Blackberry Wine - First Bottle (A4), 1st September 2019

When I bottled this vintage I was disappointed. It was not the lush blackberry flavour that I had wanted. In the three months since bottling it has improved. Maybe not an all time classic vintage, but this blackberry wine certainly holds its own: it is fruity and exceedingly drinkable. Sunday seemed like the right day to drink it: I had been out picking blackberries in the nearby park for Tutti-Fruti and the day felt like the first day of autumn.

We have a plum glut and Claire had spent the day dealing with part of that. A plum and blackberry crumble was the natural pudding.

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

Rose Petal Wine - Third Bottle (A6), 24th August 2014

I chilled this bottle for a day before drinking and conclude that rose petal wine is better as a result. It has a hint of bitter undertones but is floral taste and dry, fizzy nature counteract those. We drank it on a lazy bank holiday Sunday in which we recycled a year's worth of glass and Claire made plum sauce. The day concluded with Peter Capaldi's first Doctor Who, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The Doctor is safe in his hands.

Gooseberry - Bottle A2, 4th September 2011

Today has been the first Northern Wagner Orchestra rehearsal of 2011. This year is the turn of Tannhauser and I have spent much of the day sitting in Leeds University Student Union Building behind my bassoon playing either long notes or complicated rhythms. I think it is more tuneful than much of the Ring Cycle, but without the singers it is difficult to tell.

This gooseberry wine was chilled in anticipation of a heavy day's blowing and we drank the first half in the garden during the last of the evening sunlight whilst Claire planted kale, broccoli and broadbeans. The rest accompanied stir-fry pork in a fabulous homemade plum sauce - courtesy of Julia's allotment. Far better use of plums than plum wine.