Strawberry Wine - Third Bottle (6), 24th December 2014

A Christmas Eve bottle of wine round at 3 The Alders. It felt deserved. Despite the office closing on the 23rd, I had an exceptionally busy morning, trying to get two houses sold before New Year. On the rare occasion I was not on the phone, I was sending e-mails. But I think I may have managed it. The drive up to Newcastle felt like a holiday as a result - and the traffic was far quieter than expected.

The wine was appreciated by all - strawberry is definitely one of the best.

Ginger Wine - Third Bottle (2), 18th April 2014

We are in Newcastle for the Easter break and I brought a bottle of Ginger with me. The weather has been splendid. When we eventually arrived I sat in the back yard, soaking up sunshine and reading The Cruel Sea. However, the journey up was frustrating - there was a ten mile traffic jam which took an hour to get through. I stayed in moderate temper by listening to Classic FM's annual top 300 countdown and being snarky.

Anyway, I was disappointed with this bottle of Ginger - it tasted too much of lemons and not enough of its eponymous ingredient. Bob & Judith both said they like it and I believe them, but of the three bottles of this flavour so far, this has been the worst.

NB - Today (24 April) someone has picked up my blog and posted it here: http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=97209 . Which is nice. And has resulted in 100s of hits.

Favourite comment so far: "Ben sounds like a prententious prat". Moi?

And I genuinely like Pazerlenis's comment (and suspect s/he would be disappointed if I did not comment on his/her comment commenting on my comment commenting on the comment above).

Orange Wine - Final Bottle (A2), 10th-13th February 2013

It is a rare Sunday night that we allow a bottle to go unfinished, but that was this bottle's fate. Maybe we are getting old and sensible. It accompanied a rather splendid fish pie, which I cooked whilst Claire was out rehearsing Ludlow and Team, and orange wine always goes well with fish. Then the bottle sat in the fridge until Wednesday.

I was moderately surprised that Claire did not take the opportunity to finish the wine on Tuesday whilst I was out for a beer and curry night with Darren and Nigel. Instead we each had a glass the following evening on a day that was only made remarkable by a heavy snow fall. I am writing this on Thursday, and the snow has all gone, but it caused traffic chaos on Wednesday evening. It took my colleagues two to three hours to get home. It took me five minutes longer than usual. Walking has its benefits.

Elderflower - Bottle A5, 30th April 2011

I was in a very bad mood when I opened this bottle. Spending twenty minutes in a traffic jam in Guiseley on a late Saturday afternoon before failing to buy asparagus tends to have that effect. This was on top of a half hour traffic jam in Ilkley earlier in the day. Little makes me crosser. Still, the quartet and trio in between was really good - we were in tune and played well.

Usually when cross I glug my wine. However, this evening I made half a bottle last the duration: watering fruit bushes in the late sunlight, eating vaguely Spanish-themed food (including 'Widowed Potatoes' and a broad bean & chorizo mix) and watching Doctor Who - which was not as good as, and more confusing than, last week's episode.

This batch of Elderflower wine is a winner: strongly flavoured, refreshing, dry and light. Never mind that I should have waited until June before opening a bottle.