Best Possible Taste

There's been a fair few reports in the last week, including one on how it is the mother, rather than the father's drinking habits that shape how our children will drink in 20 years time (based largely on the fact that fathers drink in the pub, mothers at home). There was the one about baby boomers being the biggest drain on NHS resources in terms of alcohol-related illnesses. And then there was the one about alcohol misuse being a silent epidemic in families. It usually appeared with a photo of a mother with a glass of wine in hand. The message was very clear: only bad mothers drink.

But here's the thing. I am at home, having a glass of wine at the end of the day, when the children are in bed. I'm drinking that wine because I love the taste of it, not for the hit. If I wanted a hit, I'd go to net-a-porter. Obviously it is a question of how much/how often but if we continue to demonise wine drinkers, even the responsible ones; now that's a drinking problem.

Current white in the fridge: Principe Strozzi Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2011, £8.99, Laithwaites
Book club last night, so this was one from our case of wine kindly provided by Donna at Laithwaites (thank you)! Actually, last night's book club was quite something: the man who wrote the book came to talk to us. I can highly recommend Wee Davy (that's the book, not the author). The wine also comes highly recommended. Fresh, lemony white made from the Vernaccia grape in Tuscany. It was just so refreshing simple, but with real flavour. I think even Wee Davy might have approved, and he's a two-foot foul-mouthed septuagenarian Scotsman. 

Current red in the rack: Errazuriz Estate Shiraz Reserve 2011, £7.49 on offer, Waitrose
Shiraz (or Syrah as it is often called in France and other old world countries) is a peppery number, usually coming with a good measure of blackcurrant-like fruit. This one is from one of my very favourite producers from Chile. Errazuriz is big, and clever. They have vineyards in the northern Aconcagua Valley region, where the long growing season means lots of flavour in the grapes. And they have got a bit of a thing for Shiraz. Taste this and you can tell. 

Cheers, dears x




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