RAISE A GLASS
I leave for my jollies tomorrow. And like anything, when faced with a 10-day stretch of the unknown, you have to plan. Plan and practise.
My airport routine is to have a gin once I’m through the security nightmare.
I’ve practised that holiday relief with Burleighs Raspberry Edition Gin
(£32.50, online at burleighsgin.com).
New gins come along very often and it can be a challenge to navigate through them; just like the passport queue. I love the name of the gin’s copper pot: Messy Bessy. The new gin is steeped in fresh raspberry and peach.
It is summery in looks, summery in nature, and summery in taste.
Don’t think I stopped practising there.
I stayed with a pink theme and enjoyed a classy Provence rosé wine, Chateau Minuty Prestige Rosé Wine 2021
(£22.95, online at The Secret Bottle Shop). Oh, and my, I’m told this brand is such a popular wine in St Tropez. Now that says summer doesn’t it?
It’s a crisp, vibrant pink, loaded with raspberry and cranberry, with added zest from a punch of grapefruit. It loves sunshine, as do I.
Now to a white and one of my favourites. Tesco now sells Mar de Frades Albariño Atlántico (£16) which makes this wine much more accessible if you’re doing the Big Shop.
It hails from Galicia, and more specifically the Salnes Valley of Rías Baixas, where grapes grow just a mile from the Atlantic. The influence of the lip-smacking salty breeze, and the wonderful peachy, tropical, flavours of this native albariño grape, make this a go-to summer sip.
Finally… I wanted to celebrate my holiday and I did so with this French fizz.
Crémant d’alsace Cuvée Julien Dopff au Moulin NV
(£13.95, online at The Wine Society) has been voted an Awesome Wine, by the Association of Wine Educators, and they should know.
It is made in the same way as champagne. Alsace and champagne regions are both in the north of France, but the special climate of Alsace – warmer and sunnier – makes the fruit riper, and rounder.
The bubbles celebrated my holiday; and the flavours of prickly pear, quince, green and red apples, with a perfect flash of acidity, went down a treat.
Jane is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Find her on social media and online as One Foot in the Grapes.