Blackberry Wine 2019 - Tenth Bottle (A2), 26th February 2021

A beer, a Negroni and a bottle of blackberry wine on a Friday night do not make a particularly joyful Saturday morning. However, they seemed like a good idea at the time. It had been a difficult couple of days at work - not bad at all; in fact more interesting than most - and drinking to excess was a way to close off the week. The wine was no more than okay - Claire described it as a disappointing red. It led to an entirely sober Saturday, which is distinctly unusual, but was needed.

Catkins - taken on my morning walk

Rhubarb Wine 2019 - Third Bottle (B1), 23rd-24th July 2020

Work has been extremely busy this week. It always is the week before I have a holiday. I get into a mindset that I must clear my email in-box by the time I turn off the computer on the Friday - and that means several late nights. Well, working till seven - and for me that is late. Therefore, using wine when cooking (not in the food, you understand) was a natural consequence.

This rhubarb wine is a glorious colour - it has retained some of its pinkness and it has a fine taste. Claire finished what we didn't drink on Thursday after we had eaten on Friday. That night it was a take-out curry and therefore I was on the beer.

Another postbox - taken on 23rd July

Ginger Wine - Third Bottle (2), 26th-27th August 2019

Bank Holiday Monday was a glorious day - it was fabulous weather and I spent much of it in the garden. Only some of that was spent drinking beer. Mostly I was reading a terrific book - The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. It has been a long time since I have been quite so gripped by a novel. I must be careful not to gobble it up.

Ginger wine was chosen to go with a braised tofu curry and both were fabulous. Then, on Tuesday - rejoice - Bake Off came back, so one of our treats was to finish the Ginger Wine.

Blackcurrant Wine - First Bottle (B4), 21st July 2019

I have made another damn fine batch of blackcurrant wine. This is smooth, fruity and delicious. It wouldn't want to be much drier, but I think it is at least as good as 2017's batch - and that was my best ever vintage.

Some of Sunday was spent at my work summer party, which involved an inflatable assault course, a tug-of-war and less beer than I had planned. In the evening (as well as drinking this bottle) Claire and I watched a dark episode of Morse. I had not noticed, when watching them 30 years ago, how stagy and slow they were. Not bad, by any means - just dated.

Me and two colleagues at the work summer party

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

Prune & Parsnip Wine - Fourth Bottle (A5), 4th-5th July 2019

This was a true midweek bottle which two days later I can barely remember. I started Wednesday evening with a beer before moving onto the Prune & Parsnip and then finishing the night with just a snifter of whisky. It is little surprise, then, that I woke on Thursday with a minor headache, which I failed to shake all day. This meant that my plans to walk into work were rapidly shelved. It only makes my behaviour slightly more reputable to note that there was still some wine left in the bottle for a taste on Thursday.

Ginger Wine - Final Bottle (1), 29th June 2019

After a rotten June, we achieved summer for one day. The weather was properly hot and sunny and we spent much of it in the garden staring at frogs and drinking beer. By the time evening came around we agreed that more booze was needed. Claire cooked 'Hot & Spicy Marine Invertebrates' and a bottle of ginger wine seemed like the right thing to have. It is an excellent bottle of wine - not so gingery as to be a novelty wine, but enough for a kick. Afterwards I watched The Day After Tomorrow which was ridiculous and two hours that I won't see again. Claire sensibly went to bed half way through.

Dandelion Wine 2019 - The Making Of...

I was very much in two minds about making dandelion wine this year: the Magnolia Petal wine was to be its substitute. But as I have been driving home the last three weeks, the road verges have been golden with dandelions. Each journey has been a temptation, and my resolve to give dandelion wine a miss has weakened with each one. Therefore, on Good Friday, I struck out with my jug and a plastic bag to pick flowers. I had intended to walk all the way to the fields by Potternewton Lane, but thought I should have a quick look at Allerton Grange before making that half-hour trip. I am glad I did: there were dandelions in abundance and, whilst it did my step-count no good, foraging for flowers round the corner meant that I spent an hour less of my day with wine-making activities.

It was a glorious afternoon, picking dandelions in the sunlight, listening to a competitive father beat his under-tens at football. An Indian osteopath was interested in what I was doing and I had a long conversation with him about wine-making. At no point did he look as if he wanted to back away slowly.

I measured 6 pints of dandelion heads in my jug and took them home to boil up in 7 pints of water, 2 lbs 12 oz sugar and the thinly peeled rind of two lemons and one orange. This was brought to the boil and boiled for 20 minutes. I squeezed the citrus fruits and put the juice and half a kilo of minced sultanas into my bucket, pouring the contents of the cauldron over this once the twenty minutes was up.

Next day I added the yeast and a teaspoon each of nutrient, pectolase and tannin. I pretty much left the wine to its own devices until Thursday evening, 12th April, giving it only the occasional stir.

On Thursday, after returning from a solicitors' event involving beer and pies, I put the liquid into its demijohn, straining out the solids. The amount of water I had used was exactly right - nothing spare was left.

Dandelion wine at this stage does not suggest its eventual golden colour - though it isn't quite as brown as the magnolia.

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

Apple Wine - Third Bottle (3), 8th December 2018

Seeing as my parents could not come to the Wine Party, on account of Pop's slipped disc, I decided to take one of my better bottles to York with me. Guessing correctly that we would be having fish, I chose Apple. Pop, though, was mostly drinking beer and Mom really only drinks gin these days (not in the quantities that suggests). They both tried the apple wine, possibly to humour me, but both said they enjoyed it.

As ever, when staying over with the parents, we had a lovely, relaxed evening, full of conversation.

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.

Strawberry Wine - First Bottle (4), 26th August 2018

Abbey Brew, the shop that sells me all my wine making stuff, had a tasting afternoon at which we were encouraged to bring our own creations. On the basis that I wanted to impress, I took a bottle of strawberry. And impress it did - lots of people said quite how good it was, though curiously did not have a strong taste of strawberries.

I spend much of the afternoon getting horrendously drunk, tasting all sorts of wine (mostly kit red) and a few spirits, with some beer and cider for good measure. I must not get that drunk again. But I also met some good people, including Glenda and Foz (Ian) who I have invited to November's wine party. I wonder if they will come.

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

Gooseberry Wine - Second Bottle (4), 5th-6th April 2018

My phone is ancient and temperamental. Every so often it decides not to receive texts or phone calls for a few days and then vomits them all out at once. Hence, on Thursday night whilst I was out for a curry and beers with Darren and Nigel, I did not get Claire's text asking what bottle she could open. Had I done so, I would have replied "Not gooseberry". Never mind.

I had a couple of small glasses on Friday night - I had been feeling delicate all day. This wine is bone dry and as sharp as needles with a gooseberry punch. I wonder how it will mature, but at this rate I am unlikely to find out.

This is what my phone looks like

Rhubarb Wine - Ninth Bottle (C4), 9th-12th November 2017

On Thursday night, while on a train from London to Leeds, my phone buzzed. A text from Claire read "I have opened a bottle of wine". I sent one back suggesting that she may have chosen Peach & Banana, but was informed that it was 'nice', thus ruling out that flavour. When I returned, several glasses of wine ahead (travelling First Class is marvellous), I found this bottle of rhubarb in the fridge - so poured Claire and I another half glass each. Claire was right; it is a good bottle of wine.

We left the remainder in the fridge whilst we spent the weekend in Newcastle, celebrating Bob & Judith and Richard & Dianne's 50th Wedding Anniversaries. This involved a Barn Dance and lots of beer. I dosy-doed, swung and stripped the willow like a good 'in, driving back to Leeds on Sunday morning with a headache. Half a bottle of wine between us on Sunday was plenty.

Mint, Elderflower & Rhubarb Wine - The Making Of...

I have had possibly the most middle class, middle-aged weekend one could ever imagine. What is more, I have absolutely loved it. On Saturday night I went to a string quartet party and ate Italian cheese brought by a guest who is renovating a villa near Padua. On Sunday afternoon, Claire and I wandered around 17 gardens as part of Chapel Allerton's Open Garden Festival, and then sat in a bar to drink craft beer. I feel I have reached the zenith of the bourgeoisie. And making Mint, Elderflower & Rhubarb Wine hardly struggles against that particular mold.

The Base Ingredients

Our rhubarb is past its best, so I picked the majority of my 3 lbs the previous weekend, sliced it thinly and put it in the freezer. The defrosted rhubarb gave an air of limpness and exhaustion in its bowl.

The Elderflower tree I picked from

I went foraging for elderflowers on Sunday morning, 11th June and picked far more than I needed in half an hour (most of which was taken up with travelling to and from the source). I stripped the flowers from their stalks in the garden, achieving a discoloured thumbnail in the process. Doing this outside meant that the insects I had collected had an opportunity to escape and our windows would not be covered by tiny flies. I stopped stripping once I had a pint of flowers (this took about an hour) and I will compost the rest.

Elderflowers that went into the wine

For the mint, I gathered both spear and peppermint from our garden - a slightly larger handful than the two previous years, and sliced this up.

Spearmint from our garden

All the ingredients went into my bucket and I poured in six and a half pints of boiling water, releasing a heavy scent of both elderflower and mint into the kitchen. I then added 3 lbs of sugar. The yeast and a teaspoon each of pectolase, nutrient and tannin went in on Monday morning, 12th June, before I walked my six miles to work.

The ingredients in my bucket

I put the liquid into its demijohn on Friday evening. As I was pouring the last of the wine from the bucket into the jug, I heard a clunk of something solid hitting the jug. It was the half-ounce weight - made from brass. I had used this when weighing rhubarb and forgotten to remove it. It is now noticeably shinier than the other weights in its set and I fear that I have ruined the wine. If it has a metallic taste, this will be why.

Less pink than pure rhubarb

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

Blackberry Wine - Seventh Bottle (A4), 11th June 2017

What a wonderful vintage of Blackberry Wine. It is light, the correct level of sweetness and is absolute in its brambleness. I opened this bottle just as I was to give Liz a demonstration in how to rack a demijohn, so generously allowed her to have a glass (when, in fact, I wanted it all for myself).

It was a good bottle with which to end the weekend. Claire and I had spent the day nosing around other people's gardens in Chapel Allerton for an 'Open Garden' event. There were some excellent gardens to be seen ranging from formal and tidy to overgrown and being reclaimed by nature. Claire came away with pond envy (everyone's is so much clearer) and we finished the afternoon drinking beer in the Further North Bar.

Blackcurrant Wine - Ninth Bottle (C4), 27th January 2017

I only had a glass and a half from this bottle, but even that was a mistake. I had arranged to go for beers with Paul Pinder at 8:30. Having not seen him for 27 years, I was unsure about how well we would get on and how long I would be out. Five pints later, it was suddenly midnight and I was walking home in my best approximation of a straight line.

Seeing 27 years happen in an instant to a school-friend's face is a strange experience. Teenage acne replaced by greying hair and greater wisdom. It was an excellent, joyful night, but I am feeling it today. What was that about greater wisdom?

Redcurrant Wine - Eleventh Bottle (A5), 15th-17th June 2016

Redcurrant wine should be excellent and I think my first ever batch was. Instead, it is merely alright - thinner and less fruity than blackcurrant. Pretty colour, though.

I opened it on Wednesday and finished it on Friday. None for me on Thursday: I had spent the day being entertained by Walker Morris at a riverside bar. The excuse was watching  England play Wales in Euro 2016. I was there for the beer.

Rhubarb Wine - Tenth Bottle (A4), 22nd-23rd April 2016

For a second night on the trot I left Claire home alone while I was out galavanting. This time I was drinking (too much) beer with Matthew and John, reminiscing about Emsleys and catching up with each other's news. Claire had rhubarb wine for company and a quiet night.

On Saturday we each had a large glas before Music Club - I was performing a Peter Muller wind quintet and thought wine could only help. It didn't. I remained as nervous as ever. We played fairly well, and I don't know why I feel more pressure playing at Leeds Music Club than anywhere else.

Where Matthew, John and I went drinking

Julia's Wines - Redcurrant 1995, 20th September 2015

We finally buried Julia. On Sunday her ashes were interred along with those of her mother and Mrs Soots the cat, beneath a weeping lime. It was a glorious morning - crisp early autumn filled with light. Madrigals were sung and Steffan read The Dorking Thigh. We covered Julia's ashes with rose petals, rosemary and a helping of Sam Smith's Ale. At the end of the ceremony a frog hopped its merry way through the grass. Of course I opened a bottle of her wine that evening. It is what she would have wanted.

Brew It Yourself - Review of an Excellent New Book

The Book Cover

Brew It Yourself by Nick Moyle and Richard Hood is the most recent addition to the ever-growing library of books about how to make your own booze. An experienced home-brewer might be sceptical about whether there is room on the shelf for another book. A novice may not be sure about whether this is the right book to choose to get started. I would urge both to get this book. There is much to delight the experienced brewer, and it both guides and encourages the novice.

The book is divided into six main sections: wine, cider, beer, sparkling drinks, liqueurs and cocktails; and each has a host of recipes. I turned to the wine making chapter first, on the basis that this is where my knowledge lies. There is a good range of recipes, from classics (elderberry, parsnip) to the more unusual (oak leaf, pineapple) stopping on the way for instructions for three types of mead.  The methods given are straightforward and never complicated, and there is a very useful ‘basics’ section at the beginning in case this is your first time at having a go. What I love about the ‘basics’ chapter is that the Two Thirsty Gardeners demystify the process. There is nothing precious here. They throw out the requirement found in some literature that wine should have “temperature-controlled storing conditions” and they actively encourage experimentation. Advice on the first page includes “Treat measurements as a rough guide” and “Taste is subjective”. As soon as I read these, I knew that I had found two kindred spirits.

The chapters on cider and beer took me away from a subject I know, but made my fingers itch to try – particularly the cider section. It is clear that the authors love their craft, and they make it sound easy. But easy in a way that makes the reader suspect it truly is. Pear and Ginger cider sounds delicious, and there are handy hints on how to choose apples. In the beer section, I particularly liked the advice to make only one gallon at a time. The one time I tried to make beer, it was for vast quantities, and the result was disappointing. A gallon I could imagine doing. And how can anyone resist a recipe for “Nick’s Liquorice Stout”?

The introductory page for Cider

 The remaining three chapters were actually the ones I enjoyed most, because the ideas are fabulous and the methods looks as if they require very little patience. I have never made a sparkling drink on purpose (though several by accident, as my exploding bottles attest), not even ginger beer. Brew It Yourself gives instructions for nine of them, and the ginger beer has been expanded by the addition of chilli. Lavender Sparkle sounds like a must-do, and Tepache, made from pineapple, a cinnamon stick, brown sugar and nothing else is something that I am going to try as soon as I remember to buy a pineapple.

 

Tepache

For the most nervous of readers wanting to make their own drinks, the chapter on liqueurs is probably the place to start. There is no brewing involved, just simple instructions on what ingredients to mix with which spirits. Of course the chapter begins with sloe gin – it would be sacrilege if it did not. Thereafter, the drinks become more unusual: raspberry and thyme whisky, mint, lime & lemongrass liqueur, mayflower brandy and many more besides. The authors have chosen the ingredients carefully and give the reader confidence that the suggested flavours will match.

 

Raspberry & Thyme Whisky

Finally there is a chapter headed ‘Classic Cocktails and Curios’. Some of the cocktails are familiar (Bloody Mary), some less so (Spruce Martini). All look effortless. As for the curios, they sound so unusual that they have to be tried: Beetroot Kvass, Marrow Rum, Glögg.

It is clear that much thought has gone into the layout of Brew It Yourself. There are many inserts, within the pages introducing the chapter, and in the recipes themselves. Here we are told snippets about C J J Berry, what wines to use for cooking, Norse mythology, and how to grow rocket. Within chapters the authors will break off from providing recipes to have a couple of pages about relevant issues. Within the wine-making chapter, we get an informative page dedicated to honey, for cider the recipe-break is dedicated to apples and for beer it is hops. This continues in each of the chapters, and is an interesting method of preventing the reader from being overwhelmed by the number of drinks he or she could make. For as well as being a book of recipes to follow, Brew It Yourself is also a book which you can read from start to finish for pure enjoyment. Nick Moyle and Richard Hood have an engaging and always humorous writing style. They pun, they have internal disagreements and they are genuinely funny.

This review has yet to mention the most striking thing about the book. It is a thing of beauty. I have the hardback version (I don’t know when the paperback will be out, but I would urge you not to wait for it) and the cover has a pleasing feel and look. Its colours are well chosen, and the indentations suggest quality even before you open the book to read it. Then, inside, the photographs accompanying the text are outstanding. Who would think that pictures of cloves or dandelions or frothing pints of beer could look so inviting? The book’s designer has made Brew It Yourself as much of a coffee-table (or should that be wine-table?) book as a genuinely useful book of recipes.

 

The Authors

Brew It Yourself is a wonderful book – it would make an excellent present, but be more adventurous than that. Buy it for yourself, and then make any one of the drinks it suggests (make several) and give these as presents – if you can bear to part with them.

Rhubarb Wine - Second Bottle (A6), 29th May 2015

Again, what a splendid colour. All metallic pink. And the taste is delightful - a little sweeter than previous years, which makes it different rather than better or worse.

Claire had more of this bottle than I did, because I had spent the afternoon in the company of three pints of beer at Headingley cricket ground. It was the first day of a test match between England and New Zealand, which would have been a lovely way to spend an afternoon, had it not been for the cold. I was in four layers and still shivering. We are at the end of May! But I enjoyed the bit of the game that I saw, even if I did keep on missing the wickets because I was talking to the person next to me.