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

Blackcurrant Wine 2019 - Eleventh Bottle (B5), 27th June 2021

A Sunday bottle of wine. The day had been quiet, though pleasant. We had meant to go to York, but the car being repaired at the garage put a stop to that. Probably it is time to replace it, but that prospect does not fill me with joy. Instead I made a Coffee & Cranberry Loaf.

We drank this blackcurrant wine, which is excellent, to a roast chicken dinner and some of the best gravy that Claire has ever made. It is the redcurrant jelly that makes the difference.

Cranberry & Coffee Loaf

Apple Wine 2019 - Fifth Bottle (2), 26th June 2021

I really should write up my wines as soon as I have finished them. It is three days later and I remember little about this bottle. That suggests it was not ghastly. I think it had a heavy, overly floral taste and needed a sugar syrup to make it better, but it was still acceptable. We drank it to homemade pizza, which is always delicious, and a silly superhero film called Ant Man in which the protagonist did not invade picnics or live in a rockery. Otherwise, much as the wine, it was entirely acceptable.

My Apple Wine in the Fridge

Crab Apple & Strawberry Wine 2020 - First Bottle (3), 23rd-24th June 2021

This is such a pretty bottle of wine. It is jewel-red and so clear. Taste-wise, it is not bad either and I think rather better than Apple & Strawberry. It has a fruity dryness to it that is appealing and I should have another bottle to see if I think 'crab apple' or 'strawberry' is the dominant flavour. I'm not convinced either is distinctive.

The most exciting thing to happen on either day was that some new jeans arrived through the post. By far the most expensive jeans that I have ever bought (from Spoke) but they fit perfectly and are so, so comfortable. The adage that you get what you pay for seems true on this occasion.

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

My old jeans - 32" waist apparently!

New jeans - 31" waist

Blackberry Wine 2020 - Third Bottle (B4), 23rd June 2021

I am a fool. Last bottle of Blackberry 2020, I was smugly pleased about noticing the corking inching towards explosion. Any sensible winemaker would then put all bottles of the same vintage upright, thus minimising the chance of detonation and mess. Not me. Hence, on Wednesday morning I discovered our dining room floor covered in sticky red liquid. I briefly wondered what Wiggy had slaughtered before realising what it was. There was one large glass left in the bottle which Claire and I shared that evening. This would have been an excellent wine.

Our food that evening - Involtini (delicious)

Xmas Tutti Fruti 2019 - Ninth Bottle (A4), 19th June 2021

Having opened a sub-standard bottle of Apple & Strawberry, I opted instead for a Christmas Tutti Fruti. It was a Saturday night after all, and therefore an evening to have something nice. Also we needed plenty of alcohol to dissolve the heat from our meal - 'Devil's Curry', which was as blistering as it sounds. On finishing this bottle we reached again for the Apple & Strawberry which was, perhaps, a mistake. The rest of the night is a barely remembered blur.

My bassoon and reeds - taken on 19 June

Apple & Strawberry 2018 - Fifth Bottle (4), 19th-20th June 2021

After opening this on Saturday we decided that we wanted something rather better, drank a bottle of Xmas Tutti Fruti, and then returned to this bottle for extra room-spinniness. It isn't a terrible bottle of wine, but there is a hint of the bitter. There was a glass each remaining for Sunday - a day which I mostly spent in the kitchen making Delia's ragu (superb!) and a Rhubarb & Custard cake (rather less so). On the whole a quiet and gentle weekend.

Rhubarb & Custard Cake in the making