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!)

Jam Wine - First Bottle, 4th-6th November 2021

This wine is very much a dessert* wine. It has a fruity sweetness to it that would make it a poor one to go with many meals but which could be shared afterwards by a roaring fire. Perhaps the flavour is a little 'one note' but it is not a bad wine by any means. Claire described it as "Better than expected"^. We drank most of this on Thursday, which was an unremarkable day: working at home, followed by blue cheese & spinach quiche (I should have taken a photo - it looked fantastic) and a joyously silly episode of Taskmaster.

Taken on 1 November - the River Aire

* Claire inserted "last resort"

^ Claire changed to "Not as nasty as I expected"

Blackberry Wine 2020 - Seventh Bottle (A2), 2nd October 2021

On the dankest of Saturdays I have been out in the rain thrice. The first two were to buy provisions for the coming week. The last was to check if the local garage was selling petrol. We are in the midst of a fuel shortage because (thanks to Brexit - the gift that keeps on giving) there are not enough lorry drivers. And as soon as the Government says "Please don't panic buy", everyone does. There have been queues of traffic at any open garage for the last week. On Saturday evening I joined that queue (short, when I was there) and celebrated my success at home with a bottle of Blackberry Wine, a lamb curry and an episode of The Bridge.

Taken on 2 October - the result of a 
startled cat after I sneezed.

Blackberry Wine 2020 - Sixth Bottle (A3), 19th September 2021

Blackberry Wine feels like a proper Sunday night bottle. One that you can relax into like a favourite sofa. It had been a gentle weekend full of entirely pleasurable nothing much. On Sunday that involved walking the suburbs of North Leeds in search of elderberries and making both bread and a ginger & marmalade cake (note to self: the marmalade was a flavour too far). Then in the evening we had a Padian chicken curry, drank this wine and watched The Crown. The curry involved me sucking on a chili by mistake. Emergency yoghurt was required.

Ginger & Marmalade Cake

 

Blackberry Wine 2020 - Fifth Bottle (C2), Mid-August 2021

Claire had this bottle whilst I was in the Brecon Beacons with Rachael & Myles. She says that she has written it up in her diary and hopes that this is Good Enough. It isn't really, but it is also clear that she won't write it up in this one. I think she had a reasonable week whilst I was away - plenty of Midsomer Murders and RuPaul's Drag Race I understand

Rachael in the Brecon Beacons

Gooseberry Wine 2020 - Fourth Bottle (2), 17th October 2021

Sunday night was our monthly Zoom Dinner Party with Rachel & Duncan, and that required a bottle of something decent. The menu was Prawn Curry and a dhal (dahl?), meaning the wine needed to be a sharp white. This describes gooseberry perfectly and neither the bottle nor the food disappointed. Again we had a lovely, boozy evening and once the Zoom call had ended Claire and I cut ourselves a slice of Gugelhupf (bless you!) I had made earlier in the day and watched The Crown.

The Gugelhupf

Orange Wine 2020 - Fifth Bottle (B6), 15th October 2021

Friday was not the most relaxing fun day that I have ever had. Two hours of it was spent lying back in a dentist's chair with my mouth wide open as the dentist said things like "Don't worry about the pain: that's normal," and "Try to relax!". In the end he saved my molar and that is worth 120 minutes of discomfort. By the time 6 p.m. rolled around I was ready for my fair share of wine. By the time Taskmaster was on I was sufficiently numbed by orange wine and whisky to be enjoying the day again.

No photos taken on 15 October but this
was what I should have worn to the dentist's

Orange Wine 2020 - Fourth Bottle (B4), 15th August 2021

It was my first full day back home after two glorious weeks on holiday, and it was a restful, relaxing near-ordinary day. Okay, so I did about two and a half hours work, but I also made a cake (gooseberry orange drizzle), had a short walk, bathed with Claire, started my blackcurrant wine and watched an episode of The Crown. We also drank this bottle of orange wine to smoked haddock fishcakes, which was an excellent combination. Both are strong flavours and I could understand not liking either. However, I think both are fab!

Gooseberry & Orange Drizzle Cake

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2019 - Thirteenth Bottle (C6), 22nd October 2021

Christmas Tutti Fruti, when done well, is one of my best wines. It has depth and is just a delight to drink. That this was my first booze for five days may have helped. It was a gentle Friday night after a busy and productive week, and one where reheated macaroni and Taskmaster were exactly what was needed.

A rainbow on my way home from work.

Blackberry Wine 2019 - Fifteenth Bottle (B3), 30th August 2021

Blackberry wine was the natural choice of wine after a day spent picking brambles for 2021's batch. The wine was delicious and bursting with bramble flavour. Rather better than the vegetarian moussaka I made to accompany it, which, despite its vegetarian credentials, would have benefitted greatly from a chicken stock cube. The rest of the evening was spent watching The Crown and then reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, which is witty and beautifully written. One of those books that manages to be engaging despite a paper-thin plot.

A grave from which I picked brambles

Prune & Parsnip Wine 2020 - Third Bottle (6) 14th-15th July 2021

Work has been tedious and anxiety-making this week. We have had a Subject Access Request and that means that I have spent literally half my working hours reading through old emails and spreadsheets, harvesting relevant information to present to the Requester. Therefore I was much in need of this Prune & Parsnip on both Wednesday and Thursday. It is at the upper end of midweek bottles and a white that does not need to be chilled. Television also helped - an opiate for the masses.

Wild flowers in Potternewton Park

Orange Wine 2019 - Final Bottle (4), 11th June 2021

We are having a proper June. May was exceptionally wet, but this month has been glorious: hot and sunny. Our garden is looking wonderful, and we drank some of this bottle outside parading the grounds. The rest was drunk to an Indian Takeout and an episode of ER. Perhaps not the most exciting of Fridays, but precisely what I wanted. The orange wine matched that description too.

Our garden in the evening sun

Xmas Tutti Fruti Wine 2019 - Eighth Bottle (A5), 27th-28th May 2021

Since Lockdown began in March last year, I have been into the office six times. Four of those were to pick up stationery. Visits five and six were on Thursday and Friday this week - and were to tidy up for the impending office move. It was strangely melancholy throwing out handwritten notes from 2013, which were important at the time but have not been looked at since. 

We drank this Tutti Fruti both evenings in front of the computer watching Derry Girls and ER respectively - both well made television. The wine was as good as ever.

Telephones stored in the Office

Strawberry Wine 2018 - Fifth Bottle (3), 14th May 2021

I think that this vintage may have improved. Claire described it as at the good end of a midweek bottle, which is definitely a step up. Though the strawberry flavour is subtle, it is present and otherwise this felt like a soft white, but with a glorious red colour.

Friday has been a busy day at work but the evening was pleasantly relaxed. After a tortilla, I made rhubarb wine and then we curled up on the sofa to watch ER. Not a Rock & Roll lifestyle!

Taken on 14 May

With some apologies for the above image (it is the only one I took on Friday), but I have got all concerned about my health again. I looked in the mirror sideways on, and all I could see was ribs. And I have been trying to gain weight for the last few months: instead I have lost a couple of pounds. This photo is, in some way, to encourage me to go the doctors again - even if I do come across as a neurotic hypochondriac! 

Elderberry Wine 2018 - Sixth Bottle (B2), 2nd May 2021

Our week's holiday is nearly over and to mark the occasion we drank a bottle of elderberry wine with Toad in the Hole and onion gravy. Earlier in the day we ate sausage sandwiches in Bedale after planting an apple tree. The day had clearly been sponsored by the Sausage Marketing Board. 

The wine was excellent - everything elderberry wine should be with no metallic taste. We then watched the final episode of Line of Duty which ended on a moment of reflection rather than the fireworks the Nation expected.

An apple tree planted in Bedale

Blackberry Wine 2019 - Twelfth Bottle (A3), 28th April 2021

This bottle came at the end of a day's holiday which had involved a walk round the rural parts of Bingley (yes, there are some), Ethiopian leftovers, and being propositioned by a man on the Leeds-Liverpool canal. I was graceful in my decline (I hope) and somewhat flattered.

The blackberry wine finished off the day nicely - it is a great bottle, full of juice - but did mean that neither Claire nor I could concentrate on a subtitled television programme.

Bingley Five Locks - on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal

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)

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2019 - Sixth Bottle (C1), 22nd-23rd April 2021

We are creatures of habit. Wednesday night we watch Spiral and Thursday night is now Derry Girls and Staged. Our television plans are written on a list at the weekend, along with what we will eat that night and who is to be chef. 'Spontaneity' is not a word I know. I don't, however, plan which bottle to open and base that on a combination of what we are eating and what we both fancy. On Wednesday night that just happened to be Xmas Tutti Fruti. This wine is excellent, one of the best vintages I have made, and merits more than a mid-week status.

A random photo taken on 22 April

Blckcurrant Wine 2019 - Ninth Bottle (A3), 28th March 2021

Sunday was a day full of domestic chores. The best of these was making Blondies with Peanut butter-cream icing (calorie content: astronomical) but there was also much sweeping and tidying. Not that there is anyone allowed to visit until 17th May, but sometimes I get fed up of living in grime. 

In the evening I opened this bottle of blackcurrant wine - which was as tasty a bottle as blackcurrant can be - and we had a beef & spring onion stir-fry courtesy of Padian Foods. Blisteringly hot as ever - which is not a bad thing. Then Line of Duty and a sleep interrupted by two mice gifted by Wiggy.

Blondies - they were fabulous!

Apple Wine 2019 - Third Bottle (4), 25th March 2021

I enjoyed this bottle rather less than Claire. It was the wrong mix of thin and bitter. Claire, though, claimed to like it. I find this surprising, seeing as she is keen that we start drinking real wine more often.

The wine was opened and finished on Thursday - which was one of those Lockdown days which was indistinguishable from many others. Tuesday was different because I made a soufflé but that was possibly the most exciting thing that happened all week. Thursday was reheated leftovers and an episode of Taskmaster. Both excellent in themselves but not in the realms of 'Different'.

Taken on Wednesday on my morning walk.
I have, of course, adjusted the colour.