Rhubarb Wine 2021 - First Bottle (1), 9th January 2022

This could be the best rhubarb wine that I have made. It is light, refreshing and has a pleasant fruity taste. Its colour is the palest of pinks and it is absolutely clear. Unusually, it is rather better than the Rhubarb, elderflower and mint that I bottled today as well.

My day was one of pottering and wine making and was exactly how I wanted to spend Sunday. In the evening Claire served a sausage and bean casserole with roast Jerusalem artichokes and mash, and we continued with The Killing (which holds up well on second viewing). During this I adulterated the last of the rhubarb wine with the last of the ginger wine. The ginger was dominant, but it was a good mix.

The Rhubarb Wine (I think - possibly Ginger!)

Rhubarb Wine 2020 - Second Bottle (B3), 16th-17th September 2021

There is a burnt taste to this wine and it is quite unlike any rhubarb wine that I have made before. It has a flavour of "Early stages of Lockdown" when the supermarket shelves were bare of anything useful, like white sugar. That I have another ten bottles does not fill me with delight.

Thursday was a strange day. I was in the office (first week back!) but - due to the new hybrid working arrangements, just about no other bugger was. Sitting in a room by myself, but commuting to do so, seems like the worst of both worlds in this new regime.

No photos taken on 16-17th September.
Here is one from my last day of holiday.

Rhubarb Wine 2018 - Thirteenth Bottle (A2), 18th-24th August 2021

This was very much a mid-week bottle that lasted several days in the fridge. It was okay and served its purpose, but was not a memorable or delicious wine. Medical procedures have figured rather in the timeframe. I won't go into the first one, but everything was fine. On the day the bottle was finished, I went to a new dentist with a toothache. Disaster! Either I shall have to have it pulled or I will have to have a two hour root canal operation followed by a crown. Neither is joyful!

Taken on 24 August to celebrate International Bow-Tie Day

Rhubarb Wine 2018 - Twelfth Bottle (A1), 7th July 2021

I have yet to let on to Claire that this bottle came from the Rhubarb Wine vintage that she claims is nasty. She drank it without complaint. It was a Wednesday evening bottle in a week that has been the most sociable for a very, very long time. We had Pat's 80th on Saturday, an impromptu meal at Mary's on Sunday and wind quintets in Harrogate on Monday, with trios to follow on Thursday and Book Group (albeit that one by Zoom) on Friday. That is pre-lockdown levels of sociability and then some. So of course a quiet night in on Wednesday became a whole bottle night.

Wiggy and I had a disagreement about the chair

Rhubarb Wine 2019 - Eighth Bottle (A4), 29th-30th June 2021

I have new boots. Bought at great expense and looking as if they have been made by elves for a medieval Germanic shoemaker, I am really pleased with them. It is the first time that I have been at all interested in footwear apart from slippers. On Tuesday I took my first walk in them - just to Sainsbury's - and I did not return limping and blistered. In the evening I opened this bottle and we had our first glass inspecting the garden and spotting amphibians in the pond. The wine is a fine vintage of rhubarb - there is a touch of bronze to its colour and I think it similar to a shop-bought white. Claire may disagree!

I had the last glass on Wednesday after returning from Madeleine's quintets. It is so good to be playing chamber music again. 

New Boots

Rhubarb Wine 2021 - The Making Of...

Sunday 9th May was a day for domestic tasks. Most Sundays are. Ever since I made a cake for Claire's birthday in January, and thereby discovering that I could, I have used Sunday mornings to make a cake or similar to keep us in treats throughout the week. This Sunday it was my Aunt Jennifer's Traveler's Biscuit Cake - neither cake nor biscuit but somewhere in between and the winning combination of delicious and easy.

Traveler's Biscuit Cake - neither cake nor biscuit

Most of the rest of Sunday was occupied by wine-making. I racked my orange and bottled both the crab apple and the crab apple & strawberry. But the day's main task was starting this year's rhubarb wine.

Rhubarb in the front garden

All rhubarb used this year is home-grown. Last year Claire relocated several rhubarb plants into our front garden, which gets the sun nearly all day. This year they are thriving and these were the plants that produced most the rhubarb for the wine. In comparison, our rhubarb in the back is a sickly cousin; limp and weedy.

Freshly picked rhubarb

With judicious picking of stalks, I got 3 lbs 12 oz. Whilst I could have got another 2 lbs 4 oz for a double batch, I decided to do a single instead. We have plenty of rhubarb wine dotted around the house and I should start decreasing our excess.

Rhubarb sticks being washed

I chopped 3 lbs of rhubarb stalks thinly (after washing them, of course) and put these in the bucket with 3 lbs sugar. I boiled up just over 6 pints of water and poured this in, stirring to dissolve the sugar. On Monday morning I added the yeast, pectolase and nutrient (a teaspoon of each) and I was moderately diligent at stirring once a day throughout the week.

Rhubarb chopped thinly

The wine went into its demijohn on Friday evening, 14th May, after a hugely busy day at work - by early afternoon I was on the honey & lemon to ease my throat. I had spent the day on call after call. Anyway, the wine making tasks were relatively quick and I now have a demijohn of pale pink liquid bubbling away.

The rhubarb in its demijohn

Rhubarb Wine 2020 - First Bottle (B4), 8 May 2021

The brown sugar I used when making this rhubarb wine has definitely had an effect. There is no hint of pink to this wine - it is instead a golden yellow. Its taste has a burnt element to it, but not in an unpleasant way. This is an unusual rhubarb wine but I think one that is rather good.

We drank it on Saturday evening after a lazy, wet day. The rain hardly stopped, but after the driest April for a generation that is a good thing. I played my mother at Scrabble, getting my highest ever score of 510 and in the evening we watched The Kid who would be King with the Snarkalong Film Club, which was entirely satisfactory. So, a gentle Saturday (which makes for a dull read - apologies!)

Taken on 8 May

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

Rhubarb Wine 2019 - Seventh Bottle (B5), 25th April 2021

Whilst not sparkling clear, this wine is a pretty colour. It has retained its pale pinkness and has a dry white-wine taste to it. We drank it on Sunday night, after I had returned from an 8 mile walk round St Aidan's Nature Reserve and before Line of Duty. I am on holiday this coming week and we have had to postpone our Shropshire excursion for a second year in a row. So, again, I am walking in Yorkshire. Today's walk was lovely - the bird sanctuary was a cacophony of gulls and geese, making a party out of nesting season. The riverside was dotted with apple trees, all in blossom. And I was in such a good mood that being forced to retrace my steps when presented with a collapsed bridge did not feel like an irritation.

The collapsed bridge (plus footpath on the other side)

Rhubarb Wine 2016 - Fifteenth Bottle (A3), 21st March 2021

From recent experiences of ancient wine, I had expected this bottle to end up poured down the sink. It is therefore with unanticipated pleasure that I can report the wine was in the realms of Quite Good. There was a rhubarb taste, subtle but present, and no huge globs of sediment.

Sunday was a lazy day - I had left it empty to recover from my Covid vaccine side-effects, but as these consisted of an uncomfortable arm, I could have been more active. I baked a cake (coffee & coconut), finished my book (Out of the Shelter by David Lodge) and watched two hours of television (The Crown and  Line of Duty - a new series). Often lazy Sundays are just what I need.

Coffee & Coconut Cake

Rhubarb Wine 2017 - Final Bottle (C5), 28th February 2021

Sunday felt like the second day of Spring. There were blue skies all day and it could have been late April. It was a perfect day to walk 13 miles, taking in Newlay Bridge, the Leeds-Liverpool canal and Kirkstall Abbey. The population of Leeds was out, enjoying the release that good weather brings.

Once home I made a chocolate cake and we spent the evening eating fish pie and watching The Crown. A bottle of rhubarb wine figured, and during this Claire floated the idea of maybe drinking real wine more often than we do might be nice.

Kirkstall Abbey behind a carpet of crocuses.

Rhubarb Wine 2017 - Fifteenth Bottle (B1), 19th February 2021

Two things of note happened today: I gave a training session to the Sales Department in the morning, and I made a smoked haddock risotto in the evening. For the former, because it was outside my comfort zone, I wore my battle-armour - a nice shirt with Uncle Gerry's waistcoat. It worked, and I found myself enjoying giving the talk. For the latter, no special clothing was required and the result was delicious. I can now do Risotto! The wine went well with it: an ordinary white wine strangely not dissimilar to one made from grapes.

Some of the ingredients for the risotto

Rhubarb Wine 2018 - Eleventh Bottle (C4), 22nd January 2021

My hypothesis that Claire can drink batch C of this wine without complaining appears to hold water. There were no comments about its terrible flavour, and it was no effort to finish the bottle. We drank it to haddock & chips from the chippy round the corner, which was a treat. It was a cold night to wait outside for them - but better that than being huddled with strangers inside the shop. At home we had no tomato sauce, so I made do with damson ketchup instead.

I took no photos on 22 January, but here is a photo
of a new shirt that I bought recently from Blake Mill
which I absolutely love. It's called 'Statues' apparently.

Rhubarb Wine 2019 - Sixth Bottle (A3), 26th December 2020

Claire expressed mild surprise that this was a good bottle of wine. I had no doubts that it would be. Rhubarb is a reliable white (with a blush of pink): dry, light and refreshing.

We had the sort of Boxing Day that the 26th of December is made for. I did not leave the house and spent my day in the company of a jigsaw puzzle, a make-your-own gingerbread house, a book of lists and the television. A day of idleness and relaxation, and getting gently sozzled in the evening. How else should Boxing Day be spent?

The Gingerbread House before Construction

Rhubarb Wine 2018 - Tenth Bottle (C6), 29th November 2020

Oh, I'm an old man. Most of my waking hours - nine of them - were spent kneeling on the floor, creating a Tardis panel for the Street Advent Calendar. That is nine hours of crouching and kneeling whilst designing, measuring, cutting, gluing and placing carefully. After about three hours of this, each time I got up I made an old-man groaning noise. Two days later and I am still stiff. The end result, though, is fantastic. A bottle of rhubarb wine as muscle-relaxant was definitely the thing to have. And, in fact, I thoroughly enjoyed feeling like I was at Primary School again, with rounded scissors, lots of coloured paper and glue. It was a good day.

My Tadis Advent Panel. Nine hours work!

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

Rhubarb Wine 2019 - Fifth Bottle (A6), 7th November 2020

Of course today's big news was the US election being called for Joe Biden - and the World suddenly feels like a better, safer place. I have been fascinated - unable to stay away from The Guardian live feed. We celebrated with a Manhattan (shared via Zoom with the Bentcliffe Massif) and then this bottle of rhubarb wine, which as always was a decent bottle.

The Snarkalong Film Club watched Dangerous Liaisons - the last third of which is a masterclass in acting, all about sexuality and power. The first two thirds, though, are just so cruel.

A Manhattan in our front room

Rhubarb Wine 2017 - Thirteenth Bottle (A1), 11th October 2020

The combination of it being a crisp autumn day and being on holiday meant that the day was perfect for a long walk. I chose an 8 mile walk from Wistow to Cawood and back along the banks of the Ouse. Whilst it was not the most dramatic scenery, it was a lovely few hours being alone under large skies. 

Alone under large skies

At home I made a salmon, new potato and spring onion flan and opened this bottle of rhubarb wine. It being most like a white wine, it went well with the food and there is little else to say.

Along the banks of the Ouse

Rhubarb Wine 2019 - Fourth Bottle (B3), 29th August 2020

Rhubarb wine is one of my reliable ones. It has been years since I have had a poor batch, though I have probably cursed 2020's vintage by writing that down. Avi has taught me an Indian phrase: I have a Black Tongue. This means that when I say something like "Light traffic, today," it immediately becomes worse. Anyway, this bottle was tasty without being spectacular. Some of it was drunk whilst watching Labyrinth as part of the Snarkalong Film Club. It is a beautiful film from an aesthetic point of view, but so, so eighties. Whilst I am clearly not the target audience, I still enjoyed it.

Experimenting with my camera and its
Selfie functions. (Look into my eyes!)

Rhubarb Wine 2018 - Ninth Bottle (C5), 15th-17th August 2020

Claire didn't hate this wine! Demijohn C must therefore be acceptable in some way that Demijohns A and B are not. However, she only had a small portion of this bottle, having drunk too much on Friday night.

I spent Saturday clearing stuff out of our broken fridge-freezer and then putting it into our new one. More interestingly (barely), I took my bassoon over to Bingley for it to be repaired. It has needed a service for several years and has now stopped playing its lowest notes. I very much hope that this will not be terminal! Nearly a week later I have yet to hear the prognosis.

Leaving this bottle so long between finishing it and writing about it, I cannot bring its taste to mind. Much like other rhubarb wines, I expect.

A photo taken on 15 August

Rhubarb Wine 2019 - Third Bottle (B1), 23rd-24th July 2020

Work has been extremely busy this week. It always is the week before I have a holiday. I get into a mindset that I must clear my email in-box by the time I turn off the computer on the Friday - and that means several late nights. Well, working till seven - and for me that is late. Therefore, using wine when cooking (not in the food, you understand) was a natural consequence.

This rhubarb wine is a glorious colour - it has retained some of its pinkness and it has a fine taste. Claire finished what we didn't drink on Thursday after we had eaten on Friday. That night it was a take-out curry and therefore I was on the beer.

Another postbox - taken on 23rd July