Xmas Tutti Fruti 2018 - Seventh Bottle (A3), 25th July 2020

We drank this bottle on the start of a week's holiday. It should have been the Rydal Hall week, but Covid 19 has put a stop to that. Instead I will be holidaying in Yorkshire and today that involved a walk in the environs of Hovingham with Bridget and family. It was a delight to see them, and Gemma is getting towards the age that Bridget and I were when we first met at Youth Theatre Yorkshire.

In the evening we had a Zoom chat with Rachel & Duncan in which this bottle was opened and finished. Fruity and zingy, but not zingy enough to keep me awake through Mary Poppins.

Hovingham Hall plus cricket match

Elderberry Wine 2018 - Second Bottle (A3), 19th July 2020

This elderberry wine is still too young. It retains a vaguely metallic taste and has yet to attain a proper depth. It is drinkable, nonetheless, and we did not struggle to finish the bottle.

The day's most notable feature was a long conversation with Paul. I don't think that I have spoken to him for about six years, but we carried on as if it was only yesterday. The circumstances - Ian's death - were tragic, but Paul was philosophical and surprisingly good humoured. He can't get to the funeral, of course, but will come to a future memorial service.

The years fell away as we spoke - as if we were still teenagers, still sitting next to each other in Maths. He (along with Bridget) is the best friend that I have ever had.

Taken on 19 July

Orange Wine 2019 - First Bottle (2), 29th March 2020

I have made a rather decent vintage of Orange Wine. It may be a tad sweeter than usual and it has plenty of orange flavour without any bitterness. I must have done a better job this time of avoiding the pith.

We drank the wine to tuna fishcakes and ratatouille and then I fell asleep on the sofa whilst trying to concentrate on Morse. Earlier in the day my timetable read like an exercise in self-improvement: I wrote a proper letter (pen & paper) to Bridget and family, started Mansfield Park (the only Austen I have yet to read) and went on our one Government-sanctioned walk to Meanwood Park and back. This isolation and social-distancing lark isn't entirely awful. Yet.

Dead Nettle in our Garden (30th March)

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

Gooseberry Wine - Fifth Bottle (6), 4th August 2019

Claire spent all of Sunday at work, this being our first full day home after another riotous week at Rydal. I got the better deal and spent most the day with Bridget and her family at Brodsworth Hall near Doncaster. It was just lovely to see them again and Bridget's children are a delight.

One of the day's tasks was to select a nice bottle of wine that would go with curry and put it in the fridge. My wife is very demanding and works me too hard. Anyway, gooseberry wine was my choice - it is splendid and has matured nicely.

Brodsworth Hall seen through a Cypress

Blackcurrant Wine - Sixth Bottle (B4), 29th - 31st October 2015

What a lot I managed to fit in whilst this bottle of wine was open. I chose it on Thursday because Katie was here for a WYSO committee meeting, and these are her blackcurrants. She said the wine tasted like that she had made, which is probably a Good Thing. But I opened it to celebrate exchanging contracts for selling 14 Carr Manor Mount - we complete on 11th December. Then on Friday Bridget was here and we had a wonderful evening catching up (it has been two years since I last saw her) and eating curry. I had my final glass on Saturday night after coming back from The Grand, where we saw Kiss Me Kate done by Opera North. It was terrific, and I feel that my Shakespeare has been entirely Brushed Up.

Elderflower Wine - Sixth Bottle (A2), 1st December 2012

We are in Bristol visiting Bridget, Paul, Gemma and Adam. It has been a year since I last saw Bridget. Since then Adam has been born, and is both teething and crawling. The latter activity is a strange snaking action which may work better in a swimming pool. Gemma is a delightful two-and-a-half year old with bright red hair (unsurprising given her genetic heritage) who runs enthusiastically and has a healthy interest in play-dough.

Once the children had been put to bed, Bridget started cooking curry and I opened this bottle of elderflower. Happily the wine survived the train journey (which lasted an hour longer than expected). I chose something non-fizzy for that purpose. It went well with the food and both Paul and Bridget said nice things about it. This may be because they enjoyed it, or it may be because they were well brought up.

Orange Wine - Eighth Bottle (A5), 11-12th October 2012

Finishing the orange wine tonight was not the best of ideas. There was two-thirds of a bottle left and we had already drunk a bottle of champagne. Consequently I am currently feeling woozy. And woozy is a fabulous word.

The champagne was a gift from Darren for basically doing my job. He is an excellent boss. But a bottle of bubbly was not quite enough for a Friday night and somehow we have polished off the orange wine. Damn.

I started the bottle with a phone call providing legal advice to Paul - Bridget's husband (as opposed to the Canadian version) - about leasehold law. Alcohol and legal advice is a winning combination. Having only had once glass though, I think what I said was mostly accurate. Good job he didn't ring tonight.

Celery Wine - The Making Of ...

I may live to regret this wine. The phrase 'Celery Wine' does not summon up images of a lip-smacking paradise. However, last summer I was rung by a wine-making enthusiast who assured me that this was a successful flavour. And February is a month to experiment - it is a single batch month where nothing is in season. Perhaps, though, I should have repeated Exotic Tinned Fruit. Time will tell.

Today, 5th February, has been lovely. I did not get dressed until noon, which is always the sign of a good Sunday. Whilst I was lounging around, Claire - suffering from a hearty cough - was outside shovelling snow off our street. But she claims that she enjoyed it.

We spent the afternoon in York, eating Big Breakfast and seeing Bridget, who is spending the weekend in Terrington. Last time we saw her she was eight months pregnant. This time she is again eight months pregnant - but had Gemma in tow. Gemma is at 'delightful toddler' stage and is a mini-Bridget: red hair, blue eyes, mischevious looking.

Anyway, back at home I chopped up four pounds of celery and boiled it for thirty minutes in seven and a half pints of water. This was poured over three pounds of sugar and one tablespoon of citric acid. It is now a pale green liquid smelling of soup.



Four pounds of celery in 7.5 pints of water

I put in the yeast and a teaspoon of nutrient on Monday morning. I have not bothered to put in any pectolase as I do not thing celery is a rich source of pectin.

During the five days it has been in its bucket I have stirred the wine twice a day and each time have been surprised and pleased at the fragrance this produces. I put the wine in its demijohn on Friday night, 10th February, whilst listening to 'Any Questions' on Radio 4. This involved Anne Widdecombe and lots of shouting. It is a noisy, irritating programme. The volume of liquid I used was perfect and though the wine still looks like a nourishing broth, I am rather more hopeful about it than I was originally.

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If you want my first impressions of how it tastes, click here.