Rose Petal and Orange Wine 2019 - Fourth Bottle (1), 22nd May 2021

Lockdown has taken a significant move towards release. We can now visit people indoors and stay over night. Our first visit, therefore, was to York where we spent Saturday night with my parents, the Eurovision Song Contest and this bottle of Rose Petal & Orange which I think everyone enjoyed. It retains its buttery smoothness.

Spending time with Mom & Pop was wonderful and, of course, immediately felt normal. Getting rapidly drunk on a Saturday night at Heworth Green is such a pleasure! As was Eurovision - as ridiculous and camp as ever. And we watched it exchanging WhatsApp messages with Todd & Anne, who were sharing the experience 8,000 miles away. 

A picture I took in York the following day

Rhubarb Wine 2017 - Fourteenth Bottle (A5), 15th-17th November 2020

I've done it again - left a bottle many days before writing about it. Always a mistake. As far as I can remember, it was a decent wine and we drank it to Tuna Surprise. The highlight of Sunday evening was chatting to Todd & Anne via Zoom. If there is one good thing about this pandemic it is that we have spoken to a greater number of distant friends and family more often than we might. Though going into central Leeds would now be an adventure, chatting to someone in Oregon feels normal. Because of the time difference I flaked out somewhat earlier than ideal - and we hadn't even finished the bottle. That was done on Tuesday to The Great British Bake Off's semi-final.

Taken on an 8 mile walk done on Sunday

Damson Wine - Final Bottle (6), 14th June 2020

This was the bottle that I chose for my 50th birthday. It is such a good wine - rich plum tastes combined with a vanilla smoothness. We drank it to steak in a blue cheese sauce, and then a second birthday cake for pudding.

One of my two birthday cakes

The day was perfect and I should have a significant birthday more often. In the morning Claire and I went for an 8 mile walk, centering on Lead Church. Then we went to York for a socially distant birthday lunch with Mom and Pop in the garden. Back home for a snooze and we finished by Zooming with Chris & Kate, Mom & Pop, and Todd & Anne.

My Birthday Lunch

Lead Church

On the Walk

 

On the Walk

Blackcurrant Wine - Third Bottle (2), 27th January 2018

This bottle of blackcurrant wine rounded off an excellent day. Chris and Kate came over, and the first thing we did was to experience an Escape Room. This is a concept where you are locked in a room for an hour with a series of puzzles to solve against the clock. It was a huge amount of fun, and we did it with 3 minutes to spare. Then we chatted to Todd and Anne via Skype, planning our trip to San Francisco in October and catching up generally. Finally, we had a wonderful meal of various curries made by Claire. I know that none of that makes interesting reading but good days rarely do!

The wine was far better than the Mango wine finished earlier, but that sets a low bar.

The Escape Room from which we escaped

Orange Wine - First Bottle (A5), 5th- 6th March 2014

This is a very good batch of orange. It is a little sweeter than most years, but the acid-citric flavour is subtle. There is a sharp orange taste and the clarity is excellent. So on the whole I am really pleased.

Wednesday's glass was after WYSO, where the music is starting to come together. I spent my time drinking while ordering the cat food into a sequence the cats will eat. They can't have the same flavour or the same brand within three pouches of each other. Fussy buggers.

Then on Thursday I drank wine while sitting motionless. Claire needed me to be the model for a hat she is making for Todd's 50th birthday (NB - Photo to follow very soon, after Todd's 50th birthday so he doesn't see it here first in case he ever reads this!).This involved her sewing a long pink woollen cable to a balaclava I was wearing at the time, only occasionally sticking my head with needles.

*

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

WYSO's next concert

Blackberry Wine - Seventh Bottle (B5), 9th December 2012

Lazy Sundays are the best. Other than vegetable shopping, a trip to the recycling centre and a couple of washing up sessions, I have done very little. And sometimes that is exactly how it should be. Life has been busy of late and will continue to be so in the run up to Christmas, so a day on the sofa has been welcome. There is some residual guilt for failing to do any Christmas shopping or cards, but there is more than two weeks to go. Bags of time.

This bottle of blackberry wine polished off the day's inactivity, and might fine it was too. We drank it to a nut roast, baked garlic, onion gravy and mushy peas, and I have followed it up with a small glass of cranberry vodka and a Skype conversation with Todd & Anne. It looks like we will be going to Oregon next year. Hoorah.

Crab Apple - Bottle A5, 9th October 2011

Having spent much of the weekend turning crab apples into a variety of wines, this bottle was the natural choice to drink. The sun was only just past its official six o'clock yard arm when I removed the cork, but using a modicum of self-restraint this bottle has lasted the night.

I spent much of the evening talking to Todd, who I have not spoken to since February. It was lovely catching up with him - he is a kindred spirit. The rest of the evening has involved eating fabulous curries prepared by Claire - one of which contained the last of this year's tomatoes, and watching QI on insects and other invertebrates. It is an appealing programme, and closely related to Radio 4 panel shows.