BMB Twitter Tasting: How to taste...

Ahead of tonight's BMB wine twitter tasting, here's a quick guide on how to taste and get the most from your glass of vino. Tasting starts at 8pm and the three wines we're tasting are listed here . Drop in whatever you are tasting. Laters x

Pour me

Today has been a bit of a rush, as in time-poor rather than adrenaline. School run, work, school run (already?!) swimming lessons, more work. But this evening has been a joy. I poured a glass of red and SLOWED. DOWN.  I made a little vlog about tasting wine ahead of a twitter tasting I am doing tomorrow night (click here if you want to see it) and then polished off a plate of the children's leftover lasagne. Brilliant, because as we all know our children's leftovers have zero calories. None whatsoever; you lose weight eating them. Fact.

Current white in the fridge:  Seifried Gewurztraminer 2009, Naked Wines, £11
I was sent a case of wine last week to taste as part of an online tasting with Naked and Mumsnet. The (pregnant) winemaker, Heidi, was online and able to answer questions as we tasted. 'Tis the beauty of the world wide web. Anyway, this was my favourite white. Gewurztraminer is the grape here, grown this time in Nelson which sits at the top of New Zealand's South Island. 'Gewurz' translated means spice and this is exactly what you get: fruit and spice. Turkish delight was the flavour description that popped up the most. I'd add peach and lychee in there too. Really, really delicious. Finished off the following night with a Chinese takeaway and it worked a treat.

Current red on the side: Glorioso Rioja Reserva 2005, Tesco.com, currently half price at £7
Spanish reds. There is something about those two words that makes me want to head for the sofa with a book. Mind you, Kids Bath are two words that have the same effect on occasion. Anyway, this one is a real bargain, made from Tempranillo grapes and aged in oak barrels for a year, then another two years in bottle allowing it to relax and mellow until ready for us.  Gorgeous, silky and much more affordable than most gorgeous silky things. Loved my kids' lasagne almost as much as me.

Pour me another x

KMTV

So I think we've established that this blog is about wine and me. Mostly me. As if I needed any encouragement, I was asked to attend a BMB blogging event last week in London where a select handful motley crue of blogging mothers were given cameras and a lesson in how to vlog (that's video blogging: I know, who knew)? Anyway, if you want to watch something akin to You've Been Framed but without anything funny happening then click here. It's a little film on why I blog. As I said, mostly me.

This week's white in the fridge: De Bortoli DB Selection Verdelho 2009, Waitrose, £6.49
I heard Chris Evans on the radio this week saying that he was bored with white wine. I say he's drinking the wrong stuff. Saying you're bored with white wine is like saying you're bored with food. Sort of. You're just stuck in a rut and need a change, need your faith restored. So, step away from the Pinot Grigio and Try Something New. This wine is made from the Verdelho grape, grown in Australia and is not unlike Chardonnay but I find it lighter, with more zip and a lush guava note to it. Ideal wine to have whilst standing in the kitchen, trying to muster up the energy to cook something for the big people in the house for supper. 

This week's red on the side: Maurel Vedeau Saveurs Veritables Merlot 2009, Source Wines, £8
Merlot is the grape here, this one from the South of France. As a grape, Merlot sometimes gets left at the side of the dancefloor as the bigger show-off that is Cabernet Sauvignon busts its moves and hogs the limelight. But I love a good Merlot; when made well I love its soft fleshy character and raspberry fruit flavours. This one comes in a screwcap and was opened last night when we had it with risotto. Still tasting good with root veg-loaded soup tonight. And to think we used to seal wines with a bit of camel dung wrapped in muslin. Imagine trying to get that back in the bottle.  

Peace out, winos x

W(h)ine Free Zone

I've been ill, proper lying-under-blankets-shivering ill, for four days. So no wine for me; just soup, tea and sympathy with a pholcodine chaser. Unable to share wine recommendations, I thought I'd share this instead. It is a TED talk by Brene Brown on the power of vulnerability. I watched it a few weeks ago, hot cup of tea in hand and loved it. The last slide is fab, summing up what I wish someone had told me ages ago. Enjoy, and I'll be back on the sauce - all in the line of duty, of course - next week.

 
KMx

#FAIL

This week, I have mostly failed. Namely:
1) failed to finish my book before Book Club night
2) failed to make any inroads on mountain of washing
3) failed to meet one or two (OK, three) work deadlines
4) failed to post a thank you letter that's been in my bag for a week
5) failed to not have wine (token Lent thing)

But I was given the award below from fellow bloggers which rather pulls it back:

So, thank you Crumbs sisters. Yours is one of my favourite blogs, full of brilliant ideas to do with cooking for children and big people. The idea of this award is to pass it on to three favourite blogs to help spread love and awareness all at the same time. Multi-tasking at its best. I hereby heart the following blogs I've been really enjoying recently:

Metropolitan Mum - pretty smart
Make Mine Mid-Century - gorgeous blog, dedicated wino
Tiddlyompompom - spookily familiar

Now for the wines, drunk at this week's Book Club and sent to me by Naked Wines to review:

This week's white in the fridge: Villebois Sancerre 2009, Naked Wines, £13.99 (part of mixed case)
Its been a while since I've drunk Sancerre. Two reasons: firstly, it is expensive. Secondly, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (the grape we're talking about here) is generally cheaper and more widely available. When good, Sancerre is a more complex style of Sauvignon Blanc, but quietly so. It is not a tropical fruit-bomb, rather it slaps you in the face with a twist of lemon and tweaks your nose with an after-kick of acidity. The soil is flint-like, aka silex, and you can almost taste it. This was a hit with all seven members of Book Club, moreso than the last Sauvignon Blanc we had from New Zealand.

This week's red on the side: Chalk Hill Penance 2008, Naked Wines, £13.99 (part of mixed case)
There are drinks that can transport me back in time. The smell, the taste, the headaches. Taboo? 1989: hiding out in undercliffs at school, mistakenly thinking that a couple of polo mints would hide the smell of booze and fags. Cider & Black? 1995: year of finals, reason my face looked like it had been blown up with a bicycle pump in every photo taken of me at university. Aussie Shiraz/Grenache blend at 14.5% that smells like Ribena concentrate? I could have sworn that too was a thing of the past, or at least no longer de rigueur but here it was, being devoured at Book Club and the crowd went wild. They bayed for more, but we'd finished the bottle. Always leave 'em wanting more, as they say in showbiz. 

Our next book? Grapes of Wrath x

Comic Timing

Heroines, I've had a few: Nightingale (Florence & Annie), Nigella and any number of Jilly Cooper characters included (the ones who weren't obviously pretty but then became ravishing once drenched in Diorissimo and tight on thunderous G&Ts). Another heroine is Jancis Robinson MW (Master of Wine), a walking wine authority. Jancis started Wine Relief in 1999 and has helped raise nearly £4 million for Comic Relief through wine sales and other wine-related tomfoolery since then. If you buy one of these wines in March, 10% will go to Comic Relief. A very good reason to get a red nose, in fact. Here are some of her favourites from the 80-strong line-up (there's a * next to the ones I've tried and loved):

Brown Brothers Dry Muscat 2008 South Eastern Australia £5.60 Booths*
Les Arbousiers Rosé 2009 Coteaux de Languedoc £7.49 Virgin Wines
Nosio, Forte Alto Pinot Grigio 2010 IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti £7.99 Waitrose*
Grande Réserve de Gassac Rouge 2009 Vin de Pays de l'Hérault £7.99 Laithwaites
Villa Lanata, Lo Zoccolaio, Suculé 2007 Barbera d'Alba £9.99 Majestic*
Newton Johnson Pinot Noir 2008 Elgin £16.99 M&S*
Guado al Tasso, Il Bruciato 2007 Bolgheri £18.99 Wine Rack


Chin chin x