Blackberry Wine - Final Bottle (B6), 15th September 2012

I see that the first bottle of this batch was given away to promote The Book. We have come full circle. This bottle was drunk at York Victorian Cemetery as part of a 'Local Authors' Festival', where I was one of the guest speakers. It was an entertaining affair, with two crime writers, a Gervaise Finn-alike and a couple of memoirists - one of whom was extremely intellectual. More importantly, there was stacks of cake.

I enjoyed my slot, though I spoke for less time than anyone - about 20 minutes. Expecting to be nervous, I opened the bottle half an hour before hand and had a couple of slugs of Dutch Courage. It was not a precaution that I needed - I was not nervous and (what a surprise) enjoyed being centre of attention. I shared the bottle outside the chapel and everyone who tried it made appreciative noises.

Gooseberry - Bottle (unrecorded), 12th November 2011

My first customer at the Book Launch chose gooseberry wine for his initial glass. He was called Barry Hartley and had seen the article in the Yorkshire Post. I was delighted. My efforts at publicity had worked. In fact, he was the only person who came that I did not know. But actually, that didn't matter. One person is a success, and that he was first was even better. Ros played a fanfare on her computer as he bought the book.

The gooseberry wine was one of the most popular during the day - I did not get a glass - and as Ruth and Paul left we told Ruth to take away her favourite. She chose this.

Rhubarb - Bottle B1, 6th-7th October 2011

This bottle was waiting my return from playing a Beethoven trio with Madeleine and David Wilks. We are performing it at Music Club on 4th February, which gives us time to get it right: time that is badly needed. When I got home, glass of wine in hand, I helped Claire with a pleasingly spoddy project of cataloguing our Book Group books that we have read over the last eight years or so, though I had become bored by the letter I.

We finished the bottle, with Rachel Blackeby's help, on Friday during Book Group at our house, where we were discussing 'Frenchman's Creek' - which no-one much liked and I thought was sub-Mills & Boon overwritten drivel (so a Thumbs Down from me). Mostly, though, we drank champagne (well, Cava) to celebrate the arrival of 'Ben's Adventures in Winemaking'. I am now a published author!

Rhubarb - Bottle A5 , 9th-10th September 2011

Wagner was a dominant feature of this bottle. It is the NWO weekend, where playing Tannhauser (this year) takes up most of our waking hours. We rehearsed Act One on Friday night and I brought home a mezzo called Sam. That sounds dodgy. What I mean is that we agreed to provide accommodation for one of the singers.

Anyway, Sam saw the bucket of fermenting elderberries and appeared interested, so I gave her a (small - at her request) glass of Rhubarb wine. She said it was interesting.

Claire and I had the rest of the bottle over two nights - Claire's was consumed with paracetemol as her mouth is in pain with a sore at the base of her tongue.

Today, when I have not been playing, I have been editing The Book. Its is now back with the Good Life Press - so I am another step closer to being a published author.

Redcurrant - Bottle A2, 6th-8th September 2011

I opened this bottle on Tuesday as a minor celebration. A major celebration would have called for something better. The first draft of 'Ben's Adventures in Wine Making' has come back from the publishers. Commenting that this is a month after I had expected it and three weeks before planned publication would be churlish. I am very excited and have spent most spare minutes (which have been remarkably few) proof-reading it. So far I am not quite halfway through.

Then, on Wednesday - and during glasses 'two' and 'two-and-a-half' from this bottle - I mopped our kitchen floor, which was disgusting and is now slightly less so. This is 'in advance' cleaning in preparation for the singer that will be staying with us on Friday. It was late night cleaning - the first WYSO rehearsal of the new season preceded it,, where we mostly played the first movement of the New World Symphony.

Tonight I have finished the bottle after playing wind quintets and taking an executive decision not to follow my recipe for elderberry wine - making the whole process about two hours less faff.

Redcurrant Wine - Bottle B5, 20th & 21st April

This was our first bottle of this flavour and it was, frankly, disappointing. The overall taste was bland, backed up by an aftertaste of mustiness. Claire described this as 'dead mouse'. I sent an e-mail to The Good Life Press, to whom I had sent a bottle of this (and eleven other flavours), apologising and advising them not to feed this to any bulk book buyers.

We finished the bottle tonight, once Sooz had arrived for the Easter weekend. She was less damning than Claire, but drinking the wine chilled helped. This evening Claire and Sooz have been discussing knitting fossils and dinosaurs and have threatened to teach me how to knit one, pearl one. I see tomorrow ending in tears.