We have an infestation of Taylors. Bob, Judith and Susanna are staying for several days - and that is a thoroughly good thing. I was dashing out playing trios with Pat & Peter so really only had time to open this bottle, have a small glass and leave the Taylors to it. Reports of the wine were positive, and it was the first of two drunk on a Thursday evening. I am so pleased that our house is open to guests again.
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| Taken on 20 September - the view from my office |
Despite Covid 19, we made it to Rydal this year, and I cannot express what a joyous week it has been. Playing again in an orchestra that I love and with my favourite group of people has just been wonderful.
This wine was the first of three opened during the Rydal week, after a day of walking in brilliant sunshine with Claire and Judith - so there was an element of it feeling earned. Nick claimed he was allergic to mint so didn't have any, and Kirsty pulled a face, but otherwise this bottle was enjoyed.
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| Claire and Judith on a long, hot walk. |
NB For the next several entries, I am going to dispense with Date Order, and post them in the order in which they appear in my written diary. This means such narrative that there is (which is very little!) will be somewhat disrupted.
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I saved this final bottle of Dandelion Wine for a special occasion where I could share it with guests, on the basis that with 8 years aging it was likely to be spectacular. Bob, Judith and Susanna were here - only the second time that we have had guests to stay since Covid 19 hit. The wine, however, only served to disappoint. Yes, it was drinkable and had an element of sherry to it. But it was not the rich delicious nectar-like substance that I had anticipated. If anything, it was slightly rank.
No-one had a second glass, even though they stayed another two days. I drank it over the course of the week. The final glass was brown and murky.
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| Wiggy on 25 September, claiming her space |
I had expected this wine to be one of my failed experiments. From its ingredients we have nicknamed it 'Compost Wine'. On the basis that it was likely to be horrid I took it to Newcastle so that we could share the pain. It is with some surprise, therefore, that I can report that this was Quite Good. It has a smoother taste than pure dandelion. Sooz said it was akin to sherry that is not Croft Original (the only sherry permitted in the Taylor household) - so not a total success. Andrew and I had the lion's share.
Sunday was an excellent day, starting with a visit to the South Tyneside coast. It was shrouded in mist whilst the rest of the country enjoyed blazing sunshine. In the late afternoon I went on a sunnier walk with Judith over the Town Moor and in the evening we feasted.
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| The South Tyneside Coast on a misty day |
If you want to see how I made this wine, click here.
We have just returned from a fabulous weekend in Newcastle, and this wine was one of our Saturday bottles. Judith was effusive in her praise and rightly so! Elderflower, rhubarb and mint is a delight.
Much of Saturday had been spent driving on the hottest, sunniest day of the year so far in a car where both the fan and the air conditioning were broken. As First World Problems go, it isn't the worst. We had a lovely evening, however, with Bob, Judith & Sooz. It is so good to spend time together again.
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| Spending quality time with the in-laws |
A Friday night bottle at the end of an irritating week. Irritating because of work not going entirely to plan, rather than anything more profound. The wine is excellent and rather too easy to drink. Much of it was drunk to a Taylor family Zoom, in which we mostly discussed Covid. Claire and I have our first vaccinations tomorrow. At last - something that the Government is doing well and efficiently.
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| A random photo of an ornament taken on 19 March |
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| Our Thanksgiving meal (plus wine) |
We are in Newcastle! This is the first time that we have stayed away from home since late March, but we thought spending time with Claire's family before an inevitable second Lockdown occurs was important. I brought one of my best wines with me and we drank it to a take-out curry. This flavour was possibly overpowered by the spices and heat of the food, but still excellent with its buttery smoothness. It was just lovely sitting round the table with Bob & Judith - and tomorrow Sooz and Andrew will be with us too.
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| The entrance to Gipton Woods, taken on 11th September |
What an unusually busy weekend we have just had. Saturday was spent yomping in the North York Moors with Bob & Judith - the first time that we have seen them since January. Then on Sunday, 23rd August, we went to York to pick blackberries and see my parents, whose 56th wedding anniversary it was.
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| Sarah Moore's grave |
We arrived at the cemetery at around 11 and mostly went our separate ways to collect brambles. Claire found a bountiful patch that was sufficiently overgrown to be secluded and which led to a bee hive. I was rather less successful, finding the odd stem laden with fruit here and there, but mostly found whole areas where the blackberries were already rotten or covered in grey mould.
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| Claire picking blackberries |
During this search I coincided with a man and his pre-teen children: Elliot and Isobel, who were enthusiastic bramble pickers. Isobel had a large tub full of blackberries, reserved for crumble, and they were interested in how I turned blackberries into wine. The father commented that the beauty of the cemetery was that there was enough fruit for everyone. "Yes," I agreed, secretly not agreeing at all and seeing him and his children very much as the competition. We went our separate ways and finally, finally I found an excellent area for foraging - near to, but behind, the chapel. Here the graves were Mary Ann Nightingale and her husband George, Sarah Moore and Jane Oldfield. Earlier I had picked from Harriet Atkinson and Robert Burton. Thomas Douthwaite did not figure this year: his grave had been cleared of brambles.
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| Near the Chapel |
Once back in Leeds I weighed the fruit. I had picked 4 lbs 1 oz and Claire won convincingly with 6 lbs 5oz. I used 8 lbs, putting the rest in the freezer, and mashed them in my bucket. I poured in 5 lbs 12 oz of sugar and 11¼ pints of boiling water (though could have used half a pint less). Next morning I added the yeast (Mangrove Jack's R56), 1½ teaspoons of nutrient and a teaspoon of pectolase.
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| Blackberries in their bucket |
I put the wine into its demijohns on Friday 28th August whilst listening to the first Prom of 2020 - played to an empty Albert Hall. And now I have two demijohns of blackberry wine bubbling away.
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| Two demijohns of Blackberry Wine |
If you want to see how this wine turned out, click here.
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| Waiting for the Park Run to begin |
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| The Park Run on Christmas Day |
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| A photo I took on the same day as this diary entry |
| Something else which is dark and rich and smooth |
| What the last week has felt like |
