Sunday, 31 October 2010
What Every Friday Night Needs
Cold, creamy, crisp, bubbly. On Friday we had a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs with our Thai-food dinner. It was heavenly, the perfect wind-down to the week. What more can I say??
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
The Bubbles Lasted
I'm happy to report that we finished the Cremant d'Alsace by Dirler last night (with the rest of the apple pie) and the bubbles held up overnight in the fridge. As I mentioned in my last post, they're definitely small, fizzy bubbles rather than great big, popping bubbles, but they were there through the end of the bottle. I'll have to start trying some more cremants now that I know they won't all let me down on the fizz factor.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Still Celebrating
On Sunday, to continue our anniversary celebration, we went to lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, Ransome's Dock. You'll be surprised to hear that we didn't have any bubbles there, instead ordering a wonderful gruner veltliner from Austria and an unusal Spanish red wine made with mencia grapes. As always, we had a fantastic meal and walked away from the restaurant feeling stuffed and completely spoiled.
But we had fresh apple pie at home, and having skipped dinner, we ate pieces of that before bedtime with a glass of bubbles. To challenge me, my husband had bought Cremant d'Alsace by Dirler while he was at Green & Blue. I never, ever buy cremant wines because I am positive that they're not going to have enough bubbles. And to be honest, it's not really fair to the French sparkling wine makers, because I will buy cavas and proseccos knowing that they're not likely to have enough bubbles, either. My husband knows I tend to like Alsatian wines, so he decided to make me try this, a blend of pinot gris, pinot noir, and auxerrois grapes. The cremant was perfect with the pie having lots of soft apple and pear flavours. It had plenty of fizz, too, not big bubbles, but enough effervescence through the glass to keep it interesting. I'm curious to see how the capped bottle holds up overnight...
But we had fresh apple pie at home, and having skipped dinner, we ate pieces of that before bedtime with a glass of bubbles. To challenge me, my husband had bought Cremant d'Alsace by Dirler while he was at Green & Blue. I never, ever buy cremant wines because I am positive that they're not going to have enough bubbles. And to be honest, it's not really fair to the French sparkling wine makers, because I will buy cavas and proseccos knowing that they're not likely to have enough bubbles, either. My husband knows I tend to like Alsatian wines, so he decided to make me try this, a blend of pinot gris, pinot noir, and auxerrois grapes. The cremant was perfect with the pie having lots of soft apple and pear flavours. It had plenty of fizz, too, not big bubbles, but enough effervescence through the glass to keep it interesting. I'm curious to see how the capped bottle holds up overnight...
17 Years
Saturday was our actual anniversary, and despite a few showers in the afternoon, it was a lovely autumn day. We drove the dog out 'to the country' (in reality, 20 miles away from home, with most of the drive being through South London and Croydon) to go to a farm shop and garden centre that my husband found on-line. We bought apples and pumpkins and British cheese and meat, a lovely way to while away the afternoon.
When we got home I made pie with the apples. While I was baking, we nibbled on the cheese that we had bought and finished the bottle of Maison Lenique 2005 that we had opened the night before, a very good combination, and cosy with the scent of apples and cinnamon in the kitchen.
From there, we took the dog for her walk and then settled in for the evening with some movies and pizza and more chocolate cake - and a bottle of Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus that my husband had picked up from Green & Blue. We've had this champagne before and really liked it. It's a zero dosage blanc de blancs that has lots of lime and mineral flavours - completely different from the Maison Lenique that we had been drinking earlier, but every bit as good. This is one of those champagnes that we call a 'wine with bubbles', as it would be just as drinkable if it were a still wine. It was a lovely treat, something a bit different for our special day.
When we got home I made pie with the apples. While I was baking, we nibbled on the cheese that we had bought and finished the bottle of Maison Lenique 2005 that we had opened the night before, a very good combination, and cosy with the scent of apples and cinnamon in the kitchen.
From there, we took the dog for her walk and then settled in for the evening with some movies and pizza and more chocolate cake - and a bottle of Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus that my husband had picked up from Green & Blue. We've had this champagne before and really liked it. It's a zero dosage blanc de blancs that has lots of lime and mineral flavours - completely different from the Maison Lenique that we had been drinking earlier, but every bit as good. This is one of those champagnes that we call a 'wine with bubbles', as it would be just as drinkable if it were a still wine. It was a lovely treat, something a bit different for our special day.
16 Years, 364.5 Days
It was our wedding anniversary this weekend - needless to say we drank a bit of bubbly : )
We had originally thought that we would go away for the weekend, but that didn't work out. First off, the start of half-term coincided with the date, so airfares were outrageous and there was nowhere we wanted to go THAT badly. Secondly, many of the hotel-restaurants in the UK that we would have gone to required two nights stay on the weekend, which gets difficult for us with animal care. We really only wanted to go away for one night, and just couldn't be bothered with their greediness. So we stayed home.
I cleaned the house all day on Friday until it was 'hotel clean' so that it would feel even better than having gone away. My reward for that was that my husband cooked a huge pan of chicken nachos with homemade guacamole, and served it with our last bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse - La Farra Rose Brut which is a mix of prosecco, chardonnay and raboso grapes. This prosecco was a wonderful surprise, mixing the crisp tang of pink grapefruit at the start with the smoothness of pears and orchard fruit on the finish. It had lots of fizz, as well, and really didn't last long because it was so good! For around £11, this is another little gem and real bargain from the Champagne Warehouse.
Since the prosecco disappeared well before we were ready to eat the chocolate cake I had made, my husband popped open one of the other bottles that was in the fridge so we could have a glass of bubbly with cake. He made me guess what it was...no problem there as it had that distinct yeasty-apple aroma of Maison Lenique 2005. We were good and kept it to a glass each so that there would be more for the actual anniversary...
We had originally thought that we would go away for the weekend, but that didn't work out. First off, the start of half-term coincided with the date, so airfares were outrageous and there was nowhere we wanted to go THAT badly. Secondly, many of the hotel-restaurants in the UK that we would have gone to required two nights stay on the weekend, which gets difficult for us with animal care. We really only wanted to go away for one night, and just couldn't be bothered with their greediness. So we stayed home.
I cleaned the house all day on Friday until it was 'hotel clean' so that it would feel even better than having gone away. My reward for that was that my husband cooked a huge pan of chicken nachos with homemade guacamole, and served it with our last bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse - La Farra Rose Brut which is a mix of prosecco, chardonnay and raboso grapes. This prosecco was a wonderful surprise, mixing the crisp tang of pink grapefruit at the start with the smoothness of pears and orchard fruit on the finish. It had lots of fizz, as well, and really didn't last long because it was so good! For around £11, this is another little gem and real bargain from the Champagne Warehouse.
Since the prosecco disappeared well before we were ready to eat the chocolate cake I had made, my husband popped open one of the other bottles that was in the fridge so we could have a glass of bubbly with cake. He made me guess what it was...no problem there as it had that distinct yeasty-apple aroma of Maison Lenique 2005. We were good and kept it to a glass each so that there would be more for the actual anniversary...
Sunday, 10 October 2010
My Husband's The Best
My husband noticed that I've been a bit stressed this past week with everything I've got going on at the moment. He's such a nice guy that while he was out at Portobello Market yesterday, he stopped and bought me cupcakes, flowers, and a bottle of Egly-Ouriet grand cru VP champagne from Lea & Sandeman. On top of that, he made dinner to go with it - sourdough-crust calzones, stuffed with all of my favourite things. He is absolutely the best!!
Dinner was wonderful, as was the champagne. It's a pinot noir blend that's been left on the yeast for an extra long time, giving it a perfectly balanced flavour - not too sweet, not too acidic, not too yeasty, not too dry - and a slightly petrol-y nose. It's very much the style of a 'wine with bubbles', and an exceptionally good wine at that.
That said, it didn't have quite as many bubbles as the last time we drank it, so disappointed slightly in that arena. But really, how can I complain when the rest of it was so lovely?
Dinner was wonderful, as was the champagne. It's a pinot noir blend that's been left on the yeast for an extra long time, giving it a perfectly balanced flavour - not too sweet, not too acidic, not too yeasty, not too dry - and a slightly petrol-y nose. It's very much the style of a 'wine with bubbles', and an exceptionally good wine at that.
That said, it didn't have quite as many bubbles as the last time we drank it, so disappointed slightly in that arena. But really, how can I complain when the rest of it was so lovely?
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Champagne Budget, Beer Taste
Friday came so quickly! I've been head-down most of the week between the scholarship programme I work with and getting my gardening coursework done. I spent all day yesterday drawing (and most of the night, too) so I was very happy to say 'yes' when my husband asked if I wanted some bubbles with dinner.
There was both a bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse on the champagne shelf as well as a bottle of champagne in the fridge. We had ordered in some Japanese food and thought the prosecco might be a better match with the sushi and rice, so we opened the La Farra Extra Dry made from 100% glera grapes, the traditional prosecco grape. It smelled like an orchard on opening, with a very strong pear scent. It was so yeasty, though, that it tasted like beer, something that didn't go away until the middle of my second glass when the fruit flavours started to come through. I would recommend drinking this prosecco slightly warmer than I like so that you can appreciate the flavours in the wine. It was very good with our food and went down quickly, but I haven't been able to get rid of the (probably unfair) impression that it tasted like something from a pub.
There was both a bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse on the champagne shelf as well as a bottle of champagne in the fridge. We had ordered in some Japanese food and thought the prosecco might be a better match with the sushi and rice, so we opened the La Farra Extra Dry made from 100% glera grapes, the traditional prosecco grape. It smelled like an orchard on opening, with a very strong pear scent. It was so yeasty, though, that it tasted like beer, something that didn't go away until the middle of my second glass when the fruit flavours started to come through. I would recommend drinking this prosecco slightly warmer than I like so that you can appreciate the flavours in the wine. It was very good with our food and went down quickly, but I haven't been able to get rid of the (probably unfair) impression that it tasted like something from a pub.
Monday, 4 October 2010
Mixed Feelings
Sunday was a busy day for me as I had to prepare for some meetings that I have today. And knowing the Tube strike would be going forward, I cooked not only a big pot of chilli to eat yesterday, but also a pork, apricot, and prune stew for this evening since I have no idea how long it will take me to get home tonight. But partway through the flurry of the day, I remembered that a while ago we had put another bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse on the champagne shelf. This one was La Jara's Pinot Grigio Rose Brut, something I was very keen to try because I often like pinot grigio wines, but had never had a sparkling one before. My husband and I opened the bottle, and sipped as we got on with our respective Sunday activities.
For those of you who are American and reading this, you'll understand when I say that it smelled like raspberry ginger-ale (which is one of my favourite non-alcoholic drinks, in diet form). Like the smell, it had a lot of berry flavours, but with a crisp acidity that cut through the sweetness. On first opening, the prosecco had loads of bubbles, too - but they didn't last through subsequent glasses. My first impression was very favourable, I thought this would be an incredibly refreshing thing to serve on a hot summer day. I was having mixed feelings by my second glass, though, as the bubbles disappeared and the acidity in the wine became sharp in my stomach. As we've commented about other champagnes in the past, this might be a 'one glass only' drink.
For those of you who are American and reading this, you'll understand when I say that it smelled like raspberry ginger-ale (which is one of my favourite non-alcoholic drinks, in diet form). Like the smell, it had a lot of berry flavours, but with a crisp acidity that cut through the sweetness. On first opening, the prosecco had loads of bubbles, too - but they didn't last through subsequent glasses. My first impression was very favourable, I thought this would be an incredibly refreshing thing to serve on a hot summer day. I was having mixed feelings by my second glass, though, as the bubbles disappeared and the acidity in the wine became sharp in my stomach. As we've commented about other champagnes in the past, this might be a 'one glass only' drink.
End of Week Rewards
As I mentioned in an earlier post, last week was an incredibly busy week and my husband was due to be out late most evenings. On Thursday, I had a lot of paperwork to do, and since he was supposed to be out in the evening, I popped a bottle of Maison Lenique 2005 in the fridge so that I could have a glass as a reward both for finishing my work and for being on my own. It was lovely, especially with the homemade halloumi, mint, and sundried tomato pastry I had to nibble with it. It was an even nicer surprise that my husband came home early enough to help me finish the bottle!!
It was the same story on Friday, so I put another bottle of the Maison Lenique in the fridge for when my work was done. Since the bottle was still half-full on Saturday, I finished off the last chunk of writing that I needed to do, and had one last celebratory glass with my husband (who was finally home and relaxing!). I'm finding it's a great way to motivate me to sit at the computer and just focus on writing what I need to - so much easier to do when there are bubbles to look forward to at the end!
It was the same story on Friday, so I put another bottle of the Maison Lenique in the fridge for when my work was done. Since the bottle was still half-full on Saturday, I finished off the last chunk of writing that I needed to do, and had one last celebratory glass with my husband (who was finally home and relaxing!). I'm finding it's a great way to motivate me to sit at the computer and just focus on writing what I need to - so much easier to do when there are bubbles to look forward to at the end!
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