Strawberry Wine 2017 - Fifth Bottle (1), 22nd December 2019

Sunday was a two party day. In the afternoon we went to Ilkley for 'Mendelssohn and Mince Pies', where Claire played in an octet and I played board games. Then in the evening we went to Phil and Angie's, where I took this bottle of strawberry wine. I sang carols at both. This year we were unable to go carolling around the neighbourhood due to new red-tape regulations about collecting money (we hadn't given the requisite 28-day notice) so stayed in and drank strawberry wine instead. It was a bottle universally enjoyed - as it should be!

Xmas Tutti Fruti - Seventh Bottle (B6), 2nd December 2018

I needed Sunday. Whilst the previous week at work had been a busy one, Saturday was manic. It was the WYSO concert (Siegfried Idyll, Mendelssohn's Piano Concert No. 1 and Beethoven 6) and when I wasn't playing, I was organising things (keys, gifts for the soloist, rearranging the church, tea and coffee). The concert went brilliantly and we drank a bottle of real wine to celebrate. Consequently, Sunday was quiet and restful. I finished by book (The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner - excellent), did crosswords and ordered roses for the garden. Oh, and drank a bottle of Christmas Tutti Fruti, which is one of my better batches - as fruity as the name implies.

Rose Petal Wine - Fourth Bottle (C1), 15th October 2017

This rose petal wine is splendid. The colour and clarity cannot be criticised, and the taste is delightful. Floral and exotic. It has been our treat after a concert full of Fifth Symphonies (Beethoven and Mendelssohn), where the audience failed to clap after the end of Mendelssohn's. I think this is because they hadn't realised it had ended, rather than we played it badly (which we did not!). Since the concert, Claire and I have drunk the wine, chatting companionably in the front room. It has been a lovely evening.

Blackberry Wine - Third Bottle (B6), 18th-19th December 2016

I had my first ever crisp sandwich while drinking this wine. Claire has mentioned these previously in hushed tones as if describing a thing of beauty and is amazed that I have never had one before. I found the experience underwhelming - very much the sum of its parts. Neither delicious nor nutritious. But we did not fancy a proper meal, having spent the afternoon in Ilkley snacking on Christmas food, while Claire played in Mendelssohn's Octet.

The wine, good as it was, remained unfinished until Monday night, and then I only had a glass to keep Claire company.

Blackcurrant Wine - Eleventh Bottle (C5), 19th-20th March 2016

What a fabulous bottle of wine. This was packed with healthy vitamin C and is therefore officially Good For You. Fact. Every now and again I make a bottle of wine which I would drink in preference to a good red - and this was one. I opened it immediately after a WYSO concert, which went surprisingly well. We had had a poor rehearsal, where pieces fell apart and the Mendelssohn was particularly ropey. This ensured that the orchestra concentrated all the way through the concert and I think it paid off. The Tchaikovsky Romeo & Juliet Overture was the highlight. It has been a weekend of concerts, though, and this bottle was finished after the ASO concert where my overriding memory will be of being far too hot throughout. It did nothing for my tuning.

Elderflower Wine - Third Bottle (4), 13th-15th January 2016

This term, WYSO is playing music inspired by Shakespeare. On Wednesday night we came home having played Tchaikovsky's Romeo & Juliet Overture and much of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream. All good stuff - and a glass of elderflower wine hit the spot nicely. I'm sure that if Oberon and Titania could choose a wine it would be elderflower.

I finished the bottle on Friday night after we had returned from the Playhouse to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It is a ridiculous musical but was done brilliantly. Once I had turned off my cynicism setting, I sat back and let the fun wash over me.

Rose Petal Wine - Ninth Bottle (B1), 28th-29th March 2015

This bottle was mostly a post-concert celebration. WYSO played at St Chad's on Saturday night in a programme dedicated to Spring. We had Delius's On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring (which is tedious for bassoons), Mendelssohn's violin concerto (which was premiered in March 1845 - a tenuous Spring connection) and Schumann's  Spring Symphony. It all went rather well - and I managed the massively long note between the first and second movements of the concerto without breathing. Hurrah.

The wine was lovely, and a satisfying way to calm the adrenalin following the concert.

Redcurrant Wine - Fifth Bottle (A2), 25th-27th March 2015

After a couple of bottles of Redcurrant that were entirely drinkable, this bottle reverted to mustiness. It was not dreadful, but I would have sent it back had it been served in a restaurant. I poured a large glass for each of us following WYSO, which was entirely taken up with Mendelssohn. Claire had a good portion last night whilst I was playing trios with Pat & Peter. Then I pretty much finished the bottle tonight, leaving the chewy bits at the bottom, while listening to the News Quiz. All in all, an entirely unremarkable bottle of wine.

(NB - I have written some dull posts in my time, but I think that is the dullest. Many apologies.)

Prune & Parsnip Wine - First Bottle (A3), 8th-11th February 2015

After I had bottled and shared round my rose petal wine, it was decided that I should open another bottle. Prune & Parsnip was an ideal choice - I had spent much of the evening making 2015's batch.

This wine is remarkably consistent: it always has the same dark golden colour and a sweet sherry taste. Both of these are Good Things.

After Sunday, we spent the next three days drinking a little at a time. On Wednesday, we drank the last of the wine after WYSO, where we played Mendelssohn's violin concerto - a glorious piece of music. The soloist came, and he is the same man who played the Beethoven with us in 2013. The Mendelssohn has been on my internal jukebox ever since.

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