It was my friend's 40th on Saturday night and the theme was Caribbean. So I had a spray tan. The idea was to look slightly less knackered bronzed. As it turned out, I got caught on the eyebrow by an empty wine bottle being used as a microphone by a friend (old university habits die hard). Cue blood, tears and a packet of frozen peas. Not quite the look I had in mind, especially since I'm up for a blogging award at BritMums this Friday. C'est la vie.
Current white in the fridge: Domaine de Majas Vin de Pays 2010, £12.99, The Solent Cellar
This week, as promised, I foraged for a natural wine. My lovely local wine shop has a great selection, so actually it wasn't hard. This is made from Macabeu, Rolle and a splash of Carignan Blanc grapes, grown in the Cotes Catalanes region in southern France. It is natural in that it's made with minimum intervention from organic grapes, with natural yeasts. And because of those natural yeasts, the wine smells a bit like Weetabix. It is lovely, really lovely, but is more yeasty than fruity. I can feel the lime fruit, but have to taste through the Weetabix to get to it. It feels a bit like Bono's wife's make up brand in that I know it is more 'natural' than other brands, and the packaging is gorgeous (this wine has a great label), but it's considerably more expensive. So, although I wouldn't use it all the time, I'd definitely suggest investing from time to time. Drank this with my mum's risotto, and we loved it.
Current red on the side: Tesco Finest Malbec 2011, £6.49, Tesco
Last month, I asked if anyone would mind writing a wine tasting note for the book, telling me what you smell, taste and feel about a particular wine. Last time we did the white grape Gewurztraminer, this time I'd love your thoughts on Malbec. This is a red grape, producing boldly coloured wines with bags of black fruit flavours. It is grown in France (the wines from the Cahors region are made with Malbec) and Argentina, among other places. I've picked this one from Argentina, but try one from wherever you like and tell me what you think, either here or by email. Big hugs.
brill.i.am xLabels: Argentina, France, Malbec, red wine, solent cellar, Tesco, white wine