning our trip to San Francisco in October and catching up generally. Finally, we had a wonderful meal of various curries made by Claire. I know that none of that makes interesting reading but good days rarely do!

The wine was far better than the Mango wine finished earlier, but that sets a low bar.

The Escape Room from which we escaped

Blackberry Wine 2017 - The Making Of...

I heard rumours of ripe blackberries as July became August. For the last few weeks I have been aware of bramble clusters turning black and juicy. Blackberry, though, is a September wine so I have resisted foraging until today, Sunday 3rd September. This has also allowed me to spend time with my parents, who are only just returned from Mexico.

Mom and Claire foraging

As always, I went picking blackberries in York Victorian Cemetery, taking Mom and Claire with me. Usually we split up when picking and meet back at the car at a prearranged time. Today we picked together - I wanted to hear all about Mom's time in Nebraska, how the uncles were and whether Keith and family had a good time over there. Picking blackberries was the ideal time to hear all the news and it made ninety minutes pass quickly. At the end of this our hands were sticky with blackberry juice, our arms were covered in nettle stings and bramble scratches, and between us we had picked 13 lbs 3 oz (Claire, as always, was the winner).

I made sure some fruit came from Thomas Douthwaite's grave, and otherwise I made a note of Albert Dowsett, John Hardy Ellis (all good family names), Fred Dealtry and the delightfully named Vera Higginbottom. I will raise a glass to all when the time comes.

Our haul

Back at home I measured 12 lbs blackberries, putting the excess into the freezer, and mashed these in my bucket. This was a quick and easy job because the fruit was so ripe. I added 7 lbs 12 oz sugar (it may need more on racking) and 15 pints of boiling water (I should have added at least 16 - see below). The yeast, two teaspoons of nutrient and what was left in my tub of pectolase (more than a teaspoon) went in on Monday morning.

The blackberry pulp floating at the top of the wine

On Friday evening, 8th September, it was Book Group (The Trouble with Sheep and Goats, which got mixed reviews) so I did my best to be efficient in getting the wine into its three demijohns. Including sterilising everything, it took me somewhat less than an hour. Taking out the bulk of the floating fruit detritus with a colander helped. I stored the discarded pulp in a large plastic bowl (also sterilised) and this was a Good Thing. There was at least a pint too little liquid, and I pressed the pulp to extract all additional wine I could. The demijohns are still not full, but it is close, and they are all bubbling away enthusiastically.

If you want to see how this wine turned out, click here.

Zucchini Wine - The Making Of...

Back in the early summer, I freecycled a stack of roof tiles that had been in our garden, gathering spiders and snails, since we bought the house. The woman who collected them gave us a courgette plant in thanks and Claire planted it in our front garden. It did not seem to be particularly fruitful and we mostly ignored it. This is a dangerous strategy when it comes to courgettes. The smallest fruit will, when you turn your back, grow into the most enormous marrow. And so it came to pass.

Our innocent looking courgette plant

Claire went out on Wednesday to harvest what we knew was a large courgette and staggered into the house with a seven pound, twenty inch monster. This was too big to cook and I was given permission to turn it into wine. In honour of my half-American heritage I feel justified in naming this brew 'Zucchini Wine'. Because of my Wine-Alphabet odyssey it is a wine that I had always planned to make, being the natural choice for Z, but I wanted it as my last letter. I have yet to tick off J, so that hasn't quite worked.

Anyway, I consulted my recipe books and have adapted C J J Berry's recipe for Marrow Wine. On Friday 1st September, I grated the zucchini (must not call it 'marrow') using the food processor, only discarding the very ends. I put this in my bucket, along with the juice of two oranges and 2-and-a-bit ounces of grated ginger. I added 2 lb 12 oz sugar and poured over 6½ pints of boiling water. At this stage what I have made is a sweet zucchini soup.

The grated zucchini

On Saturday morning I put in two teaspoons of citric acid (the recipe book asked for four), a teaspoon of tannin (not mentioned in the recipe), a teaspoon each of nutrient and pectolase plus the yeast and gave it all a good stir.

Tuesday (5th September) was my only night in this week, so that is when I sieved the liquid into its demijohn. Once I had removed the bulk of the vegetable matter with a colander, this was a quick job. It is probably not worth noting that I should have used a pint less water (it is highly likely that I won't be making this again). The taste at this stage is unpromising and its colour is dishwater grey-green. I will deem anything better than 'nasty' for this wine as a monumental success.

If you want to see how this wine turned out (and I recommend that you do so if you are thinking of following this recipe), click here.

Fig Wine - Fourth Bottle (2), 12th April 2017

Sooz has come to stay over Easter so I have welcomed her with one of my best wines. Actually, we began with a gin & tonic. This may not have been the best idea - I do have work tomorrow. Anyway, we all agreed that the wine is a good one - very figgy with a nutty aroma - and the bottle is now empty.

My father has just rung - he is off to America for five weeks and rang to say 'goodbye'. I get the impression that each time he goes, he is never absolutely certain he will survive until he is due back. Generally he won't ring otherwise.

Elderberry Wine - Third Bottle (A1), 5th-7th February 2017

My Sunday was one of those days where I am glad to be alive. Well, I am always glad to be alive, if one considers the alternative, but on Sunday I was particularly so. This was only partly down to my elderberry wine (which is fabulous) accompanying roast gammon. Mostly it was spending the day not rushing about, but having time to dig in the garden while the sun shone and robins watched my every move waiting for worms.

I made bread, started my Prune & Parsnip wine and went to Leeds Grand Mosque for an open day to watch Muslim men pray - so an entirely ordinary Sunday! We went to the Mosque in response to awful things happening in the Middle East and the USA, but watching the prayers felt intrusive (albeit interesting). I was invading other people's personal faith.

Leeds Grand Mosque