I love a bargain, I really do. But if we’re talking wine there are a few things worth bearing in mind. For a start, whatever you pay for your bottle, £2.23 goes on tax. And that’s before VAT. Factor in the cost of making it, packaging it, shipping it and selling it and we’re talking …
First things first: sending love to you and yours. Uncertain times but one thing I can do here is provide free wine advice on tap. Not as good as providing actual free wine on tap. Still, I’ve doubled up on the wine recommendations this week. All are available for home delivery and one’s from one …
I’m definitely feeling festive and that’s not just the trifle-flavoured cream liqueur talking. The tree is up, mince pies have been made (and eaten in front of The Holiday) and I’ve even managed to buy a few presents, albeit online and maybe a little wine-fluenced. Anyway, some of you have been asking for fizz recommendations …
Ten years ago to the day I decided to write a wine blog. I remember hitting publish on that first post, just a few sentences on how I planned to recommend a couple of wines each week in the hope it might help anyone looking for a little wine inspiration. With three kids under five …
After weeks of noise – so much noise – the house was quiet this morning. Middle Boy has joined Eldest Boy at secondary school and Youngest Girl has started her last year at primary school. Post-school run I got home and did what I’ve been dying to do for weeks: have a cup of coffee …
Actually it was all morning, tasting a line up of rosé wines made by celebrities on This Morning. I had to really concentrate, not least because all I really wanted to ask was where presenter Rochelle Humes got her dress from (Ganni, I looked it up afterwards). But also because we had to speed-taste our …
And so finally – finally! – my kids have broken up for the summer holidays. After what felt like weeks of end of term celebrations, we headed to the beach after their last day. The kids all jumped into the sea in their uniforms as parents watched on, mainlining crisps and a glass of rosé. …
Last week I hosted a wine tasting with a group of wine-loving women organised by clothing brand Hush. Now, if there were such a thing as a spirit clothing brand, Hush would be mine. I remember when they sold nothing but thick socks and the softest loungewear long before any of us realised we’d be …
We’re nearly there. Last full week of the Easter Holidays (fist bump) culminating in a long chocolate-fuelled weekend (thumbs up). Now when it comes to finding the right wine to go with chocolate, sweet wines tend to work better than most. We’re talking tawny ports, Banyuls or Maury from France, or anything made from Muscat. …
Mother’s Day soon and to celebrate I’ve got some prizes I’m hoping might appeal to anyone who’s either knackered, a mother or both. First up, sleep. Sadly not a week’s uninterrupted sleep in a kingsize bed but I do have a box of Spacemasks (thank you, Harriet) and they’re basically the next best thing. Next, wine. …
Ah, Christmas. So much stuff to organise – food, presents, plans – and so little time to do it. Now, I can’t help you with the last minute mince pie requests or the sudden call for a star costume (for real, made one out of a wine box earlier this week in ten minutes flat) …
Just as I was settling in to my new Autumn evening routine (sofa, Killing Eve, glass of red) an email arrived from a friend. Would I like to go with her to the premiere of A Star In Born? Cut to last Thursday and there we were, on the red carpet, with Bradley Cooper just …
We’re off to a festival this weekend. And it’s my favourite kind of festival because it’s local, meaning I get to soak up the atmosphere and still collapse into my own bed at the end of it. (It’s the Curious Arts Festival and you can find out more about it here). Anyway, this made me …
I was away working in London all last week and after two rain-sodden weeks of school holidays, it felt like something of a mini-break. Admittedly quite a weird one; I spent much of it spitting out wine. Not because they were horrible but because I was judging at a wine competition. One night I sat at …
I’ve spent much of this week trying to keep kids off screens despite the rain/without spending a small fortune doing so. Hitting deadlines has meant getting up early and working late. But no school run, eating pancakes at 11am and watching films on Netflix in the middle of the afternoon has more than made up …
This time last week I was sitting in an alpine restaurant with a plate of macaroni covered in melted swiss cheese and a glass of crisp white swiss wine in front of me. We were in Lenzerheide for half term, a gorgeous ski resort the Husband had been to years ago, and it was heavenly. …
So, I went to a Burns Night supper on Thursday night and left thinking I really must drink more whisky. Not that night (I’d already had a couple of drams). Just generally, because it’s the most glorious drink and I really don’t drink it very often. Dried fruits, nuts, vanilla and spice – the flavour …
They say the best things in life are free. Not altogether true (wine! luxury skincare!) but you get the gist. Anyway, last week I posted a picture on Instagram of these brightly coloured gin-filled baubles. Designed to hang on your Christmas tree and filled with Pickering’s Gin, they are, quite simply, gin-ius. Sadly, they’re not free (a …
Not that we really need an excuse to open a bottle of something pink and sparkly but at least on Valentine’s Day we don’t even have to make one up. Very quickly, what makes wine pink? Answer: the skins of the grapes. You can’t make rose from white grapes; but add red grapes into the …
I’m a little delirious. I blame half term. Normally, when the kids are all at school, I get a clear day to do stuff. Until 3pm, that is, when all bets are off until at least 8pm. But at least there are a few hours in the day to work, write, taste wine (I know, ridiculous job) and …
By George, wine duty is on the rise again. Delivering his latest Budget, the Chancellor froze duty on beer and spirits. But not wine, which will rise in line with inflation. We already pay £2.05 in tax on every bottle of wine we buy, and that’s before VAT. It’s enough to make you want to…well, you …
January is over. I repeat: o-vah. And man, am I glad to see the back of it. Not just because I was wasn’t drinking. Really. But I’m happy to report I’ve had my first glass of wine of the year. It was chilled, sparkling and perfect. We had it with fish & chips, with my in-laws (on the …
I’m sure there’ll be a year when all the presents are wrapped and the food prepped ahead of time. Just not this one. But before we part company for a bit, here are some of the wines featured in a list I put together for The Pool, a brilliant website stuffed with great articles and the …
This is me, at the Knackered Mother’s Wine Club tasting at Camp Bestival last Saturday. We had a brilliant crowd, including a gorgeous lady who’d got married that day at Camp Bestival’s inflatable church (not making this up) and another on her hen night. There was a performance by the brilliant Scummy Mummies, Ellie & …
This has been a cracking week for your wine questions (one of the things I love about writing this blog is being able to help with them). Here are some of my favourites: 1. Which are the best wines to look for in a French supermarket? 2. Why is my glass of chablis so yellow? …
I love a good handbag. And given that most of the armful I own are old vintage, I especially love the ones built to last. No mean feat when it’s not uncommon to have a bottle of wine stashed inside (for work purposes, obviously) along with the usual wallet/keys/sunglasses combo and any number of squashed …
So, this is a really big picture of me. It’s in the latest Waitrose Kitchen magazine and is the first of my monthly wine course features. I’m sitting on my kitchen table (I don’t usually do that) with a glass of wine in my hand (that one more so). I have been dying to tell …
An old friend said this morning as we passed at the school gates: “Isn’t it someone’s special day tomorrow?” I must have looked blank. “It’s your birthday, isn’t it?” Yes! I said. It is! Except I’d completely forgotten. This never used to happen. In my Twenties, the build up involved wish lists (no necessities, luxury …
So, we’ve done Sports Day. Now we’ve just got the School Fete (cue calls for homemade cakes) and a School Play (cue more calls for homemade cakes) to go. As you may know, I sometimes resort to the fake bake at this stage. But one thing I can do is Teachers’ Presents. Now, some of …
Being married to Mr Christmas (not his real name, obviously) means the tree is up and the Christmas playlist is on repeat. Has been since Sunday. It also means that we’ve made a start on the presents which, given that there are three children, twelve nieces and nephews and a number of godchildren to think …
Whilst watching Saturday Kitchen last weekend, a friend of mine’s 8yo son asked what the person on the telly talking about wine was doing. “They’re what’s called a wine expert”, said my friend. “That’s not a real job, is it?” said the 8yo. And I have to say, he has a point. Today, for example, …
Love her. Look at her. I mean, really. Yasmin Le Bon looks GORGEOUS. Once, my most prized possession was my Duran Duran ‘Seven & The Ragged Tiger’ t-shirt which sported her husband Simon on the front. Unsurprisingly, my days of wearing rock band t-shirts are over but I have been wearing some clothes from Winser …
I can’t sit still. No, not because of those (although memories of postpartum you-know-whats make me shiver to this day). I’m just not very good at doing nothing. If I’m in an empty house and I’m not working, I’m cleaning or picking stuff up and moving it from one room to another. And, ever the …
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