Julia's Wines - Elderberry 1993, 15th February 2020

I took this bottle over to Ros's, where we were planning the music for Alex and Vicky's wedding this September. The bottle was only three-quarters full and by the time it had spent half an hour's walk in the rucksack, it appeared to be fizzy. Things did not bode well. However, and with much surprise all round, this was rather drinkable. It had that cross-between sherry & port feel that wines this age tend to acquire - but it hadn't gone off. We all had a glass - raising them to Julia.

A photo taken on 16 February

 - a greengage tree being planted

Apple & Strawberry Wine - Second Bottle (4), 16th February 2019

This bottle accompanied an evening of games and hilarity. I took it to Ros's for a 'Games Evening', where we played Saboteur, Exploding Kittens, Bug in a Rug, Articulate and Blokus. All accompanied by cake and wine. In 'Articulate' Emma had to describe 'Rack' to me and all I could get was 'Breasts'. It took several minutes for the room to recover.

The wine was fabulous - even Alex, who has not been a fan of my wine in the past, thought so. It takes the best of both fruits, creating something refreshing and different.

Ros, Alex and Exploding Kittens

Julia's Wines: Elderflower 1993 - 16th February 2019

It has been a long time since we opened a bottle of Julia's ancient wines. When this one was being made, I was sitting my Law Society Finals and would not meet Claire for another two years.

I took the bottle to Ros's for an evening of Board Games and hilarity, and it was appropriate that Julia was represented. The wine looked beautiful and had an attractive scent. We all raised our glasses, toasted Julia, took a sip and poured the wine down the sink. It had not aged well.

Blackcurrant Wine - Fourth Bottle (B6), 13th January 2019

This bottle of blackcurrant wine rounded off a splendid weekend. Saturday was a many-pleasure day, involving viola master-classes, art galleries, dim-sum, the twenty-first floor of a hotel and cocktails in Harvey Nics. Dom (the bar manager there, and also Ros's son) extended our range from Margaritas to Cosmopolitans and Negronis, and I will visit those again.

Sunday we were back in Leeds and had an afternoon rehearsal with the Airedale - shortly after which I opened this bottle and sank gently into the evening.

A Negroni and Cosmopolitan at Harvey Nics

Blackberry Wine - Fifth Bottle (C3), 25th November 2018

Ros was not able to make the Wine Party, or the day afterwards, during which we started hoovering up the dregs that remained. However, she came over on Sunday night because we have not caught up properly with her for an age. Claire cooked many delicious curries and I opened the winner of last week's party (after we had drunk a bottle of the real stuff) and a good time was had by all. Strangely, Ros refused my offer to serve her a small glass of each of the four remaining wines - which are the four that came last.

The vessel with the pestle...

Blackcurrant & Raspberry Wine - Sixth Bottle (B1), 7th April 2017

This wine is better than I had remembered. It has matured nicely and has developed a sherry taste, while still being distinctly fruity. We took it to Ros's for an evening of wine, nibbles and conversation. It was meant to be Book Group, but so many people could not make it that we have postponed. This allowed us to catch up with Ros properly - it has been too long.

We drank a toast to Julia, finished the bottle quickly, opened another (real wine this time) and finished that too. The walk home did not feel as long as the walk there. Funny that.

Julia's Wines - Raspberry 1995, 28th May 2016

With apologies to Julia, this wine was godawful. It had an interesting smell of jam but the taste was synthetic and nasty. There was only the barest hint of raspberry. I managed to finish my glass and Ros said it wasn't the very worst wine she had ever had (without elaborating what was). Otherwise everyone else had one sip and the bottle was emptied into the sink. It was a wonderful evening, though - Game's Night at Ros's, and six of us were there. We played four games - Pit, Saboteur, Ex Libris, and Ticket to Ride. All were great fun and I won the first and last. (Not that I am at all competitive or care deeply about these things.)

Blackcurrant & Raspberry Wine - Fourth Bottle (A5), 12th March 2016

Eastern Europe was the theme of Saturday's Feast. Ros, Alex, Vicky and Emma came to ours - partly to eat lots of wonderful food and partly to examine the new house. Christian & Kate were invited but have split up (about which I am very sad) and neither came.

The food was, indeed, wonderful. We started with blinis and all sorts of exciting accompaniments mostly bought from a Polish shop (pink, salty fish-eggs are nasty). Next was a clear beetroot soup, followed by Bigos - apparently the national Polish dish with more meat than is sensible, including a spicy Polish sausage. We finished with Dobos Torte. Against all this, the wine was unremarkable, and in fact that was delicious too.

Half a Dobos Torte

Crab Apple Wine - Tenth Bottle (A6), 3rd-5th February 2016

Crab apple wine has turned into a default mid-week bottle when you want to drink something that isn't horrid. There are a few other flavours that meet this description, and this vintage of crab apple is the most flawed of all. It is rough and ready - not necessarily qualities one seeks in a wine.

We started the bottle post WYSO (A Midsummer Night's Dream continues to improve, Richard III has yet to grow on me). I finished it on Friday evening before Book Group. We had been promised a lift from Ros but at the last minute Stumpy, her cat, started behaving oddly, so I drove, trusting that any after effects from the crab apple wine had long since worn off.

Strawberry Wine - Second Bottle (6), 2nd October 2015

Book Group was round at ours last night and the home-made option for wine was Strawberry. Most people stuck to the red & white. Actually, that's not true - Catherine, Gina, Ros, Jenny, Claire and I all had at least some strawberry wine with Catherine being the most enthusiastic. Rightly so - it is a fine bottle. And it is lovely that Catherine was able to visit for Book Group: she founded it 13 years ago and it is a decade since she moved away.

Our book was After Me Comes the Flood, which was a near-universal 'Miss', though no-one felt strongly about it. Many thought it was reminiscent of The Bell by Iris Murdoch (a previous Book Group book), though not as good. Next month, a book about cancer genetics!

Blackcurrant & Raspberry Wine - Second Bottle (A6), 15th August 2015

I took this bottle to a Feast at Ros's. Bob, Julia's brother, had come up from Kent and we spent much of the evening drinking far too much and talking about Julia. Her house has finally sold which means Emma will need somewhere to live. It was lovely to see Bob - there is a large amount of Piggott in him (which is unsurprising).

The wine was fruity and light and sweet and delicious, and I think most people agreed.

I disgraced myself at the end of the night by falling asleep in an armchair, waking only to apologise when the taxi arrived.

Derek Piggott - Julia and Bob's father

Rhubarb Wine - Tenth Bottle (A3), 20th June 2015

What a feast we ate on Saturday. Ros, Richard & Linda came over for no reason, other than it was nice to spend an evening with them, and Claire cooked an expanse of Balkan food. We had a savoury yoghurt cake, potato casserole, stuffed carp (actually 'river cobbler'), mushrooms sauteed with onions and vinegar, asparagus, prune balls and Dobos Torte - a many-layered cake topped with brittle caramel. All of it was fabulous and the evening was just a delight. This bottle of rhubarb was the first of three opened and enjoyed by all (except for Linda, who cannot drink alcohol). It is a delicate white with a subtle rhubarb taste.

The yoghurt cake

Dobos Torte - in tact

Dobos Torte - half eaten.

Julia's Wines - Elderflower 1993, 7th February 2015

Not one of Julia's best. This wine was drinkable but was thin and not very interesting. The elderflower taste was hardly there. I apologised to Julia (in absentia) as I reached for the Prosecco instead. The evening as a whole was fantastic, though. Claire cooked many curries and we feasted with Ros, Emma, Christian and Kate. There was much laughter, plenty to drink and we ended the night playing Ex Libris. Which I won convincingly (he said, smugly). Claire and I did not get to bed until well past midnight, and that never happens. We already setting dates for the next get together.

Crab Apple & Strawberry Wine - Second Bottle (4), 7th February 2015

I have just counted up. We got through seven bottles last night. Between six of us. No wonder my head is pounding. This Crab Apple & Strawberry was one of the early ones and the only one of mine. The occasion was a Feast for Julia - or at least for six of those who miss her. As well as us two, there was Ros, Emma, Christian and Katie.

We drank this bottle to the starters, which were puris filled with spicy potatoes and tamarind sauce, and a savoury cake made with yoghurt and gram flour, topped with chillies, coriander and mustard seeds. This was a tantalising hint for the food to come.

The crab apple & strawberry was a good bottle - dry and interesting, and I was gratified to see the guests having a second glass.

Blackberry Wine - Seventh Bottle (A4), 21st December 2014

I took this bottle to Ros's for Sunday lunch. At the Lehany's 'Lunch' is a fluid concept. We started eating shortly before six.

This blackberry wine was excellent, but was far from the only bottle drunk in the evening. As a consequence, I have spent all of today (Monday) feeling exhausted and wondering if I am coming down with something. It was a lovely night, though, full of venison casserole, cheese and entertaining conversation.

Whitecurrant Wine - Third Bottle (2), 15th November 2014

We are getting into the realms of the Distinctly Unpopular. This wine came ninth in the Wine Party, scoring an average of 2.869. Two people declared it their worst. I think that is unfair. However, two people gave it top marks.

This wine party, more than any other, has been marked by a lack of agreement. Rachel described this bottle as 'cheek-sucking drain cleaner', whereas Lindsay wrote 'Liquid Stilton. In a good way', and gave it a 5. Vicky poured hers down the sink, and both Ros and Alex wrote simply "No".

Julia's Wine - Redcurrant 1994 - 15th November 2014

There were only two wines served at my wine party that achieved a higher score than 4 (out of 5). I did not make either of them. Julia's Redcurrant came second with 4.108, and I imagine she would have been delighted. Her wine did not taste much of its base fruit and, as I imagine happens with all aged country wines, appears to have turned into sherry. It was lovely, though, and the guests agreed. Those that got a taste. Ros, Alex and Vicky confessed that they were responsible for this being the first empty bottle of the evening.

Rose Petal Wine - Fourth Bottle (A4), 14th September 2014

I wanted to take something nice to Ros's and chose Rose Petal as a likely contender. Ros had invited us for Sunday lunch. When I checked my diary and found I was busy in the early afternoon, Ros explained that Sunday Lunch in the Lehany household meant a good while after six in the evening.

Claire and I walked over, through Gledhow Valley Wood, and were greeted by a couple of generous gins. The roast lamb was delicious too. I, of course, ate and drank too much, but had a lovely evening in which we narrowed the shortlist of trees to dedicate to Julia. The wine was fine, if not excellent, and I noticed that Alex only had one glass.

A potential tree for Julia - popular with bees and pyramid in shape

Elderberry Wine 2014 - The Making Of ...

Elderberries near Castle Howard

I have picked my elderberries in stages this year. The first lot were picked in Hookstone Forest near Harrogate on a sunny Sunday afternoon while Claire was at a wool festival. After some searching, I found a tree laden with fruit and picked well over a pound in about 15 minutes.

The next lot were picked on the verge of a track leading to the Yorkshire Arboretum. We were there to choose a tree for Julia in commemoration of a life lived well. I guessed, correctly, that there would be no elders in the Arboretum, on account of their prolific thuggishness, but was keen to involve Julia in this wine. There was only one suitable elder even leading up to it. While I was picking berries a Castle Howard gardener came through a gate and told me I needed the land-owner's permission for foraging. We then had a conversation about elder trees in general and elderberry wine in particular, and he allowed me to continue with barely a harumph.

My final set of elderberries came from trees close to home, mostly on the way to Meanwood. Stonegate Fields had too few, and I suspect this is my fault for over-picking elderflowers, but I found some good trees near Potternewton Lane.

With all my picking I ended up with 5 lbs 14 oz berries, and I judged this to be enough. Stripping them was made bearable by Radio 4 and the Dum Tee Dum podcast, and I eventually removed the juices staining my hands. (NB - If you click the link, and fast forward to 43:46, you will hear me ring in, and then a huge discussion of home-made wine. It is officially very funny. And then I appear right at the end at 57:00 - ish)

My stained left hand

I crushed the berries on Sunday afternoon, 14th September, in a two hour slot I had after playing a trio with Madeleine in St Edmund's Church and before going to Ros's for a roast. In this time I also made a chilli, washed up and bottled my lemon & lime wine, which was some going. I added 5 lbs sugar and 12 pints of boiling water to the crushed elderberries. On Monday morning I put in the yeast and a teaspoon each of nutrient and pectolase.

Elderberry Wine and Fuschias - a still life (with foot)

I didn't have an opportunity until Saturday morning, 20th September, to put this into its demijohns. It was an early morning job: I sieved out the elderberries, filling two demijohns while listening to the Today programme, which was dominated by discussions of Scotland's 'No to Devolution' vote. I think I'm pleased with the decision, but I fear the political games that David Cameron will now play. Anyway, the elderberry wine is in its demijohns, bubbling away, and as ever is pleasingly purple.

Pleasingly Purple

Elderberry Wine - Eleventh Bottle (B4), 22nd-23rd August 2014

This was the third bottle opened on Friday night while Ros was here, and that was a poor decision. Not because of its taste, which is full and red, but because of Saturday morning's headache. As hangovers go it was mild, but on the throbbing side of noticeable. Having indulged rather too heartily on Friday, we punished ourselves by only drinking what was left in this bottle on Saturday night. So Saturday - my parents' 50th wedding anniversary - was distinctly sober. It meant a good night's sleep, though, and I woke this Sunday morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.