Bag Lady

Tents and festivals are not my usual habitat but this weekend I’m doing both, at Camp Bestival. My sister and I are yet to do Paper, Scissors, Rock to decide who has to share a tent with my mother (she’s a terrible snorer) but apart from that, it’s excitement all round. People have been asking about good camping wines and as mentioned over on Gemma’s blog, a bag in box gets round the no glass rule and a red doesn’t need chilling. Otherwise, look out for wines in cartons or plastic bottles. Waitrose has a couple of South African wines in cartons and M&S’s mini bottles are plastic. They might not be the finest wines on earth but as camping wines, they’re perfect. And an empty plastic bottle might just come in handy when the Boys need a trip to the loo in the middle of the night. Just don’t help yourself to the warm white wine if you pop by our tent.

If you are going to Camp Bestival, there’ll be a KMWC bar stocking a few lovely wines including an Italian red made from the Frappato grape and a perky French white made from the Picpoul grape. I’ll make sure both are perfectly chilled, even the red if the sun’s out.

Current camping red in the rucksack: Tesco Simply Cotes du Rhone 3l, £17.99, Tesco
Juicy, fruity and just a little bit rustic, this great value red is made from the usual Rhone grape suspects including Grenache, Syrah (or Shiraz, same thing) and Mourvedre. There’s a sprinkle of spice too. Works out at £4.50 per bottle and you get four bottles in a box. Simple enough to sip on its own but better with food, even if that’s just a packet of barbecue flavoured crisps. 

Peace out, winos x