No Time At The Bar

The weekend before last, our school held a music festival to raise money for a new classroom they are building. Local bands played, most of which had at least one parent as a band member. My contribution was sourcing wine and volunteering to do a shift on the bar. How hard could it be? Turns out with 300 people, high spirits and one small bar, pretty damn hard. I poured cider that looked like ice-cream sundaes, confused bitter for lager and generally undercharged, over-poured and accounted for a lot of spillages. 'Surely you've done bar work before?' asked another mother on the same shift. 'Yes, of course! But it was a while ago...' I replied. 21 years ago to be precise, when on my first day I flooded the bar by breaking the tap off an old barrel, covering the floor in 88 pints of beer. Rather, bitter. As was the landlord. So it seems my natural home is on the other side of the bar. I'll try to remember that in future.

Current white on the side: Altamisa Albarino 2010, £11.99, Naked Wines

This was given to us by a friend who came for dinner on Friday night but we drank mostly red that night, so this one stayed on the side until yesterday when I had a cheeky lunchtime (very small) glass with Vix. Albarino is a grape grown in the Rias Baixas region in northwest Spain and is very much flavour of the month - literally - when it comes to Spanish white wine. Lean and green, with lime fruit and almost ear-splitting acidity, this is a gorgeous summer wine. Some find it too sharp (currently Unbearded Husband included) but happily, that means more for me. 

Current red on the side: Chateau Montesquieu 2008, £8.55, Solent Cellar
Done this one before, but babe, it's back again. This is a Southern French cocktail of mostly Grenache, followed by Syrah and finished off with a generous dash of colour-happy Carignan. Made in the Cotes du Roussillon region, this is a rustic mini-beast with bramble fruit and a spicy, black-pepper kick to it. I've just paired it with a pretty-good-although-I-say-so-myself Spaghetti Bolognese and it definitely added weight and joy to our TV dinner. 


Happy (school) holidays x

School's Out For Summer (nearly)

Two more days until school's out. So, here's a little vlog I did for Britmums on the topic of summer holidays. Question is, lazy days approach or boot camp approach? Here's my slightly rambling answer...

It's Albarino and 'Enders for me tonight. Will post wine this week's wine recommendations tomorrow night.

*clinks*

Rob Da Bottle Bank

Rob is a wine trade expert, social media guru and knackered dad to boot. He talks and writes about wine for a living at Thirst For Wine, so I'm sure he was thrilled, really thrilled, when I asked him to write a post for us - which he's done, beautifully - for nothing. Rob, you are gent. Well, you steal your children's food but apart from that...

ROB's POST

What's a knackered dad to do? It was in the freezer to be eaten, and the fact that it was made for the kids to eat is of lesser consequence right now. I'm on babysitting duty for a change.

Getting down to blogging after work, after helping to feed & bath the kids, plus getting them into bed (including the 1001st re-read of 'Winnie in Space') isn't actually all that easy, especially when your subject is wine. When you open that bottle, with every intention of taking notes and somehow evaluating it objectively, it is SO easy to relax, sit back and enjoy it instead. After all, this is really what wine should be about. Studying your glass rather takes away some of the social pleasure ... except that the effort might help others to discover wine, so ... it is still another job that needs to be done, really - even if you don't believe me.

Blogging starts out as great fun, but does eventually become a chore, an item on the to-do list, and however exciting the subject, it can quickly become tiresome. It would be interesting to find out what percentage of bloggers start off as enthusiastic individuals ... and then become parents and change their mind about the trade-off between blogging and sleep, then drop it all. Not me, I'm committed ... or need to be.

Which all means that I find myself justified in appropriating that lovely homemade bolognese sauce in the freezer to add to my pasta, because I have a job to do. It is my duty to concentrate on this bottle of wine for the pleasure of other knackered parents out there. I'll make the kids something else tomorrow.

Taste the Difference Barbaresco 2008 (Sainsbury's, £9.99)
Should we buy top wines from supermarkets? I thought I'd give some of the more expensive wines from Sainsbury's a go, starting with the Italians. Barbaresco is a well known region, and wines are made from Nebbiolo, a famously tricky but potentially delicious grape. I have to say this was a bit disappointing. It promised to be "rose scented with flavours of cherries and liquorice" and all I really got was a decent, but unexciting red fruit flavour with some not-over-the-top tannins. The magic was missing. I have higher hopes for the TTD Barolo.

Rosso di Montalcino 2008, Baricci (Naked Wines £19.99)
Instead, I turn to a wine that I helped to source (by loving it at a tasting, then seeing it picked up by Naked Wines). I opened a bottle the other night and ... hated it. However, having given it 48 hours to 'breathe' it is lovely - all spicy red cherry and raspberry fruit and plenty more. I wonder how many wine experiences are ruined by being drunk 'unready'?


Chin chin x

Book. Ish.

Book Club last night. We ate curry, drank wine and talked about, amongst other things, the following:

• magnificent bosoms (not ours)
• poorly children (ours)
• euthanasia (generally)
• the Mitford sisters
• Caitlin Moran's new book (affectionately known by Bearded Husband as 'that feminist shit')
• newborn babies (we had a 3-week old in attendance last night)
• Marley & Me (*tiny voice* I loved it)
• the importance of Jilly Cooper in one's life
• black cock (the wrought iron one outside our house) 

We didn't talk about the News International scandal (are we allowed to use that word? Didn't they trademark it?). Bearded Husband is obsessed with it, sneaking snippets of news as he would sly fags. It seems truth is indeed stranger than fiction. 

Current white on the side: Anchorage Classic Riesling 2009, New Zealand, £10.99, Naked Wines

We got Naked again last night, thanks to them sending me a case to sample with Book Club. We had a delicious spread of curry (one prawn, one mutton) with dahl/raita/rice accessories. The Riesling was a brilliant match, with a touch of sweetness that countered the spice of the food. Thoughtfully, it had naturally low alcohol, perfect for a school night (10%). This is made from the noble grape that makes Very Knowledgeable Wine People cry due to its ethereal quality. I'd say limes, with honeysuckle notes and a slightly flirty smile. Really lovely. 

Current red on the side: Arabella Reserve Shiraz/Viognier 2009, South Africa, £9.99, Naked Wines

There was a time when a glass of South African red wine had me wrinkling my nose before I'd tried it. Now, I don't wrinkle until my nose is in the glass. This one was just. so. easy. to love. Not too shouty or oaky, rather a really good blend of red grape Shiraz with a dash of white grape Viognier, both on loan from the Rhone region in France. All bramble fruit and spice that went happily with our plate of spaghetti bolognese tonight. Another one from Naked but bought with my own dosh, so it didn't taste good just because it was free. 

Chin chin x

Quiet Night In

I do love a quiet night in. Tonight, I am mostly loving the sofa, my bowl of pasta, quite good telly (hurrah for Jo Frost! And Alan Sugar!) and a little glass of red. This is in stark contrast to last night, which saw me screaming like a banshee at a Take That concert, with the Pet Shop Boys supporting. I met Howard in real life once. I also met Neil from the PSBs, chased him - cocktail-fuelled - down a street in high-heeled gold sandals. Your song was Number One when I started going out with my husband-to-be! I said. Well done, he said, sotto voce. I didn't pursue it further. I know a conversational cul-de-sac when I see one.

This week's sparkling rose in the fridge: Millione Frizzante Rose, £7.99, widely available (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Laithwaites, Waitrose, Amazon, Morrisons)
This lightly sparkling 'frizz' from Italy is light, frothy and uncomplicated. The real reason for buying this wine is that £1 from every bottle sold goes to the not-for-profit Millione Foundation set up to build 20 schools in Sierra Leone, a West African country left ravaged by recent civil war. Working with their partners ActionAid, the Foundation has raised over £100,000 to date. Find out more here. It is made from Chardonnay grapes with a dash of Merlot, is lightly sparkling and needs to be served fridge-cold. 

This week's red on the side: Tierra del Corazon Pinot Noir 2010, £9.99, Virgin Wines
I picked this one out of a case sent to me by Virgin Wines, mostly on the strength that it had a really pretty label (yup, that shallow). But the wine inside was a delight: a floral red with lightness of touch on the palate thanks to balanced fruit, acidity and alcohol. This is made from Pinot Noir grown in the cooler climate Casablanca Valley, north of Santiago in Chile. In the end, wine is all about balance. And a pretty label, preferably. Lovely with my cuddle in a bowl (pasta lightly covered in cherry tomato sauce - from a jar). 


Peace out, winos x