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.

Crab Apple Wine 2020 - First Bottle (1), 16th May 2021

"Ointmenty". That is Claire's description of this wine. She doesn't think it unpleasant but feels it is a little medicinal in flavour. I, however, am really happy with it. This wine is sharper and more interesting that pure apple wine. It has a lovely golden colour to it and I delighted that after a five year gap, I am able to be self sufficient in crab apples for wine again.

We drank it on Sunday evening which was another Zoom dinner party courtesy of Padian Foods with Rachel & Duncan. This month it was Kapitan Chicken - excellent food at the hot end of spicy and it was a wonderful evening. Full of joy and laughter and, of course, Crab Apple Wine.

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

I also made a Rhubarb Meringue Pie

This is it before it was baked.

Rose Petal Wine 2018 - Ninth Bottle (A2), 17th-18th February 2021

When Claire asked what bottle of wine was next on the list to get rid of, I chose Rose Petal - a flavour that we drink slower than we might if it were better! This bottle was actually fine and I may make Rose Petal Wine again one day.

There was nothing exciting about either day on which we drank it, save that we watched The Death of Stalin on Thursday, which had a fabulous cast and managed to be both brutal and funny. Not a light comedy, and it explored the nature of power with a satirical eye. Recommended.

Taken on 18th February - A Study in Circles.

Orange Wine 2019 - Fifth Bottle (3), 31st January - 2nd February 2021

Sunday night was another virtual dinner party with Rachel & Duncan, this time to celebrate Duncan's birthday. Our Zoom screens went on at 6, we drank our aperitifs and began cooking a Malaysian Chicken Curry from Padian Foods. Early on in the process I opened this orange wine, which was butter smooth and delicious. We had an excellent evening: over three hours of cooking, eating, drinking, conversation and laughter. Once this pandemic ends we will continue these virtual sessions.

I also made biscuits that day, and this is them in progress

Halloween Wine - Fifth Bottle (1) 30th-31st October 2020

 A bottle of Halloween Wine on All Hallows' Eve, albeit opened a day early. The wine has a hint of chili taste and is a dry, fruity red. Mostly we drank it whilst watching television. On Friday it was Taskmaster which is silly and joyous and exactly right for these difficult times. I think snot bubbled from my nose at one point. Then on Halloween we finished the bottle watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show with the Snarkalong Film Club. It was a radical film for 1975 and has actually aged quite well. Tim Curry is just fabulous!

Wiggy on my lap, using wide angle lens

Elderberry Wine 2017 - Ninth Bottle (A6), 16th August 2020

Sunday was one of those days where I felt that I had done very little with it. I am rarely bored - or more accurately I rarely have boring moments, though recently have had whole weeks which are dull - but Sunday was a day of tedium. At one point I forced myself to get away from the computer and go for a walk. Big mistake. I have rarely been so wet when fully clothed. The deluge was so extreme that all I could do was laugh. Three days later and my trainers are still damp. Anyway, we had a bottle of elderberry wine in the evening, which had lumps, and watched 'Line of Duty'

The weather (and this only hints at it)

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2014 - Final Bottle (A2), 25th December 2019

Merry Christmas to one and all. I had left this bottle for several years because I think it is absolutely the best wine that I have ever made. But I didn't want it developing that sherry taste that fruit wines can get if left too long. Therefore Christmas Day, five years after it was made, seemed a suitable occasion. 

We are hosting festivities in Leeds this year, with all Taylors down to stay, and it has been a lovely day. Claire and I started it at the Park Run in Roundhay Park: she was running and I most definitely was not. There were hundreds of runners there - many in costume. The Taylors arrived at about one (I was still sweeping) and from then on the day was full of laughter, food and rather too much to drink.

Waiting for the Park Run to begin

Blackcurrant Wine 2018 - Seventh Bottle (A4), 28th March 2020

This social distancing and lockdown regime does mean that one has to be more inventive with both communication and entertainment. I opened a bottle of blackcurrant wine during a virtual drinks party, where three of my colleagues and I appeared on my phone screen using WhatsApp. Whilst not a perfect success, it was entertaining. Lots of laughter. Then Claire and I finished the bottle whilst watching a concert put together by suggestions from our Newcastle friends, using YouTube. There was a collective enjoyment (though I fell asleep during Shostakovich 5). Despite the circumstances, a good day.

A photo I took on 28th March - it is a good book.

Ginger Wine 2018 - Fourth Bottle (6), 29th December 2019

We had an impromptu pizza party last night. The occasion was 'Magnolia Petal Wine Bottling', to which I invited Phil and Angie as owners of the magnolia tree. Bottling a wine produces two glasses for immediate consumption so I knew something else would be required, and ginger wine is seasonal. Also it is one of my Good Ones - and Suitable For Guests. Claire made four delicious pizzas, and only three of us ended up with hot cheese and tomatoes down our clothes. It was a lovely evening: unplanned and laughter-filled.

Seven Swans a Swimming 

(and yes, I know that 29th December 

is not the seventh day of Christmas)

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.

Rhubarb Wine - Sixth Bottle (C2), 16th November 2018

On Wine Party Eve, Claire and I asked each other whether we should open a bottle of wine. Claire said that if we opened one, we wouldn't have to finish it. We then both fell about laughing.

I chose Rhubarb on the basis that it won't appear at the Party - and also that it is a good one. Claire guessed that it was apple wine on tasting it, and I see what she means - there is a sharp cox tasted to it.

We spent the evening waiting for Sooz to arrive from Dublin, watching old episodes of Inside No. 9 and Doctor Who - Zanzibar and Turn Left respectively (and both excellent). By the time that Sooz actually arrived, I had gone to bed.

Blackcurrant and Raspberry Wine - Eighth Bottle (A4), 10th November 2018

I thought that a bottle of wine closely associated with Julia would be a suitable one for a Rydal committee meeting at our house. It is strange that she died four and a half years ago - it seems like both so much more recently and so much longer at once. We raised our glasses to her and got on with the business of the evening - which was idle gossip and laughter. In theory, Matt, Jane, Jayne, Nick and I were meeting to plan Rydal 2019 and discuss issues arising from that. In practice we did little of the sort (though not none). It was a fabulous evening and this bottle emptied quickly.

Rose Petal Wine - Sixth Bottle (A6), 26th December 2016

We had a raucous time on Boxing Day E'en whilst drinking rose petal wine. Claire, Sooz and I went round to Andrew's with alcohol and games - a winning combination. We played Exploding Kittens and Sabateur, sat by the stove and filled the room with laughter. Things got particularly silly when Andrew found a pipe and we all had a go looking like Edwardian gentlemen. I couldn't get the pipe-hold right and only succeeded in looking exceedingly camp.

The rose petal wine was only a minor part of the evening - neither Sooz nor Andrew had realised it was rose petal until the bottle was finished and I mentioned it. Claire only had a sip as designated driver.

Crab Apple Wine - Twelfth Bottle (C6), 9th-11th March

I came back from WYSO in a far better mood than had gone. On Wednesday I had been feeling headachy and run down all day, and I am worrying about an unsightly black lumpy rash on my back. But at WYSO I entertained myself by swapping mouthpieces between a French Horn and a bassoon, and all anxiety was chased away by laughter.

We opened the bottle on our return, and shared it over Thursday and Friday. In fact, I didn't need any wine on Thursday. I had spent the day in London on a course (taking time to visit Tate Modern) and came back on a first class ticket. Being plied with copious amounts of booze seems to be one of the perks of travelling first class. How the other half live!

Turns out it's Shingles and not cancer at all

Crab Apple Wine - Sixth Bottle (C3), 13th November 2015

I shouldn't really have finished this bottle. It was a Friday night and I had drunk very little through the (rather stressful) week. But we started the evening with a glass of rhubarb wine and then Claire had no more than a couple of glasses from this bottle. It wasn't even as if I particularly wanted the rest - but I justified empying it on the basis that there was 'only' a glass and a half left.

The wine was a very ordinary Crab Apple and Friday night was a very ordinary end-of-week night. So, nothing to laugh at at all.

Blackcurrant Wine - Fifth Bottle (3), 4th May 2015

It is cruel to do so, but Claire and I spent much of the day laughing at Stan. Mind you, he has cost us £350 in vets' bills, so he shouldn't begrudge us the entertainment value. Stan has a wounded leg that went septic. The vet has drained the abscess and put a cone round his head to prevent him licking the wound. Now Stanley wanders round bumping into things and looking cross. The sound of our laughter cannot help. But none of this is about wine, which was an excellent bottle - better than previous ones of this flavour and full of sharp blackcurrant.

Stan in the Cone of Shame

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.

Cherry Wine - Third Bottle (2), 31st December 2014

This was a splendid bottle of wine - one of the best I have made. I can't understand why it was different to the other two described elsewhere on this blog. There was more depth, a clearer cherry flavour and it was a whole, rounded taste. It was one of our New Year's Eve bottles and we spent this in Cambridge at Duncan's. The evening was lovely: full of food, laughter and alcohol. Between the five of us we got through four bottles plus an initial cocktail. It was certainly enough to stun me. Claire went to bed first, but she had the excuse of suffering from the initial stages of a cold (presumably donated by me). I followed soon after. Neither of us made the midnight chimes.

Ginger Wine - Fourth Bottle (6), 29th-30th October 2014

Whilst definitely gingery, this wine has something about it that is cloying. It is drinkable, certainly, but not one of my best. What I have discovered, however, is that it is improved substantially by even a drop of cheap whisky. That adds a sharpness and definition that is otherwise missing.

On Thursday Claire demanded a glass as soon as she walked through the door. Her day had involved lots of brain power and she needed something restorative. We then went to the theatre to see Northern Broadside's production of She Stoops to Conquer, which was excellent. Broad comedy with superb physical humour, and just gorgeous to look at.

On my return I drained the bottle - adding just a dash of Sainsbury's Own Bland Basics Whisky.