Some days, wine is the only answer

Some days wine is the only answer.

I love wine. I love visiting wineries – tasting and smelling all the different varieties. I love matching wine and food – having dinner complemented by the right wine. I adore the glass or two in the evening, while I cook and then eat dinner. I love it when the man delivers 5 cases of new wine – whoops.

I have found that unless we actually visit wineries, I prefer to buy my wine over the internet or by mail-order. I have found a wonderful company who only charges $5.00 per case delivery anywhere is Australia – which is great, because some places charge 28 dollars a case to deliver to our little island.

I shouldn’t really buy wine, because we have lots in the cellar. But most of the cellar is red. I generally prefer a glass of white while I’m preparing food, and the Accountant doesn’t really drink white, so enter the cases from the nice people who send wine around Australia.

This year we have had two shortish holidays as a family. At Easter, we visited Canberra (hi there all my ACT friends) – and drove back to catch the ferry through Rutherglen – a lovely winey time and because we had the car we could stock up just a little!

Then in May we went to Western Australia. This included a few days in Margaret River – strangely enough, another wine area. We tried to buy only what we were going to drink while we were away (thus removing the likelihood of heavy, clinky cabin bags when flying home) but of course we were seduced.

You know you are a parent with munchkins when you choose a winery because (and only because) it has a playground. But we lucked out – turned out that Watershed wines not only had a playground, it had lovely wines and an excellent restaurant. Some days you just can’t lose!

And sparkles! Don’t get me started on how much I adore sparkles! Sparkling Red is a favourite, but pink champagne (style wine – just in case Appellation Controlee come after me) and white sparkles are also great.

Red bubbles are great with Indian and Thai food (fruitiness offsets spice perfectly), and pink and white for any other time – particularly a glass for while I’m deciding whether to have a(nother) glass. I don’t get to drink sparkles much at present – even I can’t justify opening a bottle and drinking the whole thing! It really doesn’t keep and the Accountant isn’t a great sparkles man. Ho hum!

So mainly white it is. The Accountant’s doctor recommended that he drink a glass of red a night, which he is doing – I just drink it because I like it! 2 glasses and I’m a happy bunny – no more than two, because my knitting tends to suffer if I have more than that.

Besides, there are days, and every mother knows it (even if we often don’t admit it in public), when the children have been holy terrors, you’ve shouted, and screamed and cajoled and threatened and coerced until everyone is fraught and fed up. Those days wine IS the only answer.

What was the question again?