Tuesday 17 April 2018

Everyday drinkers?

Everyday drinkers? Is that the wine or the drinkers? It's a phrase becoming more popular but is a wine ever an everyday drinker?

Certainly there are wines for special occasions and there are wines for any occasion but I'm not sure 'everyday' gives enough credit to the hard work of the wine maker.

Synonyms of everyday
Words Related to everyday

So what phrase should we use for wines opened in the week for no specific reason other than to enjoy - I'm not sure any of the thesaurus suggestions above sound any more creditable.

Over the last week or so I have enjoyed a few wines that could be called everyday drinkers ......


Vinhas do Silvado Tinto 2016 - this was a wine we saw in Majestic in Cardiff Bay: my knowledge of Portuguese wine is limited so I have lots to learn.

Much like the French vin de pays this wine is made from a blend of grapes which can be any from a very long list. From the Saco river region near Lisbon it's classified as a Vino Regional.

I found it full of plums, dark cherries and bramble with a lovely smooth finish. I'm sure the winemaker took time to decide which grapes were included in this blend. some might call it an 'everyday' wine!

Wandering Bird - this superb Sauvignon Blanc from Lidl was at the incredible price of £2.99. I wish I had purchased more, not because of the price but because it was an excellent New Zealand white.

Made by Mudhouse Wines this had all the expected characteristics of a New World Sauvignon Blanc - crisp nose of gooseberries & melons with citrus continuing in its full palate of  flavour with a sharp, clean finish.

L'escargot 2014 - another wine bought from Lidl at the same amazing price,  I'd say yes to more of this wine too. Although a French Sauvignon Blanc it is not from the Loire Valley but further south; Cotes de Gascogne.

It was full of citrus but not as sharp or acidic as the Sauvignon Blanc grown further north. Full of a clean crispness its finish was medium bodied and quite long, served chilled it really was a refreshing wine that was very easy to pour and enjoy!

Friday night at our house was Indian night with friends, not a takeaway although a couple of dishes were from the supermarket. Hubby cooked tandoori lamb and chicken, and dill salmon. I made Tarka Dhall for the first time; lentils are not to everyone's liking but it must have been good as the dish was emptied!

Another first when it came to dessert, pistachio kulfi (ice cream) made with condensed milk..... it was delicious, very creamy.

To accompany the spicy food I opened a bottle of German wine. It was a bottle given to us a few years ago as a gift and one I thought would pair well with our dinner .... and it did!


Brennfleck Silvaner 2013 - pouring from it's bulbous bottle the yellow/green wine had a similar look to a good olive oil, in viscosity as well as colour.

In the glass it had a very inviting glow as the light shone through it. Gooseberries were my initial though from it's aroma, followed by white stone fruits.

This followed through in it's flavour, although the gooseberries soften into the background and peachiness came to the fore with its hint of slate adding to the wine's clean, smooth, elegant finish.

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I had to stop writing this and pop out for a few minutes .... a rare sight was about to happen. The Flying Scotsman passed through our station on it's way to London -

My photos were taken very quickly on my phone and our station has so many stanchions it was hard to get a clear photo - I was focusing on actually looking at the train to, not taking the photo - but you can see just what a superb piece of engineering she is. It was so good to see her in full steam.




1 comment:

Julie said...

How wonderful to see the Flying Scotsman pass through, lucky you. x