Burns Night

Throughout the year I like to match our food and drink with special days, some are because we would celebrate anyway but others are just an excuse to enjoy different things.

Yesterday was Burns Night when Scotland celebrates its poetic Baird by traditionally having haggis. Neither Hubby or I have any Scottish blood but we do like haggis and after our 2019 tour of Scotland we're quite partial to a wee dram of whisky. 

We had a little trouble this year finding our haggis. We are using online deliveries for our food and shop at either Asda, Tesco or Sainsbury's. Our first order with haggis on was from Asda ... we received haggis in a tin! 

Our next order was more successful as Tesco delivered a proper haggis from Simon Howie, sadly it was a little disappointing as it was so salty. Hubby looked at the ingredients and the salt content was very high. I did enjoy my Swede, carrots and butternut squash though. 

We had a simple dessert; raspberries with cream and Paterson's Scottish shortbread - delicious.

The highlight of the night was our wee dram. This year we opened a bottle of Old Pultney 12 year old. Hubby spotted it before Christmas on offer in Sainsbury's so of course it was added to a shopping delivery. 

As always with whisky it got better as we warmed the glass in our hands. We both thought of Christmas when drinking this, pudding or cake. It had dried fruit, honey, caramel and a hint of vanilla. A lovely smooth finish without any burn especially when nicely warmed.

We did enjoy our nod to Scotland, it was nice to remember our trip and dream of another tour one day, there's plenty more to whisky to find! I'm really looking forward to sharing a dram or two with friends when life allows, I just hope and pray we don't have to wait until next Burns Night. 

Virtual Wine Tasting

Throughout last year I watched many virtual wine tasting, especially with Brad Horne @winetimelondon. Whilst I was not drinking any alcohol it was great to keep up with the wine world. I discovered many new vineyards too, in particular White Castle in Wales and Tickerage in South England. 

I really missed not only drinking wine but hosting our wine tasting evening for our scouting friends. Since last March with four of our friends we have been having chat nights via video calling, collectively we're known as the Booze Trippers as we've enjoyed quite a few short breaks discovering more about wine/spirits. We hope to be out and again soon but in the meantime we're enjoying the virtual world.

Our weekly chats always include a quiz or game of some descriptions and to our surprise we seem to be online each week well into the early hours of Sunday. Drinks and snacks are personal choice although we have been known to drop off baked goods for each other so we can have a mass munch on a Saturday. It's such fun and I can honestly say these nights have been such a boost to me and Hubby, we really look forward to our Saturday Nights In!

Now I'm starting to enjoy a few more glasses of wine and occasionally a gin and tonic or whisky I thought it would be fun to host a virtual wine tasting on one of our evenings. Hubby and I are still shopping online for it to be delivered and noticed Tesco were offering 4 for 3 on mini wine bottles - perfect. The choice of small bottles is nothing like the variety or quality of the full size shelves but we managed to find a mini selection of minis. 

Here's our selection all ready to go virtual. I had wrapped each bottle up individually so our friends opened one at a time, just to add a bit of surprise. It made a change to leave the house to drive over to drop off the goody wine bags, not quite as long as our usual travels but a road trip nethertheless.

For each wine Hubby and I had written five quiz questions, nothing too difficult and all things we have talked about at previous tasting. It was great to do whilst enjoying each wine, not that we're a competitive bunch ... well not much! 

Our first wine was a can of fizz from Most Wanted. I would not normally buy wine in a can but I can see great benefits in the future - on the train, on the ferry, picnics ... so many possibilities.

I don't think I have had sparkling Pinot Grigio before and my thoughts are that this is not made using the traditional method but in large vats. There were plenty of large bubbles which did last in the glass. It had more flavour than some Proseccos we've had and although a little sweet for me it would be one I'd buy again, especially for holidays or days out. 

Our second tasting was our first white wine. We've been drinking J P Chenet wines for many many years in France on holiday and have bought many bottles home. The uniqueness of this brand is that all their wine is in a wonky bottle. A long time ago we bought six cases of their various wines ... because each box had a free wonky stemmed glass haha. We still have the glasses, it's quite funny seeing them lopsided on the table especially if set for a dinner party - just a bit of fun!

Sauvignon Blanc is my favourite wine especially from the Loire Valley. It was so nice to revisit the aromas of this dry white wine, it felt like being back where I belong. Overall this is a fair wine, the expected flavours are there if a little light. It's a very easy drinking version of a Sauvignon Blanc, great for a large party or BBQ in the summer.

Pinot Grigio is a fairly new wine to me, not in knowledge but in drinking. It isn't one I would choose, for some reason I don't look at Italian wines when wine shopping. Our daughter prefers this grape as she finds Sauvignon Blanc too dry so we always open a bottle or two when we're together.

This was Tesco's own brand and apart from it being Italian I know very little else. It was crisp and it was dry but for me it had very little flavour and a watery finish. Although this is available in a full size bottle it isn't one for me.

At our wine tasting evenings we always have a pot luck buffet where everyone brings something for the table and we all share the delicious food that has been brought. A bit tricky when doing a virtual wine tasting but we did have a snack break.

I was very surprised when we poured this wine, it's colour was very light and made me think it was a Pinot Noir. Again a Tesco own brand this Cabernet Sauvignon was from Spain. Not the usual location for this grape and it did lack the depth of other Cabernet Sauvignon wines I have had, maybe the Spanish sun had made it lighter. It is also available in a full size bottle and would be a great wine to use for Sangria but not to drink as a wine if you were looking for deep Cabernet Sauvignon flavours.

Our quiz questions with each wine were causing a little head scratching but the last round based on red wine in general had near full house points scored. As with all quizzes the answers can be contentious but if Google says it is then it must be right, right? One question nicely linked our previous wine to our final mini tasting ...

Which wine overtook Cabernet Sauvignon in popularity in 1990s?      Merlot 

Another wine from J P Chenet this Merlot was the overall favourite of the evening. It did have plenty of fruit on the nose and in flavour. As with their Sauvignon Blanc this wine is a great easy drinker, Hubby and I both said we should buy this brand again.

Thank you Nick, Alan, Bev, Rob and Kathy for another fun night, it was so good to be wine tasting again .... someday our glasses will chink in real time, until then here's to another virtual cheers! 

January begins

A very different time this year as we are usually at our friends' seeing the New Year in with fun and laughter ... and of course a few glasses of wine. Saying that last year was different as although with friends I had a daunting year ahead and started Dry January on the stroke of midnight. 

This year was different again as it was myself, Hubby and our son who celebrated the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. We did enjoy an evening of games with our daughter and her partner via a video call, oh the wonders of modern technology. On the stroke of midnight we raised a glass together even if physically miles apart. 

We always have a family dinner on New Year's Day, it's the perfect occasion to pull the final crackers. My tastebuds and insides are improving which means I am starting to enjoy wine again, although not all wines and only a small glass. For our NYD dinner we enjoyed a Cheverny rouge, a bottle we bought in France a while ago on one of our holidays, 

It's always with mixed feelings that the decorations come down; sad because the festive season is over but joy because the clutter goes away. Although we don't have many decorations it is still a long day to take down and pack away our Christmas, many trips into the attic for Hubby. 

Relaxing on 12th night after all the work was done, we enjoyed a glass of Penderyn Maderia Whisky accompanied by the last Ferrero Rocher. I did find the whisky a little harsh initially but warming the glass in my hands (as we were taught on our amazing Scottish holiday in 2019) it soon became lovely and smooth. The maderia barrels used to mature the whisky certainly gave it added flavour.

Since the first lockdown in March 2020 we have enjoyed regular video call quiz nights with our friends. We have had quizzes, played Trivial Pursuits, had questions from Tenable and set quizzes ourselves. It's been great fun and little did we imagine that the first quiz night of 2021 would be our 40th evening. 

We all enjoy a glass of wine on these quiz nights, we have occassionally opened bottles of bubbly to celebrate anniversaries or birthdays and last summer we all enjoyed a bottle of Oatley wine as we purchased wine direct from the vineyard. Over last year I enjoyed many alcohol free evenings too, mainly non gin and tonics.

Our first 2021 quiz night started with some bubbles, Hubby enjoyed a glass or two of red and I had a Sloe Gin with Lemonade. Cremant du Jura is a sparkling wine from Aldi that has been a favourite of ours for many years. It is good value as it stands up well to champagne, a great glass of fizz.

Carcassonne is a French wine from the Languedoc, very close to the Pyrenees. Carcassonne is a beautiful walled cité, it's depicted on the classic looking label. The wine is full of fruit, rich in flavour with a good finish. Another wine from Aldi however not always on the shelf so one we buy if spotted. 

As I am not drinking as much wine, although bubbles are easier than still, I am enjoying my variety of gins, maybe because I have them with carbonated mixers. Gordon's Slow Gin is very refreshing with lemonade, a lovely alternative to the sharpness of gin with tonic. 

One of our Christmas gifts was this fab book of over 10,000 questions and much as none of us want lockdown to continue and we are all hoping we can beat Covid with the vaccinations now available, I do hope our Quiz Nights will continue as it would be such a shame to leave this unopened. 

I hope everyone had an enjoyable festive time and managed to see in 2021 with a glass of something good. I'm planning to use celebration days to be adventurous with our dinners and drinks to help relieve the monotony of having to stay home ... it's Chinese New Year soon and Burns Night so I best get menu planning.

I'll sign off my first post of the year with a photo of us during one of our online quiz chats when we discovered the 'effects' button ...or was it too much wine hee hee