There was an Englishman, a Frenchman and an Irishman ...

..... who's skill made our weekend just perfect!

The Englishman, or Englishwoman, works at The Bolney Estate, an English vineyard we visited earlier this year on our way to France. So why am I writing about them again?

One word .... Rosso !

This year The Bolney Estate launched an English vermouth, richer and herbier than other vermouths this is superb. Our much traveled bottle (French holiday and home) was finally opened one night last week when I was cooking steak - I fancied something refreshing, new and slightly different as my chef's perk. Rosso was, as I knew it would be, spot on; mixed with Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic served over ice (it didn't last long due to the extra hot weather and being by the stove) it was delicious.

Saturday night our friends came round for a summer's evening in our new garden - rain nearly stopped play however our new gazebo provided the perfect shelter. Rain or no rain Rosso was being served with plenty of debating over what it was from where. They were amazed when I revealed it to be an English vermouth. It was loved by everyone, we're all eagerly awaiting it to be available here in the Midlands.

The Frenchman, or to be exact Frenchmen, were responsible for the delicious red wine we enjoyed. Other reds were opened but these two were my choices for the evening. Usually a white wine drinker I think it was the change in weather that swayed me towards French red, not that I need much encouragement.

The first was Sainbury's Taste the Difference Pic Saint Loup - a small appellation around 20 kms inland from Montpellier. At 12.5% this was a lighter wine in volume but certainly not in flavour.

A deep red in the the glass with scarlet highlights it gave an invitingly fruity nose with high notes of herbs, perfect follow on from our Rosso. This French red was so fruity, plenty of redcurrants and blackcurrants, all those deep summer fruits finishing with a slight liquorice sweetness. I happily sat back in my rattan chair under the gazebo enjoying every drop; certainly a not to miss wine at just £8!

Staying in the Languedoc area of France my second red was darker, heavier and had me sinking even further into the rattan. Laurent Miquel Faugéres is from Majestic Wine at £8.99, a good price for such a weighty wine. It's full of all the summer fruits but with a very slight oaking giving it rounded soft tannins, accompanied by a edge of chocolate on its finish, just perfect!

I really do enjoy red wine from the South of France, both of these wines reminded me of many holidays, some of which were also under grey skies. Widely available here in the UK means I can enjoy them again, although of course I would never decline the opportunity to buy en France!

And so to Ireland, a place I have never visited but could easily be tempted as I love Guinness and everything Bailey's. I have recently discovered Bailey's Iced Coffee Mocha which comes in a handy size can, very nice with plenty of ice on a 'too hot' day.

But it wasn't coffee or chocolate .... it was Strawberries and Cream, Bailey's new Liqueur. Everything Bailey's say about this is so true, I couldn't put it any better ....

This sumptuous seasonal flavour has been blended perfectly for those indulgent days in the sun. Perfectly blending the fresh, sumptuous taste of strawberries with light and creamy vanilla, together with the luxurious taste of Baileys Original Irish Cream.

To accompany this I made a new version of one of my favourite desserts, a favourite with friends too. Instead of ginger biscuits I used chocolate chip cookies dipped in Coffee Liqueur, as good as the ginger/sherry version and so easy to prepare.

After weeks and weeks of scorchio weather it of course rained the one night we planned to be outside, it did not however dampen our evening, with help from our English, French and Irish producers. A superb evening with superb food, wine and liqueurs enjoyed by all.

Oh I didn't know it was that one !

I really enjoy hosting the wine tasting evenings for the leaders at our Scout Group - what started 4 years ago as part of our 100th birthday celebrations has now become a regular social event. Each tasting has had a theme or specific reason and this latest one was no exception .... although a little controversial.

Most of us began our wine drinking with main stream brands that started appearing in our supermarkets many years ago, a few well known names to begin with followed by more - I remember new labels being launched through Tesco Wine Community.

Now we all look for that bit extra and the popular brands are left on the supermarket shelves, our buying styles changing to dedicated wine suppliers. This suggests the well known branded wine is not really that good, even though it commands high sales figures .....

... is it really so bad? Are we being lead down the road by better label higher price must mean better wine?

The only solution to this question was to test our palates. When I first began the wine evenings most people who came had not tasted any other wine than the main stream brands, over time we have tasted many more wines from many more producers. This time we revisited some old favourites to see if they were still wines we'd buy ..... the results were quite surprising.

Wine tasting table all set to go 

The evening started with cider, not the usual way we begin out tastings but I was keen to share the difference between popular UK cider such as Strongbow, Magners, Bulmers and French cidré. Although purchased in France the cidrés I presented were from Lidl and available in the UK: André Jalbert Cidré de Normandie.


Everyone enjoyed both the doux (sweet at just 2%) and the brut (dry at 4.5%)  especially as accompanied by pork scratchings.

These cidrés are far more appley, almost like pressed apple juice and quite similar to cider bought in the West Country where English apples are mainly grown.

The sweet cidré was preferred although everyone thought both bottles would be great, well chilled, in the garden during this exceptionally hot summer, with pork scratchings of course.

One of our members has just celebrated a significant birthday and donated two bottles of wine to celebrate. I did not include these in the blind tasting but did pair them with a wine from the same region and same grape so the theme continued throughout the evening ...well I tried to!


The first donated wine was Koru Savignon Blanc from New Zealand - a pale clear wine in the glass with a typical New World Sauvignon Blanc nose of passionfruit and citrus which continued in the mouth with added lime zest.

It's finish was elegant and long and although I had not had this wine before it was exactly as I expected.

My wine to compare was Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc again from New Zealand, one of the first Sauvignon's I tried from the Southern Hemisphere. In all honesty there was not much difference, same colour, similar nose and same flavours although surprisingly a lighter finish.

Personally I preferred Villa Maria but then I do like softer Sauvignons however the Koru was a good wine that everyone enjoyed.

For the main wine tastings I had paired the wines up; both wines being from the same grape, same country, same producer - but would they be the same in taste and flavour? And would we like them?

To ensure we had no preconceptions I covered all signs of labelling on each bottle, including the neck and top - the result - a real sellotape fest!!

The white selection

Our first grape was Pinot Grigio from Australia, both of these I bought in Sainsbury's for around £6 each. There was very little difference in the alcohol content; 11.5% and 12.5%, and very little difference in the colour of the wine.

We all struggled to detect any aroma for either wine, in fact I was wondering if I had gone 'nose blind' until someone mentioned they were finding it difficult to smell anything. This was something we found with many of the wines. Taste wise both were crisp and clean, Wine 5 had more of an appley flavour whilst Wine 6 was more tropical. 

After much discussion and deliberation - this increased as the night progressed in both volume and animation - the general vote was for Wine 5 which was Yellow Tails in preference to McGuigan Classic Wine 6 ..... quite a surprise all round. 

Our second white was Chardonnay, again from Australia and again similar in percentage (13 and 12.5 respectively). I purchased these from Pidou when on holiday but they are both available in the UK from various supermarkets at around £5 each. 

To accompany our glasses of Chardonnay I served sweet popcorn, what a great pairing for both wines. Wine 7 had plenty of citrus some vanilla and a good finish; Wine 8 had a little more depth, with apricots adding to its flavour. 

These two wines split the room a little more than the Pinot Grigio but Wine 8 was, by majority, the favourite ....... McGuigan Classic. The other wine  when revealed was again a surprise as some had chosen this in the past over other Chardonnays, Wine 7 was Banrock Station. 

Leaving whites behind it was time to compare our two rosés, these were definitely not wines I would buy but are firm favourites with a few of our wine tasting ladies.  I also bought these in France but they are widely available in the UK at around £6 a bottle. 

These White Zinfandel rosés from California were lighter in volume, both 8.5% and quite a dark pink in the glass. Far too sweet for me and too artificial so I did not really join in this tasting. To pair with, and maybe add to, their sweetness I paired them with another holiday buy, Turkish Delight; of course I did join in in this!

The findings on the rosés were as I expected, they were enjoyed more by the ladies with flavours of strawberries, pineapple, cherries and raspberries. The preference was for Wine 10 which was Gallo Family; the reveal of Wine 9 caused a little bit of a stir as it was one ladies 'favourite' ...... Barefoot.

As so our first blind discoveries ended - the general comments on our whites and rosés were that the wines were very drinkable, nothing unpleasant with any but they were all lacking in depth and finish. 

After our buffet we moved onto our reds, we did all notice the level of merriment seemed higher although quantity and percentages were on par with our other tastings - I have a few thoughts on why this might be so, a discussion another time maybe.

Mystery reds

The first red was the second wine donated and I had thought it to be a Cotes du Rhone so I paired it with our all time favourite Les Dauphins. However the wine was actually a Costieres de Nimes so still Southern France and made with Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Mouvedre grapes. There was a definite difference between these two but both were great wines and a good way to move into our blind red tastings. 

A very interesting pair, Wine 13 and Wine 14 are actually the wines I have suggested for this month's tasting on Cuvée Reserve - a wine forum I host. We are often tasting new discoveries and being as I was doing this style of tasting for our Scout Leaders I thought it would be interesting to see what the forum members thought about them too, members post their reviews after the 20th of each month.

Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia with volumes of 13% and 13.5% this grape variety for me is always a food wine. That said we tried them with spicy tortilla chips which brought out the spiciness in both. Wine 13 was full of blackcurrants and other soft dark red fruit, a definite background of mocha and a hint of spice on its finish.

It was thought this wine would be good to have with a meal and to share.

Wine 14 was as equally fruity but with slightly sourer fruit such as blackberries and cherries and it's spiciness had a hint of oak. This wine was Hardy's VR and everyone thought it a good recommendation for a party, a good red for a summer BBQ.

It would have been the one chosen but everyone thought Wine 13 Yellow Tails as equally good.The conclusion - both are good wines but suited for different occasions, simillar to session beer and a single pint it depended on the occassion.


Spain was the destination for our next pair, Rioja Tempranillo paired with Iberico cheese. Of all the bottles these were the two most difficult to disguise with branding everywhere and distinctive shaped bottles. As with the rosé this is not a wine for me and so I passed on this tasting letting others try to decide which brands they were and more importantly which they preferred.

Not an easy task as both Wine 15 and Wine 16 were full of dark fruitiness, vanilla and spice, a combination of flavours many of the chaps at our tastings enjoy. The winner was Wine 15 Faustino VII bought from Tesco £6.50; Wine 16 was Campo Viejo also from Tesco but a slightly higher price £8.00, a difficult choice as both wines were enjoyed.

Our final two came from Chile, single grape blend these Merlots travelled home from holiday with us. Retailing in the UK at £8.99 and £6.50 these dark reds were both around 13% in volume. Much darker in the glass than the other reds these also had great aromas of plums and red fruits.

It was hard to split these as they had great flavours of dark fruits, plums, vanilla and spice, both also had a good body and finish. Final decision went to a very well known and much liked label - Wine 18 Castillero del Diablo made by Concho y Toro who make many of the wines we all enjoy. The Merlot runner up was Wine 17 Santa Rita 120 a label most had seen but not many had tried.

What a superb evening and what an eye opener - everyone agreed knowing which brand it was often influenced their buying styles.

One thing I have discovered recently is that just because a wine is in a wine store with a good label at a not so cheap price does not necessarily mean it is a good wine (as our sink will testify) - and in the same way a wine that is big brand, bulk made, supermarket bought is not necessarily a bad wine.

Think of chocolate - Dairy Milk and Galaxy are much loved and enjoyed bars of chocolate, Hotel Chocolat and Thorntons are that little bit extra - each have a place and time to be enjoyed

Whilst popular brands in main supermarkets are no longer my go to wines I would, given the right occasions, buy them again - as they say if we all liked the same thing life would be a little on the boring side - cheers !!

 Wine 5 - Yellow Tails Pinot Grigio                           Wine 6 - McGuigan Classic Pinot Grigio

Wine 7 - Banrock Station Chardonnay                      Wine 8 - McGuigan Classic Chardonnay

 Wine 9 - Barefoot White Zinfandel                           Wine 10  - Gallo Family White Zinfandel 

   Wine 13 - Yellow Tails Cabernet Sauvignon            Wine 14 - Hardy's VR Cabernet Sauvignon

  Wine 15 - Fautino VII Riojo Tempranillo                 Wine 16 - Campo Viejo Rioja Tempranillo

 Wine 17 - Santa Rita 120 Merlot                              Wine 18 - Castillero del Diablo Merlot    

Shugborough Hall & Baddesley Clinton

Having recently joined National Trust Hubby and I visited two of the Trust's properties fairly local to us. Shrugborough Hall is in neighbouring Staffordshire whilst Baddesley Clinton is in our own county of Warwickshire.

It is return visits to both properties: I clearly remember visiting Shrugborough when in Primary School, I have a vivid memory of a huge kitchen with copper pots and a lady dressed in Victorian costume baking cakes for us to try. Baddesley Clinton is a place we visited when our children were young, probably about 20 years ago!

The road into Shrugborough takes you along a sweeping drive through its beautiful parkland with many added stately trees. It's a large estate with a plant crntre, a farm, bridges and structures in the grounds, as well as the house and Lord Lichfield's appartment.

Park Farm

Park Farm Courtyard

Sleeping in the sun

Livestock freely roaming

After enjoying a coffee at the Park Farm Cafe it was a peaceful stroll through the parkland passing grazing livestock to the House. Previously owned by the Bishop's of Lichfield it became a stately home in the 1600's and was laterly owned by the Anson family; George Anson was an avid navigator collecting artifacts from around the world whilst Thomas Anson is responsible for the art and landscaping of Shugborough.

Shugborough Hall's impressive frontage

 Shugborough Hall from the gardens

Inside is full of art, beautiful furniture and a large collection of navigational maps and instruments.

Beautiful interiors

The Library

The kitchen I remember with the copper pots 

Lord Lichfield, a distant relative and great friend of the Royal Family especially Princess Margaret, lived in a large apartment at Shugborough. Born Thoms Partick John Anson he was the 5th Earl of Litchfield. His apartment has been left as it was when he died in 2005 and is full of his famous photographs.

It was amazing to see photos of celebrities we knew from our childhood, usually history is long before we were born.

Outside the formal gardens lead to the river, beautifully kept with trees cut to precise shaping and flower borders full of colourful blooms.

Beautiful formal gardens

There was so much to see, too much for one day especially to walk the estate paths so we do plan to return sometime soon.

Baddesley Clinton is nearer to us than Shugborough; it's a moated manor house with plenty of history. As such it has had many add ons and extensions over time resulting in quite a collection of building styles as you can see.

Baddesley Clinton bridge over the moat

Building changes can be seen on the walls

Quite a large dwelling

Baddesley Clinton has outer buildings and an inner courtyard garden. I'm quite taken with moated buildings and passing over the bridge, through the archway, I was delighted to discover it also had a wine cellar.

I'd love a wine cellar like this 

The wine cellar wasn't the only underground room; inside the house was a Priest's Hole! Being a Roman Catholic dwelling it became a hiding place for Catholics after the Reformation. in 1591 8 priests hid for four hours in this hole, accessible by going down the latrine and along a very small passage. An account of their ordeal can be found here; The Raid on Baddesley.

The nursery rhyme Goosey Goosey Gander is all about priest hunting:

Goosey Goosey Gander where shall I wander  

(the priest hunters looked all over the house, goose stepping one foot in front of the other so as to make no noise walking)

Upstairs, downstairs in my Lady's chamber

(a priest may hide in a Lady's room, possibly in a Priest hole) 

There I met an old man who wouldn't say his prayers

(Catholic Priests would not say the new English pray but recite the Latin)

So I took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs

(the left refers to the Devil, throwing down the stairs refers to getting rid of the Priests, they were executed if caught) 

The Priest's Hole 

Not somewhere I would want to go

Baddesley Clinton house had many furnished rooms with furniture of great age and origin. I was particularly taken with a large wooden chest, it was full of carvings, even the cupboard door knobs were carved faces.

Stunning carved chest

Tapestry fire screen 

Upstairs as well as bedroom was a small Chapel and Sacristy which has access to the Priest's Hole. It is thought it was used in the 1590 but hidden as a bedroom so those visiting did not suspect Priests were there.

Baddesley Clinton's Chapel 

There was so much to see, so many rooms and varied history included two couples who lived here together, when two died the remaining two wedded and remained at the house.

A walled garden, a vegetable garden with a superb grape vine and a large lake are just part of the beautiful grounds. There are many walk ways, plenty of benches on which to sit and enjoy the peacefulness and parkland perfect for picnics.

The stable block now houses the cafe and plant sales

Great vine in the vegetable garden greenhouse

Another superb property we enjoyed visiting and will return to if only to enjoy a summer picnic in the parkland.

Dedham Vale Vineyard

Essex is an area of England we have not visited so when our daughter gave Hubby a vineyard trip for his retirement gift Dedham Vale Vineyard was a perfect choice ...  in North Essex this English vineyard nestles in the Stour Valley, Constable Country, on the Essex Way.

Driving down the high hedged roads, which seemed to get narrower and narrower, we discovered the vineyard in its beautiful setting; a pool, huge weeping willows and of course vines.

Dedham Vale is set in 40 acres and has been producing wine for over 25 years, their Tasting Barn serving tea and coffee was very welcome after our 140 plus mile journey. A fabulous area for hosting wine tasting, lunches, private functions it had the added bonus of opening out onto a large grassy area and the pool.

Weeping willow by the pool

Dedham Vale's beautiful setting

Ben, the owner, started the tour with a bit of history about how it became a vineyard, it is so interesting to learn how ideas grow and develop. The visit is described as a Grand Tour and it really was. A glorious sunny day we, a group of around 26, set off across the grass to walk the vines.

Dedham grow mainly Germanic grapes, some on this site and more recently other fields in local areas, something they are expanding. Dunklefelder, with its red juice and skin, is the only true red grape grown here and Dornfelder is used to produce the pink colour in their Sparkling Rosé. They grow Bacchus, Pheonix, Rhondo, Reichensteiner and Chardonnay are also grown here, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are grown in their other fields for producing their English Sparkling Wine.

Where it all begins 

Vines stretching across the vineyard

Perfect view on a summer's day 

After walking amongst the vines Ben took us into the oldest building on the vineyard - where the magic happens. The age of the barn noticeable from the herringbone brickwork outside .... inside was very different with shiny stainless steel wine making equipment including a cylindrical press and a spikey corking machine.

Ancient brickwork

Pressing machine - a bag inflates inside to press the grapes against
the walls which have tiny slits that allows the juice to flow out

Ben explaining how the process works 

A few of the stainless steel vats

It's a corker !!

After our superb tour of both vineyard and the winemaking barn we returned to the Tasting Room which had been laid ready for lunch. Before enjoying our tasty ploughman's we enjoyed tasting Dedham Vale wines, five in all, two white, a rose, their red and finally their Brut Sparkling.

Dedham Vale wines - photos are from their website

Colchester Oyster 2016 - 12%
A sparkly clear white with a hint of green hue this Reichensteiner wine had a slight nose of fruit. An off dry wine with a flavour of apple and slight citrus.

Bacchus 2016 - 12%
Ben recommended this with food, especially fish and seafood; lemon and elderflower with a hint of minerality this had a slightly longer finish.

Rosé 2017 - 12% 
A lovely salmon colour this dry rosé was light, fruity with good acidity

Reserve 2016 - 11.5%
Debham Vale's only red this was lighter in body which as expected at 11.5%. A blend of Pinot Noir, Dornfelder, Dunklefelder and Rhonda with light tannin from being in French oak this was a deep red in the glass, fruity in flavour with a medium length finish.

Sparkling Brut 2015 - 12%
Produced using the Traditional Method this sparkling wine had fine bubbles, a citrusy flavour with a touch of yeastiness. My favourite wine of our tasting.

A glass of Bacchus 

Thank you Dedham Vale for a very informative tour and tasting of your superb wines in a super setting, we had a lovely afternoon. Thank you too to our daughter, it was a great gift we both enjoyed.

Summer sun in the vines