Gooseberry Wine 2020 - Fifth Bottle (5), 20th November 2021

 Liz & David hosted an evening of pure jollity on Saturday. Phil, Angie, Claire and I all gathered there to eat Take-Out pizza and make merry. It has been a little while since I had such unadulterated fun and there was much laughter. Also much wine, of which this bottle of gooseberry was one. It really is a good wine, with a sweetened gooseberry taste. The postscript to this evening, though, is that on Wednesday Liz sent round a message to say that she has Covid. I hope to remain unaffected.

A current selection of the wine I have on the go.

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2020 - Fourth Bottle (5), 23rd October 2021

It has been a quiet Saturday, though originally Chris & Kate were meant to stay for the weekend. That they have both fallen ill (not Covid, I think) is unfortunate but at least it meant that I didn't have to spend two hours tidying frantically. Instead I have shopped, played my mother at Scrabble, made a fabulous bread & butter pudding (from the remains of the Gugelhopf) and tried to watch Lego Batman, which was a fail from me. Oh, and drunk half a bottle of Prune & Parsnip, which is Perfectly Pleasant

Wiggy on 23 October

Magnolia Petal Wine 2019 - Third Bottle (5), 9th August 2021

I took this bottle with me to the family holiday in Wales because Claire thinks it is horrid and she is remaining in Leeds. Mom, Pop and Rachael all disagreed. They were enthusiastic in helping me finish the bottle. This was towards the end of a lovely day, which began with Pop and me going on a five and a half mile walk and ascending Bryn Teg. I had planned to go further but Pop had not brought walking boots and climbing hills with an octogenarian in sandals would have been a disaster. Still, it would have hastened the inheritance.

Spending this much time with my father was a delight. The Alzheimer's is taking its grip, but he is still very much Pop and says that on the whole he is happy. And that is the important thing.

Pop and me at the summit of Bryn Teg.

Orange Wine 2020 - Third Bottle (A6), 21st May 2021

I downed this bottle (or more than my fair share of it) on Friday night in a state of existential glumness. Earlier in the day I had seen the doctor who told me to eat more (not a terrible instruction) but there may be a (not particularly serious) internal issue, and he has prescribed me pills (the potential side effects of which sound horrific). I am 50 (soon to be 51). I am too young to be on pills. I try to avoid taking even paracetamol unless I have a particularly bad headache. Anyway, I have yet to take one and I did not really taste the wine.

Fully clothed on my bathroom scales

Damson Wine 2020 - Second Bottle (4), 19th-20th May 2021

Well, this is rather splendid. There is a distinct damson taste, it has a fizz to it, the colour is glorious and it achieves a lightness that makes this wine an entirely pleasant drink. Now that I have a source of damsons I will make this one of my regulars. There was little of note to happen on Wednesday when we opened the wine. On Thursday I went for more blood tests to see if there is anything sinister causing my weight loss (Spoiler - there isn't). And it tipped it down both days. Oh for some sun!

A cactus is flowering.

Orange Wine 2021 - The Making Of...

One of the 'First World Problems' caused by Covid 19 is the sheer amount of queuing that it creates. Whilst one might point to the 120,000 deaths in the UK, the mental health crisis, the vast unemployment and the failure to see loved ones, it was the time spent standing in lines that annoyed me most on Saturday, 6th March. The greengrocer, the butcher and the post office all had long, slow-moving queues and by the time that I got home Claire had to calm me down with cake.

A crate of 24 oranges

Making things better, though, the greengrocer had set aside a box of 24 oranges for me - large Spanish oranges looking like they had been plucked from their tree mere hours ago. 

I started making my wine that afternoon by thinly peeling half of the oranges and covering the peel in two pints of boiling water. This is always the most tedious bit of making orange wine and this year I separated it out of the process by making it my first task, leaving the orange peel to percolate in its water for 24 hours. I did a particularly poor job of avoiding the pith and if this wine turns out too bitter, that will be the explanation. 

A particularly poor job of avoiding the pith

On Sunday afternoon, 7th March, I squeezed all 24 oranges - changing hands every three oranges so as to avoid a painful and overused shoulder. This is a sticky job and required frequent handwashing.

Some of the oranges with outer skin removed

With the oranges being larger than most years I got far more juice - 6 pints (including all the bits of flesh). I added 6¾ pints of cold water and the two pints of water that had been covering the peel. Into this I poured 5½ lbs of sugar and gave it a good stir. I then started 2 teaspoons of yeast fermenting in half a pint of water with a teaspoon of sugar and put this into the mix once fermentation had begun. I added a teaspoon of pectolase and 1½ teaspoons of nutrient. Though my usual timetable would have me putting the wine into its demijohn on Friday, it was Book Group that night (Grownups by Marian Keyes - hated by some, loved by others) so I did this all on Saturday 13th March instead. There was little to sieve out so the process was quick. I am left with two demijohns of pure sunshine.

Two demijohns of sunshine

Gooseberry Wine 2019 - Fourth Bottle (4), 24th December 2020

In contravention of current law, Mom and Pop came over and we treated them to a cup of tea indoors. Had this been tomorrow, that would have been legal. It is a Looking Glass World in which we live. Mom was keen to see the advent windows, so we walked the street with Mom taking great care over getting a perfect photograph of each. I have rarely been so cold. It was wonderful to see them, though. The very worst thing about this Covid situation is not being able to spend time with those that you love.

As they left I opened this gooseberry wine, which is a decent bottle, and drank it, wanting to blur reality's edges for a short time.

One of our Advent Windows (but from the
inside during daylight hours)

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2019 - Seventh Bottle (A2), 12th-13th November 2020

I don't know where all my prune & parsnip wine has gone. This was the only bottle I could find of at least eight dotted around the house. I have yet to open up the crypt - so maybe they are down there. This particular bottle was my only 1 litre vessel - so drinking it over two days was sensible. Friday, though, began with Margaritas and a Zoom catch-up with Catherine - who might have mumps. Having a notifiable disease that is not Covid 19 must be quite the privilege. 

My day at work had been busy and fraught, and it ended on a downer. I had made a foolish mistake months ago and only realised on Friday. This prevented one of our house-buyers moving in. Their weekend will have been ruined, and it was my fault.

Taken on 12th November - a park close to us

Rose Petal Wine 2016 - Seventeenth Bottle (B4), 30th October 2020

I am starting to worry about my weight loss. At the beginning of Lockdown I was over 10½ stone (or over 147 pounds or 67 kilos). Seven months later I am around 9 stone 10 (or 136 pounds or 62 kilos). Probably this is down to increased exercise, but maybe it isn't. Also I have been feeling dizzier of late. Therefore, I made an appointment today to get some blood tests done. Watch this space.

In the evening I made a fabulous butternut squash risotto (chili oil being the magic ingredient) and we drank this rose petal wine, which was surprisingly good.

[NB - If you think the photos below are too personal or inappropriate, let me know and I will delete them.]

Me on 11 July 

Me on 31 October

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2019 - First Bottle (B3), 12th September 2020

I have broken tradition with this bottle but at Claire's suggestion. Covid 19 makes it near certain that we will not be able to celebrate Christmas with others. Therefore, we decided to mark the event three months early in Newcastle instead - as well as celebrating all the birthdays missed (which includes Bob's 80th and my 50th). We had just the best evening at 3 The Alders with all the Taylors in attendance. The food was excellent and the wine rather too plentiful. For an evening we forgot about pestilence and enjoyed each other's company.

As an aside, this wine is rather good. I think blackcurrant is the dominant flavour, which is remarkably odd, given that in the ingredients there is not a single blackcurrant!

The Taylor siblings

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

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2018 - Sixth Bottle (B6), 17th July 2020

Ian Ward has died. I heard from Paul on Monday that he was dangerously ill, and by Friday he was dead. It wasn't Covid 19 and I'm not quite clear what it was. Paul, being in Canada, cannot come over without quarantining for a fortnight. It is a miserable position to be in. And I am hugely sad at Ian's loss - he was a fine and good man - so much more than my best friend's dad. We opened this bottle and toasted Ian from the glasses given to us by Paul and Allie for our wedding.

An Edwardian Post Box taken on 17 July

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2018 - Final Bottle (A4), 7th-8th July 2020

There is little to say about this bottle. Prune & Parsnip is never a flavour about which to write reams of loving prose. It was fine - a pleasing colour with a distinctive sherry taste.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday were unremarkable, bordering on the dull. Things feel so stagnant at the moment - take each day as it comes and never mind if it was exactly the same as the one before. Damn this virus.

In somewhat better news, we now have hot water to our kitchen.

Taken on 7th July - a virus testing unit

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2018 - Second Bottle (A1), 10th-11th March 2020

Thin and a bit disappointing.

I ventured under the stairs for a bottle of blackberry wine but pulled this Xmas Tutti Fruti out instead. It was okay and filled its role of 'midweek bottle', but I have had better.

On Tuesday I drank a glass whilst watching Inside No. 9 - this series has been excellent and the writers are the masters of misdirection. Wednesday's ration was drunk after what proved to be our last WYSO of the season. Our opera is now cancelled because of Corona Virus fears (and the baritone being quarantined in Northern Italy). We are living in strange and exciting times.

A photo taken on 8th March of 

The Corn Exchange in Leeds

Blackberry Wine 2018 - Fourth Bottle (A3), 18th-19th March 2020

We should have been at WYSO on Wednesday for our final rehearsal of La Villi before Saturday and Sunday's performances. Instead we were at WYSO collecting the music in to return to the publishers. It is only a small sacrifice to have made to the Corona Virus pandemic, but a miserable one. Artistic life is going to be devastated over the coming months.

At home I opened a bottle of blackberry wine and we had a take-out pizza. The pizza was somewhat less disappointing than the wine. Curiously, the wine had improved the next day.

Some mushrooms - I took this photo on 18th March

Rose Petal & Orange Wine 2018 - Second Bottle (5), 12th-13th March 2020

I think that this wine has improved a little through keeping: there is a hint of butter to its taste. The rose petal is dominant but the orange is there and helps.

I was home along on Friday night and drank half the bottle to the series finale of Doctor Who, which was actually quite good. The country is currently in the grip of Pandemic Panic - supermarket shelves are empty of pasta and toilet paper. The only thing that I am stockpiling is wine.

One of our cats, unbothered by Pandemic Panic

Strawberry Wine 2018 - Third Bottle (6), 14th March 2020

By special request, I took this bottle to David and Liz's, where we spent the evening eating Mexican food. The chilli and guacamole were fabulous, but I found the wine rather less so. It is too dry and doesn't taste much of strawberries. Liz, however, said that she really liked it.

Most of the evening was spent discussing the impending storm of Covid 19/the Corona virus. Having been entirely blasé about it, I am now worried about how much impact it will have on my life - physical, emotional, professional, financial - over the next several months. Wish us luck.

Our kitchen - taken on 14th March.

I had just got a brand new phone, and this 

was the first photo that I took with it.

Orange Wine 2018 - Third Bottle (A6), 28th December 2019

"Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a hacking cough," grumbled Ben, lying on the sofa.

I spent the day feeling sorry for myself and washed out, and I didn't get out of my pyjamas. The plan had been to go to York for the afternoon, but instead I watched Worzel Gummidge  and read Dangerous Liaisons, both of which are excellent in very different ways.

In the evening we hoovered up pretty much all of the Christmas leftovers (there is still one helping of soup and some whisky sauce) and drank this bottle of orange wine. It probably isn't the tonic I need right now, but drinking to excess is as traditional as being mildly ill.

Can anyone spot why I have posted this photo?
There is a connection with the text.

PS - Just yesterday (28 April) and today, I have been getting more hits to my blog than usual, coming via Facebook. If anyone reads this who has come from there and can be bothered - can you direct me to the page where I appear? I'd love to know.

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2018 - Tenth Bottle (A2), 20th March 2020

Today marked Claire's last day in her lab until Covid 19 has passed (and it will pass). However, she has volunteered to test for the disease and received an email saying 'More details to follow'. So, she may be back at work before we know it.

At my work I said my goodbyes and 'see you on the other side's to the large number of colleagues who are now to work from home. It has been a strange day.

We rounded it off with a bottle of Prune & Parsnip and an episode of Mad Men. The films Twelve Monkeys, Contagion, and Shaun of the Dead all seemed inappropriate.

A photo (of sloe blossom) that I took on 20th March

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2017 - Final Bottle (A1), 25th-26th December 2019

This was the third bottle of Tutti Fruti opened on Christmas Day and the least good of the three. But 2014's vintage is the best wine I have ever made and 2018 is excellent, so this is no criticism. Andrew said that it needed time to mature, which is a shame, seeing as this is the last bottle.

It was lovely having the Taylors to stay, even if Bob and Judith were both ill with hacking coughs.

The Park Run on Christmas Day

Rhubarb Wine 2017 - Tenth Bottle (C3), 19th-20th December 2019

Rhubarb wine is such a reliable white. Crisp and flavoursome, and my favourite bog-standard white.

This bottle drew a difficult week to a close. Work has been frantically busy and it is not yet over for the year, I have had to pay £1,500 for using a copyrighted photo on my blog (and I don't know what my legal fees are yet) and someone I love dearly has been diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's. This last is obviously the most significant but not a surprise. When they rang to tell me, they were sanguine about it. I told them that I loved them and I managed not to cry.