ENGLISH MUM

I love a bit of fizz.  I also love a nerdy fact.  I realised recently that I’d nearly got enough for a top ten, so I ferreted around for a couple more and came up with this lot: a big top ten of useless, but diverting, facts about Champagne. No need to thank me… My lovely friend, Helen McGinn, wino extraordinaire, reckons that champers is the perfect accompaniment to fish and chips.  A fact...

I’ve known Helen McGinn for donkey’s years.  And if you’re a regular reader, you’ll have seen her appearing several times right here on this very blog, recommending wines for Christmas, wines for Easter, food and wine combos… all sorts of stuff.  Helen is my ‘go to’ person when it comes to wine.  I’m really interested in wine, but I’m often not sure what...

I’m so lucky to have fabulous friends.  I know, I know, lots of people have friends, but not too many people have friends who are wine experts.  I know, right? Still, it comes with its downsides – she makes me spend hundreds on wine y’know. It’s been a busy year for the gorgeous Helen, who was not only voted Blogger of the Year at the International Wine & Spirit Competition, but...

I am loving Asda’s Extra Special range again this year.  Last year, if you remember, I travelled to Leith’s to see (and taste) a little of the Extra Special Christmas range they’d developed in association with Asda, and this year, they sent me a few of their wines to try.  I don’t have an Asda near...

After a restful night at the gorgeous retro Helmsley, we set off early towards the east and the Space Coast.  Arriving a little late, we had to nip in the back at our scheduled lunch with an astronaut.  If you’re visiting, don’t miss this amazing experience.  To be accurate, it’s not like an intimate lunch, it’s more a big, full restaurant, one person talking at the front kind of...

So what a wonderful Diamond Jubilee it was, then.  We didn’t do very much until the Tuesday when we had my big bro and his family round for some yummy food, wine and a mahoosive cake (see above) but we watched the festivities on the telly and moaned about the rain: very British. Last night saw us finally visiting the lovely Neil Irvine at No 2 Pound Street in Wendover, Buckinghamshire.  Neil and his...

The afternoon we arrived at Bodegas Monje was utterly stunning. The sky was a shimmering turquoise and the rows of vines glowed emerald green, rolling down towards the sea. What a gorgeous place. First up was a tour of the winery (meaning that we had to head into the gloom of the cellar… boooo.)  Still, I learned absolutely loads about wine making (the winery produce a stunning range of wines, mostly...

So my lovely gorgeous friend Helen, wine expert, International Wine Challenge judge, writer of Knackered Mother’s Wine Club and all-round wine smarty pants, is used to my incessant pestering for guest posts on wine.  Happily, she’s lifted the restraining order just enough to accept a request for a no-holds-barred guide to Easter wine, even how to match wine with the dreaded chocky egg.  Over to you,...

FOR THE MUMS All mothers love to receive flowers from their children. Surprise yours with one of many arrangements of vibrant and beautiful flowers delivered right to her door.  Choose flowers for any occasion, or just to let her know that you love her.  Check out www.serenataflowers.com or if your mum has a sweet tooth, maybe www.serenatachocolates.com. Red Magazine is my favouritest magazine ever....

It just so happens that I have an amazing friend, Hels, who is also a wine expert.  She used to be a buyer for a big supermarket and now works for a fabulous wine company.  I know – how lucky am I?  She’s very busy doing international winey things and judging at wine exhibitions, but I managed to nab her to give us the low down on Christmas booze. The culinary countdown to Christmas has begun...

I thought it was quite interesting, when I was watching the tv programme yesterday covering the rescue of the Chilean miners from the San José mine, that the voiceover guy said:  ’in the past, Chile was only ever famous for its ‘con carne”.  Yes okay, so it made me laugh, but seriously?  I only knew about Chile because of their rather scrummy wine. I was going to do a Chilean food post,...

My sister in law, the  lovely Auntie L, has her birthday ridiculously close to Christmas, so on Saturday we decided to throw her a little birthday party.  It also just happens that the lovely chaps at Cobra Beer had contacted me a while ago and said ‘guess what, we know you like curry so we’re going to send you some beer to go with it’. No way.  ’What, like no strings?  You’re...

So here, finally, is the review of The Forge Restaurant where we celebrated English Grandma’s 70th.  We went with open minds because (let’s face it, like most restaurants) some of our friends had had fabulous experiences, and others not so good - we’d also heard tales of being rushed through desserts to free up tables, but when I phoned I spoke to a very friendly waitress who assured me that we...

I love butternut squash.  I love its sweetness, its softness, and its beautiful orangey colour.  I love risotto too, and the combination of both of them is one of my favourite meals.  I happened to mention to the lovely Matt, fellow blogger and ’Wine Evangelist’ (I love that title) at Curious Wines that I was going to knock up a butternut squash risotto and he very kindly offered to send me...

So this is really clever.  Lovely Lar, over at Ireland’s best wine blog, Sour Grapes , has taken different recipes from various Irish food bloggers nominated for the Irish Blog Awards, and matched them with some rather outstanding wine choices.  To accompany my Sunday lunch of beef stew with fluffy parsley dumplings.  Lar suggests a Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon coming in at a breathtaking €27.49,...