The small stuff.

Sun on skin. A sea breeze. Clinky drinks with ice and a slice. A chapter read in the bath (uninterrupted). Fish & chips. Champagne. Fish & chips served with Champagne. Dancing in the kitchen. An empty laundry basket. Clean plates. My one and only matching set of underwear. Having chicken stock in the fridge. Singing 'It's a hard knock life' (the original) with my sister, word perfect. Amaretto. Bluebells. Using the wonky pots I made on my one day pottery course. Stirring risotto. Very chilled white wine, making the glass cold to the touch. Masterchef. The smell of bonfire on clothes. A pineapple in the fruit bowl. A new nail varnish. Really tart salad dressing. A chocolate cake covered in Smarties. The seven day weather forecast on Countryfile. Childrens' midnight feasts. Loose change retrieved from pockets before washing. Unusual Italian red wines. Ripe avocados. The smell of my children's skin. My husband whistling in the morning. The Speakmans on Twitter. Sharing a bottle of wine.

With thanks to Plan B (visit her post for more details) and Robert Crampton for starting this.

Current white in the fridge: Les Dix du Pallet Muscadet 2010, £7.99, Laithwaites
One from the case sent to me by the lovely Donna from Laithwaites. This is a Muscadet wine, made in the Loire Valley in northern France from the Melon de Bourgogne grape. This is a style of wine that has fallen rather out of style but I think - rather like all good fashion bar puffball skirts - this style of wine is going to strut its stuff once again. Actually, rather than strut, it walks its own line. Subtle, crisp and full of green apple fruit, the twist is given by the time the wine has spent ageing on its lees (yeasts that have done their fermentation thing and then lie on the bottom of the tank or barrel giving the wine more flavour). If Muscadet has been aged on its lees, it will say 'Sur Lie' on the label. Serve this with seafood for true happiness. I had a glass whilst stirring risotto and was pretty happy. Obviously re-named The Dicks in this house. 


Current red in the rack: Domaine Marie 2010 Faugères, £6.07 currently on offer, Waitrose
Sorry, done this one before but it is gorgeous and on offer and, IMHO, a really good deal. Ripe, smooth and ready, this is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan grapes grown on an estate in the Languedoc region in the South of France. Sometimes a blend of grapes will give you better results than wines made from just one grape variety alone, and blending is very much part of the fabric in this region. It is bold & bright, like a Grazia headline. But there is something a little bit rustic about it, a little bit animal. And we like that. Needs food. Tomato-based pasta was a good match. 


Hugs x

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,