So, if you know that Gris is the name of a grape, that joke is funny-ish. Actually, the grape is better known as Pinot Grigio, but I digress. Point is, I’ll be discussing Fifty Shades this week at Book Club. Over the Summer we also read Nora Ephron’s Heartburn – a brilliantly funny/heartbreakingly sad book – but I am sure Fifty Shades will dominate discussions. Which is annoying, because it’s just a bit of porn with an uninspiring heroine and a creepy hero with commitment issues. And if it’s rude bits you want, Lace is way better. This was the one we all read at school. It’s the reason I’ve never wanted goldfish (seriously). In fact, I’ve just re-read it on holiday and what struck me was that Lace isn’t really about the rude bits at all. It is about love and friendship – especially the enduring friendships of women – and independence and all the stuff that really matters. I just needed a few years on me to see it.
Current white in the fridge: Tero Pinot Grigio 2011, £4.50 (currently half price), Tesco.com
Yes, I have a half price Pinot Grigio in my fridge. And it is very drinkable. But, like Fifty Shades, it is not that memorable and you feel a bit dirty afterwards. Still, if you want a light wine that tastes fresh and slightly lemony without being too sharp, here it is. But really, I want more. I want commitment. And love.
Current red in the rack: Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Ribera del Duero 2010, £5.99 on offer, Sainsbury’s
This wine is normally £8.99, so this is great value at under £6. Made from the Tempranillo grape, this is like a baby Rioja, with a bit of oak but not too much, and that same lovely black fruit. Cashmere-soft, autumnal in mood and definitely cockle-warming. I said cockle. FYI, Rib D – as people who like shortening wine names so they sound like they know what they are talking about call it – is not far from Rioja, sort of left and down a bit. So, not a million miles away. Lovely stuff.
Bottoms up x
This, McGinn, is KMWC genius. I NEED that book now! X
Thank you Miss Dubai 2012 x
Hello you, I can't get past chapter 6 of 50 shades I'm so bored with it! I'm just back from Italy where I savoured some delicious wines and thought of you xx
Ooh, how lovely! We were in Italy too, near Arezzo. Wonderful, esp the wines 😉
I'm avoiding 50 Shades, but I have Nora's 'I feel bad about my neck' in my to read pile.
Oh, and I love that you said cockle.
Ooh, I read that on holiday too, they had it in the villa! How wierd is that? I know it looks I spent the entire holiday reading and not looking after my children, but I promise I did do the odd bit of table tennis or jumping in the pool in between chapters…!
I tried to get 'Heartburn' on Kindle this summer – did you know it's not a digital book yet? Maybe I'll have better luck with Lace for the long dark evenings coming our way here. Shame I won't have a bottle of Rib-D (ooh – get me!) to keep me company, too…
Get you indeed! What a pro…x
LOVED heartburn, such a great read.
Wasn't it just…
I am intrigued about the goldfish… do I need to google it?
Let's just say I'm not sure if the goldfish survived.
I can't be bothered with 50 shades, I really can't. I sort of feel I should see what all the fuss is about, but I'm sticking with my Dickens…
That said, I do find it interesting that it's made reading porn totally normal, as long as it's that particular porn novel. If I happened to drop into casual girly conversation that I (or maybe "we") while away the long winter's nights with a bit of filthy literature, everyone would be horrified, so how has EL James made her book alone the one that you can admit to reading? Don't you think that's weird?
As it happens, I prefer to while away my idle hours with a copy of the Guardian…. Go you!!!
At book club last night, one friend admitted to reading the first 50 Shades, then loving it so much she drove into town and bought the next two as soon as she finished it…..with her three children in tow. Man, the book has sent us loopy.
I've avoided supermarket own brand wines for years – for no reason other than snobbishness – but while I was in the supermarket last week (at 7am – just me and all the shelf-packers), jet-lag daze got the better of me and I grabbed a bottle of Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Chilean Pinot Noir (2011 Gran Reserva)*. Really very delicious, in fact am slurping it as we speak (and I'm not even jetlagged). So looking fwd to trying the Ribero.
(*never felt so much like a lush in my life as when buying booze, heavily pregnant, at 730 in the morning…)
Very sensible approach to dealing with jet lag. And love your commitment to the cause! Liking the idea of Chilean Pinot Noir *shuffles off in slippers to kitchen*
I'm still chuckling…one of your more funny posts 🙂
Ah, thank you! As one of my very first readers, I love that you loved esp x