Elderflower Wine - Sixth Bottle (B5), 25th January 2014

Saturday was going to action filled. Our original plan was to have a day out at Spurn Point with Rosie, but that was cancelled so Rosie could be with her immediate family. Then I thought I would spend time in town doing my Annual Clothes Shop. A fierce rain-storm in the early afternoon suggested this was unwise. Instead I spent much of the day watching series 2 of The Bridge, a satisfying and bloody Scandi Crime Drama.

In the evening, because it was Burns Night I had a dram of whisky - and because it was Saturday night, a bottle of elderflower wine. It is a good bottle, though maybe an acquired taste. It has a full, open flavour and went well with the pigeon pea casserole and saffron rice. The pigeon peas came from a tin labelled 'Best Before August 2007'. I take sell-by dates with a pinch of salt.

Gooseberry Wine - Fourth Bottle (1), 24th January 2014

We spent much of this bottle standing in the kitchen talking about death. So a typical Friday night, then. Over the last week April, and Todd's father have died, and J's condition gets increasingly worse. Wicked Uncle Henry is trapped inside his body and no longer wants to live. Things are pretty grim if you think about them too hard. Still, gooseberry wine helped lighten the mood - even if it is far from my best batch of this flavour - and we had fish-cakes for tea. So it isn't all doom and gloom.

Crab Apple Wine - Eleventh Bottle (A4), 17th January 2014

It has been nearly two weeks since we last had a bottle of home-made. This is partly down to Claire's regime of only drinking during weekends of January and partly because last weekend we only drank the real stuff. Happily, Friday counts as the weekend so we had a bottle of crab apple, which is a dependable wine. There was nothing flashy or out of the ordinary about the evening and crab apple fits with that. Friday nights are a chance to catch up over the week, eat whatever is left in the fridge and sink slowly into fuzziness. All these aims were achieved.

Christmas Tutti Fruti - Second Bottle (B4), 4th January 2014

I take it all back. Tutti Fruti 2012 is no better than its 2011 version. I found this bottle dry and uninteresting. 'Thin' is the overriding adjective. I brought it with me to Newcastle and the general consensus was that the wine was okay. Judith was more positive, but that is in her nature. Other than the wine, however, it has been a lovely day. Claire, Judith and I went for a potter along the beach near Widdrington and then to inspect a ruined chapel built by the Knights Templar. Northumberland has wonderful beaches - long stretches of golden sand hidden by dunes. Empty, too. But that might be because it is early January.

The Ruined Chapel near Widdrington

Rhubarb Wine - Eighth Bottle (B1), 3rd January 2014

We are at 3 The Alders for the very last bit of Christmas holiday (albeit I did have a day at work on Thursday) and I brought a bottle of rhubarb with me. It was a pleasant evening catching up with the Taylors. We have not been since June, and I think this is the longest period away since I met Claire in 1995.

The rhubarb wine was the second of two bottles - the first being a French red to go with beef. We spent our time drinking it making vague plans to go to either Amsterdam or Budapest. The last time we were on holiday with Bob & Judith was a trip to Ireland ten years ago. Anyway, the rhubarb wine did its thing and I went to bed tiddly.

This is Budapest Parliament, apparently.

Pineapple Wine - First Bottle (2), 1st January 2014

Well, this is rather splendid. I was expecting the words 'cloying', 'oily' and 'saccharin' to figure. Instead what I got was something exotic, only medium sweet and pleasant. Starting with low expectations is the key to delight. I now regret not saving this for our trip to Newcastle this coming weekend.

It was the first bottle of the year and was in marked contrast to the weather, which was dark and depressing all day. Apart from a trip to Sainsburys to buy gin, we stayed inside and did New Years Day activities - jigsaws, books, making bread, curry and wine - that sort of thing. And now let 2014 commence in earnest.

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

Elderberry Wine - Fifth Bottle (B5), 31st December 2013

We have just returned from a lovely evening in York spent with the parents, Rachael and Myles. It being New Year's Eve, I took something fizzy. There were no explosions on the drive over, but the cork made a 'pop' on opening and pink foam gushed forth. This wine is dry, though not unbearably so, and I think having given it three months to mature has helped. Everyone liked it.

We presented Myles with his Christmas present - a (mostly) wooden 'My First Percussion Set', complete with xylophone, marracas, triangle and drum. Myles was entranced by the hanging chimes and seemed genuinely pleased (though it is difficult to tell with a one year old). It is the sort of present that is every new parent's worst nightmare, but Rachael had suggested it so I refuse to accept any blame!