Lucky Vice

I was locked in a padded cell in a karaoke bar in Soho for two hours on Saturday night and learnt the following:

1. Girls Aloud is not as good karaoke material as you might think.
2. I Know Him So Well - with one playing Babs and the other Elaine - however, is very good indeed.
3. The end of Hey Jude (the na-na's) goes on for AGES.
4. Sex on Fire sung by seven mothers with eighteen children between them was probably not the cover the Kings of Leon had hoped for.
5. Next time remember to tell bearded-once-again husband if one of the children needs to be at a birthday party at 10am on Sunday morning and I'm not back from night away in time to take him myself.

This week's white in the fridge:
Yaldara Chardonnay 2008, £4.75, currently half price by the case from http://www.tesco.com/
Lots of people say they 'don't like Chardonnay'. This troubles me as chances are they've had one or two bad experiences with an over-oaked or utterly-butterly Chardonnay from Australia. Generally, Aussie Chardonnay is much more subtle these days but still with that unmistakeable brightness of fruit that a sunnier climate imparts. Try this one: peaches and nectarines jostle about together with a cream-soda quality to boot. A cuddle in a glass. 

Current red on the side:
Chateau Montesquieu 2007, £5, http://www.sourcewines.com/
This is a southern French red made from a cocktail of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan grapes grown in the Cotes de Rousillon region. Here, the sum of the parts is almost certainly greater than the wines would have been had they been made as stand-alone varietal wines. Blackcurrant, spice and nutmeg warm up the nose and come to life in the mouth. Sit the bottle open by the fire and see how the wine changes over the course of a few hours. Delicious.  

Cheers dears x

Circle of Shame

For a while my habit was out of control. Not that I knew it at the time, of course. I thought I could control it: one week Hello!, the next Grazia, the following week, OK!  My knowledge on high street fashion, royals and Cheryl Cole was impressive. But before I knew it, I was doing all three in one week. So I went cold turkey, stopped buying them altogether. For a whole year. This led me to binge, mostly on visits to the hairdresser, often in the supermarket magazine aisle. Now, I like to think I have found a balanced approach. Grazia bi-weekly & Hello! once a month. I can do without the inside track on Soap Stars and WAGS, but fashion and random royals? I don't think so.

This week's white in the fridge:
Taste the Difference Albarino 2008, Sainsbury's, £6.94, http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/
If you're looking for a wine to wake up the tastebuds, try this one. Made in Spain, this one is light and zesty with a gentle orange flavour to it. Swish it around the mouth and you'll get a gorgeous thwack of peach fruit too. Enjoying toute seule at the moment but from experience can highly recommend it with Charlie Bigham's fishcakes.   

Current red on the side:
Cefiro Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Maipo Valley, Chile, £5ish, http://www.sourcewines.com/
Another left-over from last week's KMWC wine tasting, this is a Clooney-smooth red made from thick-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown in the natural fruit bowl that is Chile's Maipo Valley. Gorgeously scented, smooth and supple, with 9 months in oak giving added structure and va va voom. Eat this with beef stew, like I did last night. Sadly George couldn't make it. 

Laters x

The Napa/Nappy Valley Set

Last night we held a Knackered Mothers' Wine Club tasting at a local restaurant (the amazing Graze) to raise a bit of cash for our local nursery. It was a heady mix: eight wines + inquisitive people up for trying different wines + company of friends both old and new. The result was delicious. Lots of laughter, slurping, a bit of spitting, far more swallowing (no giggling at the back) and generally great chat about wine.

Crushed grapes can bind people together and make life taste better. I love that.

This week's white on the side:
Camino San Pedro Sauvignon Blanc/Verdejo 2008, £6, http://www.sourcewines.com/
This Spanish white is as lovely as its maker, Sam Harrop, a Kiwi Master of Wine. Blending the ubiquitous SB grape with the Verdejo grape gives this wine an international feel with a truly Spanish twist. Lime-scented with deliciously long flavours, this was a great match for our griddled salmon fillets tonight.

Current red on the side:
Cosme Palacio Rioja 2006, £8.49, http://www.tesco.com/
There were a few open bottles left over after last night's tasting and this is the one I took home. The wine goes like this: blackcurrant, black cherry, vanilla, white pepper, blackcurrant again, hint of tobacco. I am not making this up. Drink it.  

Chin chin xx

Raise your glances...

There are few things more dull than being stuck with the man who talks to your boobs rather than face at dinner but there is someone who trumps him in my experience: The Wine Bore. The WB uses wine knowledge like a weapon, beating those around him into submission with presumed superior wine powers. I'd be mortified to be labelled as such but if you ever catch me employing WB tactics, I'm doing it for a very good reason. I'm trying to get rid of the man who's talking to my boobs. 

This week's white in the fridge:
Tilimuqui Fairtrade Single Vineyard Torrontés 2009 Mendoza, Argentina, £5.99, Waitrose (http://www.waitrose.com/)
Torrontes is the grape white hope for Argentina and it is certainly very different, unusual even, but in a good way. The aroma is best described as floral and the taste as grapey. I know this sounds like a really lazy tasting note but try it and you'll see what I mean. Supped last night with a fishcake. Utterly delicious.

Current red wine on the side:
Ogio Primitivo 2008, IGT Puglia, Italy, £8.99 down to £4.26 if bought by the case, Tesco (http://www.tesco.com/)
Tonight, the newly non-bearded husband is away so I am joined by a brooding Italian instead. An old friend, in fact. This one has black cherry fruit flavours, chocolate and spice too. All from the Puglia region, where the heat helps give the ripened grapes an almost raisin-like flavour. Eat with pasta with a spicy kick.

Fillerup x