Pick-me-up?

Apparently, it is still January. Remember that wonderful wedding I mentioned a few weeks ago? Feels like it was months ago. But, I have developed a coping strategy to get me through and it seems to be working. It goes like this:

1. Make risotto. Spend half an hour at the stove one evening, glass of red nearby and favourite playlist on the iPod. Use the risotto recipe from Let's Eat; no fuss, absolutely delicious.

2. Have an Elemis bath. Their aching muscle super soak is possibly the best bubble bath on the planet. Leaves you feeling weightless, a bit like the gas-and-air feeling before the pain kicks in.

3. Red wine. Well you didn't expect me to have a dry January, did you?

Current white in the fridge: Cave de Lugny Mâcon-Villages 2011, France £7.49, Waitrose
"Blimey, I picked the wrong wine today!" so tweeted a friend last week. And my heart sank. She'd picked up a half-price offer, with an unfamiliar label, and at the end of a long day - work done, kids in bed - had poured a glass. She was left disappointed. Bad taste in mouth, literally. She said she's more of a Macon girl normally, so this one is for her. It is from the brilliant Cave de Lugny co-operative in the Maconnais region in Burgundy and is a great gateway into the wines from this region. Ripe, peachy and absolutely, hand-on-heart, not disappointing. 

Current red in the rack: Tesco Finest Stellenbosch Red 2010, £9.99, Tesco
Lordy, this is a lovely wine. I mean, it stopped me from doing what I was doing (normally three things at once, none of them particularly well) and just take a long sniff. I had a little sit-down to do it. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot (otherwise known as a Bordeaux blend, for this is where it originated) and it is aged in oak barrels adding vanilla to the already-pretty-heady black cherry flavours. Made in the Stellenbosch region just east of Cape Town, this is a New World wine take on an Old World classic, and I loved it. More please. 

Pip pip x




Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,