An afternoon wine tasting.

I was up nice and early this morning so I felt like I'd got a head-start on the weekend! Vikesh was coming over this afternoon to make barfi (a decadent Indian confectionery) with Sophie, so we tidied the house, and hoovered and dusted, even though I'd already done a lot of cleaning on Thursday!

The weather in the morning was overcast but it was set to get warm and sunny in the afternoon, which was great news as I was going out with Lynda, Fiona and Andrea to a vineyard in Earls Barton for a wine-tasting! 

I'd asked Keith to take me on his way to the football, and wasn't planning on going on with the girls for a meal afterwards asVikesh was staying for dinner tonight, a Chinese takeaway. 

Keith and I left home just before 2pm and arrived in Earls Barton right on time. New Lodge Vineyard is at the end of a narrow road and cars were parked either side, under the trees. There were a lot of cars! Poor Keith discovered there was nowhere to turn around, so he had to enter the gravelled courtyard area where there were tables and chairs set out, and try and turn the car there! I had visions of him taking out a load of people enjoying wine in the sunshine!

Lynda and Andrea were already sitting at a table so we all said hello and had a chat while we waited for Fiona. She arrived and said that Den, her husband, had to reverse all the way back up the drive! It wasn't the easiest place to get to!

After a chat and a quick catch up, Andrea, Lynda and I went to order some food and buy the wine. The vineyard was offering a cheese or charcuterie platter for £12 each, which was for two, so we ordered one of each to accompany our wines. I hadn't a clue how the wine-tasting worked and imagined it would be like other vineyards I'd visited, but here you had to buy the wine and it wasn't cheap! I was shocked to see the still bottles of wine selling for £19.50 and the sparkling at £31!

We ordered a bottle of Bacchus white, made from the grape of the same name, and a bottle of Baron red, made from the Pinot Noir and the Regent grape, which I'd never heard of. Back at the table we juggled food platters, bottles of wine and glasses on the wobbly table!

The wooden knives were about as useful as chocolate teacups!

Cheers, Andrea!

The lovely surroundings

Fiona

Lynda

I have to say it was extremely pleasant sitting in the sun, relaxing, sipping wine, nibbling cheeses and hams with delicious bread and chatting. Obviously, other people did as well, as there were plenty of people taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and enjoying themselves too. 

On reflection, it was a bit like buying wine in a restaurant to accompany a meal, and several wines we've had over the years have cost far more, but we discovered we didn't think much of the red wine at all! It was a shame, and I do think you should be able to try before you buy, certainly at those prices!

I explained to the girls that I wouldn't be going on to have a meal with them, and we had a while before Keith returned to collect me, so we bought a bottle of the sparkling wine, which was very good. We seem to be able to produce lovely fizz in this country that can rival Champagne!

Keith, wisely, parked at the top of the driveway and sat with us for a few minutes before we left. I was so glad to go home and relax, and Sophie and I taught Vikesh how to play our version of Rummy. It took a while for him to get to grips with the card game but we think he enjoyed playing and it was good fun! Keith was watching Newcastle play and there was a fair amount of shouting at the screen!

We ordered our meal, which came at about 8.30pm, and sat in the conservatory. After we'd eaten we watched some of Spectre, but I felt a bit sleepy from all the wine!