Moving Feast

India Allsopp (or was it Kirstie Knight?) recently wrote about putting one's relationship with husband/partner first, followed by that with the children: the couple are the cornerstone and unless that relationship comes first, the edifice will crumble. In short, adult time is essential to keep everything together. For me, the idea of eating tea with my 1, 2 and 6yo is not that appealing - too much spilt juice and nursery food - and I love that the currently non-bearded husband and I have 'grown-up' time in the evening (oh, stop). Maybe we'll all eat together when the children are older. And can cook. Sometimes though, I find myself in a culinary cul-de-sac so was very happy when a friend recommended Crumbs: a website with recipes for children and adults written by two sisters/mothers. I'm going to write a few wine recommendations for their site and they'll do a few recipes just for us. And together, we'll make the world a better place. For now, back to what I know.

This week's white in the fridge: Nederburg Chardonnay/Viognier 2009, £4.29 currently on offer, Waitrose

South Africa used to make me think of Mandela. Now it makes me think of that effing droning noise we had to put up with during the World Cup. Oh, and Naomi Campbell and her blood diamonds dirty little stones. However, most of all it is a country that makes me think of wine. Good ones at that, often underrated. This one is really good value, a blend of Chardonnay and Viognier grapes: slighty chubby but just what I felt like after too much Sauvignon. Melon, peach and a twist of lemon. Veh gud.

This week's red on the side: Herrick Shiraz, 2009, £5, Tesco Wine Club

This wine makes me want to put on Now That's What I Call Music 8 and pass round the After Eights because I seem to remember this brand from the late 80's (which is a worry, I was in my mid teens and should definitely have been more into cider and/or cheap spirits, not wine). Anyhoo, Herrick is an Australian-looking wine from the South of France and was one of the first New World style wines from the Old World made by a flying winemaker. Still lovely, this is a juicy, blackcurrant-flavoured wine with smooth edges. Quaffed with a rather magnificent but very easy (adult) supper cooked this evening, thanks to inspiration from Crumbs.

Cheers dears x

In Case Of Emergency Break Glass

Life is too short for lots of things. Stuffing a mushroom, for one (Delia). Too short to be livin' with stress, for another (Dizzee Rascal). Agree with both Delia and Dizzee but my own personal favourite, unsurprisingly, is that life's too short to drink bad wine. Someone I know, let's call her Josie, went to buy emergency wine the other night. I think she might have been wearing slippers. Anyway, she panic-bought, got home and her tasting note - in less than 140 characters, naturally - was this wine tastes a bit sh*t. I felt her pain and told her to tweet me the next time she was in the wine aisle needing advice. Same goes for you.

Current white in the fridge: Rabbit Row Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough 2008, £5.37, 33% off online, Waitrose

It is not always the case that big is beautiful but this wine is made by one of New Zealand's biggest producers, Villa Maria; surplus wine that they needed to shift. They put it in a nattily-labelled bottle with rabbits on, sold it to Wairose and now we get to go rampant at a really good price. Gooseberries, as you'd expect. Passion fruit, too. Fresh and uplifting, like vinous botox. Doesn't need food.  

Current red on the side: Maycas del Limari Syrah 2008, Chile, £8.82, Tesco

Maybe it is the 'Los 33' that made me buy Chilean wine this week but whatever the reason, Chilean wines - reds especially - are having a moment. There's lots of Cabernet and Merlot to be found, but the varieties to watch out for here are Pinot Noir and Syrah. In this case, the Syrah has been grown in the Limari Valley, 400km north of Santiago. The cooler climate, Pacific Ocean influence and wonderfully rich soils all play a big part in making this big, smoky black fruit-scented wine so very good. Had mine tonight with pesto-smothered pasta and it worked a treat.  

Break glass x

We're jammin'

You know the score. Please make jam/cakes/whatevah for (insert name here)'s nursery produce sale. Reader, I've never made jam. I broke out into a cold sweat. Would a wine donation distract from the fact that I am hopeless on the preserves front? But then my friend Jules came to the rescue. Come to mine, and I'll teach you what to do, she said. And so we went: me and two other jam/chutney virgins. I was easily the least industrious, but I gave good wine. Here's what we made, the first production out of the Knackered Mothers' Kitchen Club.  



KM x

It's the wine talking..

There has been a lot of talk about wine talk recently. Among wine writers, that is. From what I can gather, they are arguing that one wine drinker’s blackberries are another wine drinker’s raspberries. Should we really be so aroma and flavour-descriptive when tasting wine is so subjective? Well, when I'm buying something that I haven’t tried before – and won’t try until I get home – I want some sort of description to help me. Which made me think...Recent wine descriptions here on these pages include a dancefloor-hogger (an Argentinian Malbec), Joan from Mad Men (a Viognier, I think) and Clooney, bottled (a modern-style Rioja). If you'd prefer talk of length and finish, just let me know.    

Current white in the fridge: Cape Peak Chardonnay 2010, £4/bottle, currently 50% off, Tesco Wine Club

Lovely as the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from last week was, I wanted something a bit more, well, Autumnal. This is a really simple wine but I love it: good quality, ripe and round with tropical fruit flavours and an almost creamy character. I think this is what makes it feel more suitable to the chill in the air we've got now. It is made from grapes grown in the Western Cape region in South Africa, ones that hung on vines earlier this year. A fridge door classic. 

Current red on the side: Chateau La Raze Beauvallet 2006, £8/bottle, currently 50% off, Tesco Wine Club

Lumme, this is a cracker. I feel vaguely guilty when I write about a Bordeaux red because it reminds me how rarely I seem to buy it nowadays. I used to love Bordeaux wines. Then they got expensive; the quality was variable, unreliable even. This one, a Cru Bourgeois from the Medoc, has always been a banker. Years ago, it was the first smart Claret (the Veh British name for red wines from this region) to be sold with a screwcap but - sadly - it seems to have reverted to cork. Dark blackberry fruits with a postscript of vanilla and spice.  Made with a classic Claret cocktail of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, with Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc also putting in a show.  

Derrieres aloft x

What's the big deal?

I had to work last Saturday at a wine fair, leaving bearded husband with the three children from 8 in the morning until 8 at night. When I got home, the children were all in bed, the (ready made) fish pie was in the oven and the house surprisingly tidy. There was even a glass of wine with my name on it. I asked how their day was, how everyone had been. Oh, fine. No problems. Lovely. And then the shrug of the shoulders. That 'I-don't-know-what-all-the-fuss-is-about' shrug of the shoulders. AKA the 'looking-after-children-all-day-lark-is-a-walk-in-the-park' shrug of the shoulders. Which I suppose it is when you don't include two loads of washing and a supermarket shop... 

This week's white in the fridge: Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2009, £6.40, currently 25% off, Waitrose

So it seems everyone knew about this one being on offer before me. Actually, I hadn't bought this wine for a very long time as there are so many other good NZ Sauvignons to try but suddenly, with a couple of quid off, it is hard to resist. Loaded with classic Marlborough region gooseberry aromas and passion fruit flavours, this is what I'd call a malleable wine. Without food or with light stir fries, it won't complain. It will just sit politely in your glass and zing when asked.

Current red on the side: Tim Adams Protege Shiraz 2007, £7.50, currently 25% off, Tesco

I tasted this wine last Saturday at the wine fair and it was one of the best red wines at the show. Fantastic at the price, this is a really grown-up Shiraz, surprising given it's name. Made from grapes grown in the Clare Valley in South Australia, this has classic black fruit and plum characters, together with a gorgeous peppery note. Tim Adams is a great winemaker, a gentle giant of a man (a bit like his wines). Put this with food to really make it work, steak rather than sushi, obv.

Cheers, darlings x