The Night(mares) before Christmas

Middle Class Nightmare #1
Spending 2 minutes trying to get into the wrong black 4x4 in the Waitrose carpark yesterday afternoon

Middle Class Nightmare #2
Not being able to find a bottle of Campari for my Dirty Proseccos tonight

Luckily, I found not only my car but possibly the last bottle of Campari in the county. Tonight I will be wrapping the last of the presents accompanied by aforementioned Prosecco with a dash of Camp and happiness will reign.

Peace out, winos x

Round Robins

I've always dismissed the Christmas round robin letter idea. Even worse, an e-Christmas card. But this evening I found myself replying via email to a group of old friends who are now placed all over the world and realised that summing up all the important news in one's life is actually a very good exercise. Here's mine:

Eldest boy (6) = narrator in the school nativity play (well, five lines)
Middle boy (3) = a very funny lunatic, big fat slice of my mother in there
Baby girl (1) = a sweet, if slightly spoilt, doll; can do four animal noises and say hello in four languages. Pushy? Moi?
Husband = still bearded, quite grumpy, immensely lovable, a bit like an old cat
Me = knackered but happy, totally unprepared for Christmas. Which I’m hosting. F*ck.
Miss you all, wish we saw more of each other but quite comforted by the fact that we are all still, really, 22 tops x

This week's sparkling in the fridge: Tesco Finest Premier Cru Champagne, £25 for 2 bottles, Tesco
Buy. This. Champagne. It is made by a brilliant co-operative producer in the grand cru village Avize. They supply other big name Champagne Houses so you are paying for a really good wine but without paying extra for the brand. The superior Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend is complex and toasty, with lovely biscuit-like aromas. The Premier Cru name on the label tells you this is made from grapes sourced from vineyards classified as such. A better quality grape, if you like. In fact, the Chardonnay is from Premier and the even smarter Grand Cru classified vineyards, and the Pinot Noir is all Grand Cru. Fabulous stuff, brilliant value.

This week's red on the side: Château Lillian Ladouys 2007 Saint-Estèphe, £12.34 per bottle, Waitrose
I haven't actually opened this one yet. It is on the side and will be opened tomorrow night when the bearded husband is back home and we start our run-up to Christmas. I know the wine well, having bought previous vintages in my old job. 2007 was a varied vintage (that just means wine from that particular year, btw) but that didn't stop Bordeaux prices going crazy in the run up to release. This one isn't in the crazy-price league so you do get good value for money. It is a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes from the not-very-trendy St. Estephe region. Soft and supple, a bit like I used to be. 

Happy Christmas x

Espresso (Martini) Love

Click here to read the Knackered Mothers' Christmas Wine Survival Guide, written for my friend and foodie goddess, English Mum. If, however, you are not yet feeling the Christmas Spirit and need a little help, I have a suggestion. Make one of these (recipe below), drink it and reassess. I've wanted to know how to make a good espresso Martini for some time but somehow never remembered the recipe even though the barman had repeated it three times and I'd scrawled it down on a napkin/fag packet. With thanks to Troutie for the recipe below.

Chocolate/Espresso Martinis
As far as a chocolate or espresso martini goes this would be my advice. Work out if you want a gin or vodka martini and remember that some flavours suit different ingredients more than others. For an espresso martini I would go with 40ml vodka or gin, a shot of espresso and then 15ml tia maria, 15ml kaluha. Chocolate martini would be 40ml of vodka or brandy, 15ml chocolate liquor, and 15ml creme de cacao.


Chin chin x

Too much perspective?

I was talking to a friend last week about how the loss of someone you love puts everything in perspective. We were driving along a forest road, the snow blanket still tucked neatly over the landscape. The silence that followed our pondering was loaded. Up until the point when she said: "a bit like that guy in Spinal Tap." Me: huh? Her: "Nige. Or is it David? You know...too much f*cking perspective."

Laugh? I nearly died.

This week's sparkling on the side: Michel Gonet Champagne Brut NV, £18/bottle, Tesco Wine Club
Madame de Pompadour said that Champagne is the only wine that leaves a woman beautiful after drinking it. I beg to differ. It gives me red cheeks and makes me slightly burpy. That aside, this is a brilliant Champagne from a producer not many have heard of. Get past the functional label and you'll find a wine with spark, flavour, complexity and depth made from a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Jancis Robinson (my heroine) wrote about it in the FT a few weeks ago. Get some before it runs out. We did and I accidentally on purpose opened a bottle whilst decorating the tree.

This week's red on the side: Brewery Hill Shiraz 2008, £8.99, Naked Wines
This is one wine from a mixed case that I bought from Naked Wines. Being in the trade nosey, I knew something about this newish online wine company and liked what they were doing. I went to the website to look around but didn't buy. Then I got an email asking if I would like to buy a case from them and only pay duty and delivery costs. It sounded too good to be true but the wines have been lovely so far (four of them devoured in one night with friends). This one is a brute made by a winery based in the McLaren Vale, Australia. Big flavours. I like. Definitely worth a look. 

*my mother sometimes reads this, so can't swear.

Our House

We arrived back from the eldest boy's swimming lesson tonight to see the house looking like this:

No doubt tomorrow, bearded husband will put on the Christmas play list and that will be that. Until January.

This week's white in the fridge:

Jean Claude Fromont Chablis Premier Cru 2008, £8, currently half price, Tesco Wine Club
Half price offers are not always all they are cracked up to be, but this one is a great buy and so very perfect for this time of year. Chablis is made from the Chardonnay grape and with little or no oak, is a really good match for turkey. Premier Cru tells you that the grapes are grown in vineyards classified as such i.e. better quality than generic Chablis (in theory). This one is not deep, but is crisp and even. Ergo, it does the trick. 

This week's red on the side:

Château Calage 2008 Coteaux du Languedoc, £7.59, Waitrose
I drank this on Monday during a work-related wine tasting and it was so delicious I carried an open bottle (with a cork wedged back in, obviously) home with me on the train. I ignored the sideways glances, safe in the knowledge that I would be drinking something deliciously rich and blackcurranty made from a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre grapes in front of the fire that night. It's suitable for vegetarians. Not that I am one, but some of you might be. In which case I won't tell you this wine was delicious with beef casserole.

Cue the music x

Update: what a difference a day (and snow) makes...