So following on from my great big Christmas gift guide, it’s time to concentrate on our lovely food-loving friends (my favourites!) and get cracking on a great big foodie Christmas gift guide. As usual, my gifting philosophy is to err on the side of practical, useful and useable, and foodie gifts slot in very well here. I’ve added a couple of wines, some fab books and a couple of wonderful dining experiences too. Enjoy! Read more
You already know that I’m a huge fan of P&O Cruises. From attending the naming ceremony of Britannia back in 2015, to a foodie cruise with my pal Erica in 2016 and our gorgeous relaxing break on board elegant Oceana last year, I’ve always loved the cruise line’s effortless knack of making a cruiseholiday seem both glam and unstuffy all at the same time. The food on board is always a highlight, and P&O Cruises’ continued partnership with their brilliant Food Heroes means that as well as tasting their food and drinking the wine they choose, you can even get to set sail with them. I absolutely can’t wait to get on board brand new ship, Iona (especially because I love a bit of Scandi chic), and P&O Cruises have just released details of when the Food Heroes will be sailing, so if you fancy combining your holiday of a lifetime with learning a few tricks from your very own favourite wine expert or master pâtissier, here’s your chance: I’ve got a full list of which P&O Cruises will have the Food Heroes on board.
Well hello there! My brain is currently swirling around in a big fog of jet lag after flying back from Singapore yesterday (feature in Cruise International coming very soon on Silversea Cruises’ fab new culinary enrichment programme, .S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste), which enables guests to discover even more about their cruise destinations by sampling the local culinary scene. It was a fabulous week and I can’t wait to get writing (lots of pics on Instagram if you’re interested, including this one from a beautiful sunset cruise on the South China Sea). In other news, Mother’s Day is rushing towards us at an alarming rate, so I thought I’d be a doll and give you some inspiration so she doesn’t end up with a bunch of service station flowers again (hoping my children are reading this). I’m definitely no wine expert, but I’ve taken to snapping a pic of the wines we enjoy with a view to sharing some of our finds, so excuse the pretty ‘home made’ photos. Whether you’re cooking dinner for your mama and want some new wine recommendations to try, or whether you’re just looking for a pressie, here are some gorgeous wines for Mother’s Day. Read more
I’ve been talking quite a bit recently about why I believe that the best gifts are useable/consumable. We’ve all got enough ‘stuff’ in our lives, and I think a beautiful, useable, indulgent gift that we might not actually buy for ourselves is the way to go. Step forward, then, the gorgeous Princess Prosecco, a gorgeous gifting company with a conscience - so it pretty much ticks all my boxes. Here’s why I think you should forget the socks and the bad Chrimbo jumpers and send a Prosecco subscription box this Christmas instead!
Well, hello October! I was just saying over on Instagram that I’ve got a very mixed (and very lovely) month coming up, with some exciting travel plans, plus some time at home set aside for baking, drinking red wine and planning future trips, of course. Talking of wine and trips, I attended a really lovely lunch last week in London, especially to hear about Virgin Holidays’ exciting plans for some really special new Californian tours. I think California can be a bit daunting as a holiday destination. We Brits head off to Florida without a second thought, but with California, I think maybe we’re a bit more hesitant when it comes to planning a holiday there: it seems huge, potentially expensive and terribly far away, somehow. Happily all that’s going to change (the hesitant bit, not how far away it is - even Richard Branson’s not that good), with the introduction of a really lovely new trio of one-off, personalised California adventures from Virgin Holidays that will really help you to get under the skin of this beautiful, diverse area.
So last week I told you a little about my relationship with alcohol, and my Drinkaware challenge during Alcohol Awareness Week to stick to the recommended weekly guidelines: that’s 14 units a week, spread across the week, evenly over three or more days with a couple of alcohol free days. Last week, I also kept an alcohol diary, with the help of the Drinkaware app (and the notes on my phone to record the actual circumstances). Here’s how I got on:
How’s your relationship with alcohol? I’d say that mine’s… complicated. When we were younger, I was always the one who would volunteer to drive. I’m naturally quite chatty and happy, and it didn’t occur to me that I needed to drink alcohol to have a good time, therefore I was generally the designated driver, and happy enough with it. Now, we don’t tend to go out much, so our drinking is done at home, and this has increased steadily over time. Add to this the fact that we really love our wine, to the point that I write about it and we even invest in it, and you’ll see why our alcohol consumption has steadily grown. Next week, 13th to 19th November is Alcohol Awareness Week, and I’ve been thinking a little bit about how (and why) I drink. It’s been an interesting time…
If you follow me on Vivino (if not, please do - I love to chat about wine), or if you’ve read any of my wine writing, you’ll know we’re huge fans of American wine. My obsession properly started after tasting the fabulous American wines available at some of my favourite restaurants at Walt Disney World, especially Citrico’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa where the award winning wine list runs to several pages and the Sommelier can recommend some really fabulous wines. It was at Walt Disney World that I first got a taste for delicious, medium bodied floral Oregon Pinot Noir; and rich, peppery, fruity Californian Zinfandel. From there, we went on to buttery brioche Chardonnays too. I love tasting and learning about wine and you can imagine my delight when I found out that during our recent foodie trip to LA, we were going to be visiting Temecula wine country with Virgin Holiday Experiences.
Last Friday, we decided to throw a little bash to test out some sparkling wines. There’s nothing nicer on a summer evening than a glass of fizz and - unsurprisingly, my family were quick to volunteer when the subject of a party with a little tasting of some summer Champagne and sparkling wine was mentioned. As usual, I was completely useless and didn’t take any photos (apart from a very blurry selfie), but we had a fab time and discovered loads of wonderful summer sparklers for you. Here are our top tips:
Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you’re all having a wonderful day. Since I’ll be opening a special bottle today to celebrate, it seems like a perfect day to share the wines I’ve been drinking recently.. I do write about all the wines I try on Vivino, so please do follow me there (and start an account to keep track of your own wines, it’s great fun).
If you’re a ‘last minute Larry’ like me, there are still plenty of wonderful things to buy, and often, if you hang around for a bit before ordering, you’ll find there are quite a few deals to be had. First things first, though, you need a mince pie and a glass of fizz….
I adore P & O Cruises (you may remember that my Samsung People of Note video was filmed on board P&O Britannia), so when I was invited to Hedonism Wines in twinkly London for an update on their news, and a wine tasting with Food Hero Olly Smith, I was really excited.
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I’ve been in Tuscany recently. I’ve been on a guided wine tour with Away with Wine, exploring Montalcino in Italy, and discovering more about its famous wine, Brunello. A little background first then: owner Sorcha Holloway first visited Montalcino about eight years ago with her husband Tim, and visited a gorgeous winery called Il Poggio Antico. The visit really started their love affair with Italian wine, and, wanting to share her discovery, Sorcha set up Away with Wine to provide guided wine tours to this, and many other famous wine producing areas.
I LOVE a trip to London. There’s something about a visit to the capital that feels so special, so when I was invited to the Autumn/Winter Asda wine preview to sample some of their festive fizz, I decided to make a little mini trip out of it with an overnight stay at the gorgeous Capital Hotel, right in the heart of Knightsbridge.
Ahhh I love September! As much as I love the sunshine, I think there’s something really special about the promise of frosty mornings, cuddly jumpers, scented candles, red wine and crunchy leaves, plus there’s so much lovely stuff about in the shops with all the new autumn/winter 2015 collections.
This week, Mr E and I took a little road trip down to Kent. We were off to Dover for a date with the gorgeous, re-imagined Disney Magic, and looking for a place to stay in Kent the night before. A friend recommended the Heath Estate winery and its pub, The Goudhurst Inn, and frankly we didn’t take much convincing.
