What I drank on holiday in Spain

If you read my blog, you'll see that I recently went on holiday to Almeria in Spain. 

When we arrived I was completely flummoxed as to what wine to buy! I don't often drink Spanish wine, for no reason other than that I don't know that much about it. I also think that Spanish wines have got a bit of a bad reputation in England as "cheap plonk"!

And, my lack of knowledge became very evident when we tried some of the wines. We bought quite a lot of turkeys from the supermarket, quite a few I actually (shock horror!) poured away.

Nearly all the restaurants we went to offered almost exclusively Spanish wines with no description of taste, dryness or style. And, likewise, very few of the bottles in the supermarket had tasting notes on the label (in English or Spanish).

So I thought I'd let you know what we drank and actually enjoyed, in case you go to Spain sometime soon.

Guti Verdejo from de Alberto

Before we went to Spain I'd recently enjoyed a Spanish Verdejo by Franck Massard which I got from Naked Wines. His Herbis Verdejo is from the Rueda region of Spain and most of the wines we enjoyed were Rueda Verdejos. This De Alberto Guti was was crisp and dry and went perfectly with our seafood platter. It also had a white, plastic cork which I found very delightful. It cost us about 10 Euro and I don't think it is currently available in the UK. 

Colección Cristina Calvache Blanco de Alboloduy

It is possible that part of the reason I enjoyed this wine so much was the sun, sea and Sangria. However, at the time I loved it! A very pale yellow wine, fruity but balanced with acidity. Lovely flavours of melon and apricot. We had it very, very cold and I would guess it is probably best served this way. This wine is actually grown in Almeria from a grape I have never tried before called the Jaén Blanco. Worth a try.

Jose Pariente Varietal Verdejo

Another Verdejo from the Rueda region. It smelt slightly of aniseed so I was concerned it was going to be sweet. However, it was fruity but citrusy. I found it to be very crisp and dangerously drinkable. I think we paid about 7 Euro for the wine and have found the same wine in the UK on the Selfridges website for £14.99.

Matsu El Recio 2013 Toro

My husband had seen this wine in Majestic before we went on holiday. Each of the bottles carries a photo from three generations of wine growers. The "El Ricio" wine means 'the tough one' and is grown from wines that are 90-100 years old. Not only did the bottle look really cool, the wine itself was delicious. The Tempranillo grape was very silky, velvety and smooth with lots of black fruitiness. We enjoyed it with some steak and it went perfectly. Retails at £13.99 in Majestic, we bought it for half the price in Almeria.

Spain has a reputation for cheap plonk. And, yes there was lots of that. You could easily buy bottles of red and white wine for 3 or 4 Euro. However, most of the ones we enjoyed were a bit more expensive than that. But, even in the restaurants, we found the wines to be really reasonably priced and much affordable in the UK. However, you have to be careful what you buy as a lot of the white wines are very sweet and the red wines can be quite harsh. 

A daytrip to Carboneras in Almeria

While on holiday at the HPB El Pueblito de Alfaix in Almeria we took a day trip to Carboneras which is at the gateway to the Cabo de Gata Natural Park.

Our view from lunch

We'd been told in our welcome meeting that Carboneras was a great place to experience fresh fish in the area, but that it was less touristy than other regions such as Garrucha. And, it was near some beautiful, white beaches, so we thought we'd give it a try.

From inland Alfaix, we took the coastal road via Mojacar to Carboneras. We'd been warned that the road was beautiful, but a bit white knuckle. The windy road afforded an amazing view of the coast cornered by the Sierra Cabrera Mountain Range. It was a bit squeaky bum, but nothing compared to the Amalfi Drive that we experienced on our honeymoon! 

My son's "high chair"

When we arrived at Carboneras, it was practically deserted! We decided to eat at an unassuming place called Chiringuito J. Mariano because it had a lovely position on the beach and had good reviews on Trip Advisor. 

The staff were super friendly and helped us to a seat with amazing views over the beach. There literally was not a single person in our eyesight. The sun was shining, the sea looked azure blue, it was absolutely blissful.

Our view from lunch

Similar to many restaurants we visited, they had no high chairs for my toddler. But they tried to accommodate him by stacking two plastic chairs! He didn't seem to mind, but I wish we'd brought our booster seat as he kept trying to escape.

They had a dish of the day,  but the waiter encouraged us to choose a selection of fresh fish and salads. To be honest, we had no idea what we were eating. But it tasted incredibly fresh (we were told it was caught that day) and great value. 

The wine we enjoyed
over lunch

All washed down with a delicious bottle (or 3 or 4) of Spanish white. Like nearly all the restaurants we went to, the wines on offer were all Spanish and without any explanation of grape, taste or dryness on the menu. So we took the recommendation from the waiter and it was very delicious. 

After lunch, we hopped in the car and drove further down the coast into the Cabo de Gata Natural Park. We happened to stop at this beautiful beach called Playa Agua Amarga. 

We parked up on the sand and strolled down to the sandy beach. On one side flanked a rocky cliff riddled with caves. From this cliff stretched about a mile of wide, golden beach. Again, with hardly a person on it.

My son on Playa Agua Amarga

The sea was fairly choppy with a stony bed making it somewhat tricky to go in and out! But the water was warm and even wimpy old me leaped in for a swim. 

It was June when we visited and, although the whole area gets fairly windy in the afternoons, it was still baking hot. And, we were delighted to find a little, shady bar off the beach called Los Taharis. We enjoyed a deliciously cold glass of beer and my son dripped an ice-cream all down himself.

We had a wonderful daytrip to the Carboneras region. The whole Carboneras area was very quiet and felt like it was waiting to be discovered! If you're looking for white sandy beaches, fabulous food and to feel remote and secluded, this is the region for you. However, I'm sure it will soon be discovered, so enjoy it now before the tourists descend! 

What I drank this weekend: Pinot Noir (of course)

I was once told that the best Pinot Noir comes from either Burgundy in France or Marlborough in New Zealand. This is due to the climate and soil as Pinot Noir tends to like cool climates.

And since then, I've been a bit of a snob about it and tend to only buy my beloved red from those regions. The same with Sauvignon Blanc.

However, recently I have started to stray into trying different regions. Don't get me wrong, I love the light and earthy taste of a Marlborough Pinot Noir, but lately I've been trying some from South East Australia and Oregon.

Oregon is cooler than most Pinot sites in California and so tends to produce a lighter wine more similar to the Burgundy and less fruity and punchy than those from Sonoma. I have particularly enjoyed drinking the Underwood Pinot Noir from Marks and Spencer. At £13 a bottle it isn't cheap, but I think worth every penny. It doesn't have the smoky, mushroomy taste of some Pinots but its fruity and full of ripe cherries and raspberries and of course violets.

Now, when it comes to Australia, I'd generally be inclined to buy a Shiraz or a Cabernet. However, the South Eastern region can be cooler and I've recently become a fan of the Telegraph Station Pinot Noir. Made exclusively for Tesco it is half the price of the Marks and Spencer Pinot Noir at £6 a bottle. And it is delicious. Again, not mushroomy like the Burgundies but bright and fresh and full of raspberry and black cherry. In fact, it has recently been awarded a  International Wine & Spirit Competition Quality Award IWSC Bronze award.

So, if you're coming to visit me over my birthday or Christmas, feel free to bring either of these two reds. They are both great, but I think the Marks and Spencer wine is the winner. So, I'd be especially pleased if you brought this.

Slurrp sensibly and that :) 

Which alcohol free beers taste the best?

I haven't been drinking for about five months now (I'll let you draw your own conclusions). And the question I most frequently get asked is whether I miss alcohol.

What do you think? I write a blog on wine and travel, OF COURSE I miss alcohol. I miss drinking a nice gin and tonic on a Friday night or having a glass of wine with a meal. I miss Pimms in the sunshine, frankly, I miss it and haven't really found any soft drinks that have quite filled that place in my life where booze used to live.

So, I found myself trying some alcohol free lagers and ciders. I never thought I'd bother with these as I've always been of the opinion of you're not "drinking" then, what's the point? In the past few months, I've tried quite a few, if only as an attempt to fill the sad, pathetic gap booze has left in my life.

A glass of Bitburger Drive. Nearly like the real thing

The first thing I realised is that most alcohol free drinks are not technically alcohol free. It seems that, in the UK, there can be a small amount of alcohol in drinks and they can still be labelled alcohol free. So I guess if you were being truly strict about cutting out all alcohol then you should probably not drink them. And, if you went on a proper binge, you could probably get caught out by the breathalyser test. But you would have to drink a lot!

The tipple I've most commonly found in pubs and bars is Becks Blue. By all accounts, it is brewed in the same way as Becks (and to the same high German standards) but the alcohol is removed at the end of the fermentation process. This means that it is supposed to taste the same as its alcoholic counterpart. Even though it is apparently the UK's number one alcohol free lager, it's certainly not my favourite. It has quite a metallic taste and is so fizzy that it's hard to stomach more than one bottle of the stuff.

I also found Cobra Zero pretty disappointing. There's nothing like a glass of Cobra with a hot curry, but the alcohol free version is much sweeter and has a strong, buttery taste to it. I couldn't even finish the bottle.

Bitburger Drive has got to be one of my favourites. Again, the alcohol is removed at the end of the fermentation process which is designed to preserve the taste. It has less of a metallic taste that some of the reduced alcohol lagers have and it has only 26 calories per 100ml. Unfortunately, I've never found it in a pub or bar and have only purchased it in Tescos, which I think is a real shame.

Kopparberg cider - a bit too sweet for me

My other favourite is Erdinger Alkohol-Frei. Although this is a wheat beer it isn't too strong, heavy or citric. Apparently brewed in strict accordance with Bavarian Purity Laws, it is crisp and refreshing and seriously drinkable. Plus, as it is a wheat beer, it isn't too fizzy and contains around 25 calories per 100ml. I've found this in a few pubs and bars, so maybe Britain is catching on. 

To be honest, I'm not a massive fan of cider, so I'm not sure why I thought I'd like alchohol free cider. However, I thought I would try the Kopparberg ones as I thought they would be refreshing in the summer. They make an alcohol free pear cider and an alcohol free mixed fruit cider. Well, sweet is not the word! It is like drinking a melted ice lolly! For me, it's not like experiencing alcohol and so doesn't fill the gap that I'm looking for. But if you like sweet drinks, then knock yourself out. 

So I found a couple of German beers that pretty much hit the spot. And I also found this great UK-based website which promotes alchohol free drinks called www.alcoholfree.co.uk and you can also purchase online from there. They even have some wines and spirits which I might give a go. 

I still look forward to opening a lovely bottle of Pinot Noir and drinking two or five glasses with a plate of nibbles. Sigh, aren't I pathetic? 

Happier days!

A day trip to Burano

Travelling from Venice to the island of Burano by vaporetto

If you've ever been to Venice, you'll know it is very beautiful but very busy. As we had time, we decided to get away from it all and catch a water bus to one of the islands. The crop of surrounding islands tends to be quieter than the main tourist areas and you get to see a different side to this historic city. The main ones are Lido, Burano and Murano.

A sea view of Venice

We'd seen Jamie Oliver recommending a restaurant in Burano called Al Gatto Nero as the best place to try fresh fish in Venice. And, as we are the sort of people to take a day trip purely to try a restaurant, we decided on Burano.

It takes about an hour to get the island and its a stunning, relaxed journey. As you depart from Venice, you watch the huge crowds of people fade away like ants and get a sea-view of all the historic domes and towers of Venice without anyone stood in front to restrict the view.

The picture postcard island of Burano

The island itself is like an assault on the eyes. Every building is painted a bright, vibrant colour. Meaning that the canals crossing through the island are lined on either side with a patchwork of different coloured buildings. It is really, really pretty. Even as amateur photographers, every photo we took was like a picture postcard.

Burano is famous for lace, so you'll find it hanging up in all the shop windows. But having just got married, lace was the last thing on my mind! After months of dieting, I wanted food. I wanted wine. 

After five minutes or so we found the restaurant. We hadn't thought to book and, even at 2 in the afternoon, there was a long queue of diners waiting to be seated. In the end, we ate inside because it would have been a huge wait for the outside tables. But if we went again, it would be nice to sit canal side and watch the boats floating past.

As soon as we were seated, a glass of prosecco was put in front of us and a lovely selection of bread and crackers. To start, we ordered the "Al Gatto Nero" experience to share. It was described: "encounter the Adriatic and the Venetian lagoon by savouring these hors d'oeuvre selected and created by Ruggero. (Fish proposed will depend on the night market)."

Me canal side in Burano

Essentially, we had no idea what we were getting. But for just 30 Euro, we were presented with two huge plates over-spilling with an incredible selection of seafood. It included scallops, large prawns, razor clams, baby clams, squid, octopus, mussels and a few other fishies we couldn't identify.

Before and after, the Al Gatto Nero Exerience

We washed it down with a cold and crisp bottle of Monte Grande Soave Classico 2012. Tasting of peach, almonds and citrus, it was the perfect accompaniment to our fishy treat. 

It was incredible value and very delicious. For lunch, the starter platter would probably have been enough but we'd both ordered substantial main courses! My spaghetti alle vongole was the best I tried in Italy, although I was ashamed by how much I left!

Not only was the food delicious, the service was first class too. Our waiter was from the Dominican Republic and had photos of his children above the bar. I obviously played the honeymoon card (well, you only get the chance once). So he brought us a little present of a glass, black cat from Murano. Very sweet. 

After a few glasses of wine. Well, it was my honeymoon...

After browsing the dessert wine menu for a while, our waiter brought us another gift. A glass of sweet prosecco with Venetian biscuits for dipping. We spent five minutes or so trying to decipher the taste of the drink. Apple? Pear? He finally let us know it was strawberry. Absolutely mouth watering. 

Afterwards, we wound our way back through the streets to the vaporetto terminal. Very full, slightly inebriated and having enjoyed a lovely, romantic meal. 

It's a bit of an effort to get to Burano, but in my view, 100% worth it. Especially for the trip to Al Gatto Nero. Without a doubt the best meal I had in Italy and a great experience in a pretty little town. 

But remember to book a table at the Black Cat restaurant. 

Getting there:

We'd been walking around Piazza St Marco, so took the vaporetto (water bus) route number 24 from the San Zaccaria terminal just a short walk away from the square. The vaporetto goes via Lido for a change at Punto Sabbioni. You can then hop on the vaporetto route number 12 which stops at Treporti before finally arriving at Burano. It cost 39 Euro for a pair of return tickets.

You can also get to Burano from the terminal on the other side of Venice called Fondamente Nove. This is a slightly cheaper and quicker route, but I guess it depends on what side of Venice you happen to be.

We travelled at the end of September when it was warm and dry. Around 26 degrees C.

A different side to Venice

The other side of the Canal

We were lucky enough to spend the first and second nights of our honeymoon in Venice. Having never been there before, I was delighted to discover that it was every bit the romantic and magical city I hoped it would be.

However, it is hectic. Very, very hectic.

The view from our bathroom at Hotel Dalla Mora

There are street sellers on every corner flogging all manner of tat. From fake Gucci bags and purses to toys that shoot up in the air or splat on the floor. Add to that the hoards of tourists streaming around the narrow streets and bridges, stopping to take photos and videos of all the things you want to stop and take photos of.

That's why we were so glad we were staying in a quieter area of Venice.

We'd read that the Santa Croce region was quieter with more of a residential, local feel than the really touristy area San Marco.

Yes, there are still stalls selling One Direction t-shirts and Venetian masks, but there is a quiet calm to the canals which is lovely to enjoy. When you turn the corner into Santa Croce, it's like the world stops a bit, the noise disappears and you can breathe.

Reverse of Hotel Dalla Mora

The hotels tend to be a bit cheaper too. We opted for Hotel Dalla Mora which is just a five minute walk from the main bus terminal and car park area, Piazzale Roma. The hotel is pretty basic. Well, very basic. But it is right on one of the canals and our ground floor room literally faced onto the water so we could watch the gondolas floating past. Plus we got our own bathroom which is bit of a luxury in Venice.

We had a couple of really nice meals in the Santa Croce area too.

Venice is a bit renowned for ripping tourists off in restaurants. With over inflated prices, poor quality food and often short changing diners. So we made sure we did our research first. 

The quiet water ways of Santa Croce

On our first night, we ate at the Trattoria Alla Ferrata which we picked because it had an outside, walled garden area. I had a delicious clam and mussel starter, followed by a perfectly cooked beef Tagliata (which is sliced beef steak cooked on an open fire, served with rocket and balsamic vinegar), all polished off with a really good bottle of Chianti.

We also had a nice meal at Ostaria al Vecio Pozza. Their menu boasts 100 different types of pizza and it was pretty good too. Shame the waiter was so grumpy, but this is quite common in Northern Italy.

If you're staying in Santa Croce and want to take a gondola ride, you can do this from just outside the Piazzale Roma, however, they are unlikely to take you as far as San Marco square. 

We found the walk from Santa Croce to San Marco a pretty comfortable one and gave us a chance to wander through the streets, see the Grand Canal and Palazzo Ducale and cross all the bridges covered in padlocks where lovers have padlocked their love like the Ponte de Rialto, the Scalzi Bridge and the Ponte Dell'Accademia.

Taking a gondola ride from Piazzale Roma

And then, when you've done with the sight-seeing, leave it all behind and return to the calm of Santa Croce.

We drove to Venice from Bologna which took a couple of hours. We chose to park at the airport as parking can be expensive in Venice. The Marco Polo 2002 car park has 24 hour security guards and provide a free shuttle to the airport terminal for around 12 Euro a day. The bus into Venice (the ATVO) then costs around 5 Euro per person to Piazzale Roma.

A flying visit to San Gimignano

A couple of months before the wedding, we took a trip to San Gimignano so we could see the villa where we were getting married, view the surroundings and to meet our wedding planner, Ben Singleton from Italy Weddings.

We flew to Pisa from Luton with Easyjet on a Monday which cost us about £30 each way. We then hired a car from the airport which cost us about £130 for three days and then drove from Pisa to San Gimignano which take just over an hour.

Once we got out of Pisa, the drive was really beautiful. The sun was shining, the route was littered with lovely historic towns and buildings and even the air smelt nice! It was June and Tuscany weather had been really wet, which meant the landscape was apparently unusually very lush and green.

A few towers on the horizon en route to San Gimignano

You can see San Gimignano from about 20 miles away as the towers rise out of the hills on the horizon. For the whole journey I wanted to stop every five minutes to take photos as it was so picturesque. But Adam wanted to get there for a drink in the square!

Tom Tom was our guide as we had a version with European maps. And it worked pretty well until we got to San Gimignano when it sent us into the town itself. It sent us through one if the narrow gates into the town, down windy, narrow, cobbled, high walled streets, littered with tourists flocking like sheep and utterly unwilling to move out of our way. To this day, I have no idea whether we were allowed to drive down some of those streets, but we got there in the end!

Where we stayed

You can't actually park inside the walls of San Gimignano. But there are three public car parks just outside all of which you can easily walk into the town from. Watch out for the prices though as they vary according to how near they are to the walls. We parked in P1 which was €6 a day, whereas P2 was €20 a day.

Enjoying the view on our hotel balcony (La Cisterna Hotel)

We stayed at La Cisterna Hotel which was right on the main square. The website claims the hotel has the "best view in San Gimignano" and our room did have a balcony with the most amazing view of the square. We also had a fridge in our room which meant we could have a glass of wine in the sun while watching the tourists and also buy some cheese to take home. It was quite loud in the mornings (as TripAdvisor had warned us) and the church bells seemed to clang incessantly. But, as we were only there for a few days, we didn't mind being up bright and early.

Adam (in the blue t-shirt) on our hotel balcony. Taken from the main square.

All the reviews warned us that San Gimignano was going to have queues and queues of tourists. I don't know whether it was because it was early in the season or because they'd had a lot of rain, but it was pretty quiet. There are lots of little shops to wander around where you can buy wine, cheese, pasta, wild boar products and arts and crafts from the region and none of them were busy and we didn't even have to queue at the famous Gelataria, Dondoli's.

One of the many small shops selling local produce (including boar!)

Where we ate

There are hundreds of nice places to eat in San Gimignano so we were spoilt for choice. However, we found few places where you can actually eat outside. The view is so spectacular that it seems a shame to look at it through the window of a restaurant. Here's a couple we found.

If you're going out for dinner, I'd recommend a drink beforehand at Enoteca diVinorum. They had some tables outside with a wonderful view. There was a great selection of wines and we enjoyed a crisp, cold glass of the local white wine, Vernaccia, and a platter of meat and cheese. The view over the fields was stunning and we found that by this time in the evening there were fewer day trippers in the town spoiling the serenity.

Enjoying a glass of Vernaccia at Enoteca diVinorium

Our favourite restaurant was Le Vecchie Mura. It had a lovely outside panoramic terrace and we went at the perfect time to watch the sun setting. The staff were very friendly and attentive without being overly familiar and we ended up eating far, far too much. I had two of region's traditional dishes of wild boar pasta and a steak Tagliata which is a sliced rare steak over bitter salad with Parmesan and balsamic. All washed down with a bottle of Serreto (a mixture of Merlot and Sangiovese grapes) from the Cappella Sant'Andrea winery.

The view from Vecchie Mura

If you're eating inside, we also had a nice meal at Trattoria Chiribiri. We both had a delicious rabbit pasta with a platter of meats and cheeses. You can pick whichever pasta you like with the sauce which is a nice touch. We picked a half carafe of the house Chianti and it was perfect. Our wedding planner took us here which is probably an indication that the locals think this place is good.

On the main square, there were two ice-cream parlours  Both claim to have award winning gelato and the best in the world. However, the Gelateria Dondoli has actually won the award for the best gelato in the world and had an amazing selection of innovative ice-creams. I had one scoop of Prosecco and grapefruit flavour and another of raspberry and rosemary.

Gelateria Dondoli's amazing selection

As you can probably tell, the wedding diet was out the window!

Wine tasting

You can't go to Tuscany without visiting a vineyard. We chose to go to one which was within walking distance of San Gimignano called Sovestro in Poggio. It was about a 20 minute walk from the town but a very pleasant walk, especially on the way back after a few glasses. They did a proper wine tasting tour at 11.30 every day which included a look round the vineyards and cellar followed by a tasting and lunch for €25. As well as wine tasting, the farm also offered accommodation with a pool.

We were only able to go in the afternoon, so we popped in for a tasting at around 4pm. It's very tranquil at the farm with a stunning view of San Gimignano over the vines and up on the hill. We paid for a tasting of three wines with olives and cheese. This comprised one white Vernaccia and two Chianti. You can buy wine from the vineyard, but they are pretty hefty tourist prices of from €12 a bottle (but then everything is expensive in San Gimignano) so we just bought one bottle of the Vernaccia which was lemony and peachy and very delicious.

The owners of the farm were really friendly and very active on twitter. We have even arranged for my brother to stay at the farm in September. The only slight issue we had was that a coach load of American tourists turned up halfway through our tasting. It was quiet and calm before they swarmed upon the tasting room and so if you go to the Vineyard, I would recommend checking whether the farm is expecting any coaches.

Wine tasting at the Sovestro in Poggio

And, of course we met up with our wedding planner and took a trip to see the villa we had hired for the wedding which was between Volterra and San Gimignano. For us, it made us feel much more reassured about the wedding having met the planner (yes, Ben did exist and he was a very nice man) and looking round the villa to see that it was as nice as it looked in the photos (it was better!). Also, it helped us make decisions which we had been struggling with remotely. Things like where to hold the ceremony, what additional lighting did we need, what to do if it rained (gasp!) and where the band were going to set up.

Overall, because we had such a lovely time that it made us more excited about our wedding. And, although it is an additional expense to an abroad wedding, I would recommend everyone to try and build a visit to the venue into their wedding budget. 

Roll on September :)

View of the square from our hotel balcony

Wine I've drunk this weekend

Since I've drunk lots of delicious wines this weekend, I thought I would take a break from wittering on about weddings and share them with you. Plus, one of my friends came round my house recently and complained that she'd been on my blog to try and find a wine I liked to bring round to supper, but couldn't find any. So, Caroline, this one is for you!

The long wine whiling weekend started with a visit to the only wine shop in the village, Salisbury's Cambridge Wine Stores. We originally went to get some Limoncello. But when they didn't have any, we ended up spending £70 on wine instead!

I love buying wine from proper wine shops. You get that extra bit of help from the staff who genuinely know about wine. Plus, there is usually a more varied selection of unique wines rather than the standard selection sold at many of the supermarkets. On Saturday, Cambridge Wines was full of middle aged men talking guff about wine. However, one of them have us a tip on a delicious Argentinian Malbec and he was not wrong!

La Chamiza Malbec from Cambridge Wines

He recommended La Chamiza Polo Amateur 2012 Malbec. The bottle claimed that, many years ago, the Chamiza Estate was a land of polo horses. But now they grow wines that reflect the polo horse because it is generous, equilibrated and passionate. I'm not sure about all that, but it was delicious!

I think it cost us around £7 which we thought was pretty good value since it was so nice. It was quite a dark, purple wine and tasted of cherries and strawberries with a hint of mocha coffee. It was dry but also velvety smooth. We had it with curry, but would be a perfect wine to have with a burger or lamb steak on the BBQ. 

I've mentioned my brother on here before as he is a proper wine snob and he got me onto wine tasting. As a thank you for organising a recent ski trip, we bought him a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2004 Il Palazzone from Cambridge Wines. He keeps telling me I should upgrade on the wines for the wedding from Chianti Classico to a Brunello but the budget won't stretch yet (sorry, had to mention the wedding). The Queen had it at her wedding apparently, so if it was good enough for her...

We didn't drink the wine as it apparently will be better in a few years. So when he does try it, I'll let you know if it was worth it!

The same brother picked a wine from Dad's wine cellar to drink with our bank holiday BBQ. To say it is a cellar might be stretching the truth somewhat, however, he does have a selection of 30 or so wines under the stairs at his house. My brother picked a rather tasty Shiraz from Majestic with a slightly tasty price point! Dad thought he'd paid around £20 for it, but it looks as though it is currently retailing at £30.

The McRae Wood Shiraz

As an Australian Shiraz, Jim Barry's The McRae Wood Shiraz from the Clare Valley is pretty full bodied. Bottled in 2004, the wine has spent a few months in oak and has a nice well rounded taste of fruit and spice as ell and lavender and liquorice. We had it with sausages and burgers but would be perfect with any red meat dish. Not the cheapest of wines but if you have a special occasion or want to impress someone, this would be a good choice.

A while ago, we went to the Wickham Vineyard which is near to Southampton in Hampshire. It's lovely there and I would definitely recommend a visit. It's about a 20 minute walk from Botley train station and set in beautiful countryside. You can do a little tasting, do an audio tour of the vineyard and buy local produce. Plus, they have a beautiful restaurant which has only recently opened that looks out over the vines.

Me wine tasting at Wickham Vineyard

We bought a bottle of Wickham Celebration Rose 2010 when we were there. We were saving it for when my friend Natalie came round. But she was too slow and it was drunk this weekend! The bottle claims it has "intense strawberry, raspberry and red currant flavours". However, I think it is more subtle than that description. It's actually a fairly, dry and light rose and not too sweet as some roses can be. 

You don't seem to be able to buy it via their website but maybe you can still buy it in the tasting room at the winery. I think it cost around £10 at the time. We enjoyed it with a Marks and Spencer Millionaire Shortbread biscuit but I think it would go with most things, maybe even a light pasta or chicken dish.

The view from the restaurant at Wickham Vineyard

Also this weekend we enjoyed the following yummy wines all of which I would highly recommend:

• The Ruins Organic Pinotage Bon Cap 2010 which cost around £9 from Cambridge Wines
• The Macon Villages 2011 which cost around £9 from Marks and Spencer
• The Barossa Shiraz 2010 which cost around £10 from Marks and Spencer 

So that was some of the wine I drank this Bank Holiday Weekend. Yes, I am off for a detox now. Someone bring me the Milk Thistle.

How much does it cost to get married abroad?

Along with most couples, one of the first things we had to "talk about" was how much our wedding was going to cost us and whether we could afford what we wanted. There is lots of reading material about UK wedding costs, but as we are planning to get married in Italy, there was little about the costs of weddings abroad.

One of the reasons we decided to get married in Italy was to reduce costs. Lots of my friends had wonderful weddings but had spent a fortune and many of the articles we read about costs were initially really terrifying. 

Magazines such as Brides Magazine and You and Your Wedding have regular features which break down the cost of getting married. Showing everything from the average amount a couple pay on wedding clothing, rings and tiaras to costs of hiring a venue and going on a honeymoon. Even Mintel concludes that the cost of an average UK wedding is £21,000. 

My brother's wedding in Fiji

However, what we couldn't easily ascertain was what the costs of the whole wedding were versus the actual event itself. Let me explain what I mean. 

Assuming you're going to go down the white wedding route, many of the costs are the same whether you got married at home or away. For example, you'll still need to buy a dress, wedding ring, groom's men suits, engagement ring and wedding stationery. These will carry similar costs whether you got married in Richmond or Rome. 

What I was interested to learn was whether things like venue hire, florists, caterers and photographers costed more in Titchfield than in Tuscany. 

According to Bridal Magazine, the average cost of the actual wedding is £13,290. So this includes food, drink, venue, photographer, videographer, favours and entertainment. You and Your wedding puts this slightly lower at £11,460. 

Me at my brother's wedding in Fiji

However, according to Mintel, the costs reduce to £6,585 for weddings on foreign soils. But, it's difficult to get a like for like comparison for UK compared to abroad. This is because, in the main, couples don't tend to have the same types of weddings abroad as they do at home. And, one of the reasons that people choose to get married abroad is because they can keep it simpler, invite fewer people and keep the extras to a minimum.

Petals at my brother's Fijian wedding

For example, my brother got married in Fiji a few years ago and he specifically wanted something that was the opposite of a traditional wedding. Rather than a church, they got married on the beach at sunset and instead of a strict wedding schedule, the men sipped margaritas on the beach while the women wandered down a flower petaled path at their own pace. It was a lovely, relaxed day and absolutely what they both wanted, with only immediate family invited. 

Looking at the pricing schedules from Kuoni and Thomson, both seem to assume that this is the sort of foreign wedding most people want. Just a few guests and minimal pomp and ceremony. 

For example, the costs quoted to get married in Rome with Kuoni are from £2,794. This just includes the wedding coordinator, interpreter, bouquet, button hole and photographer. No party, no wedding breakfast, no band, no booze and no guests. Likewise, the standard costs from Thomson to get married in Sorrento are from £805. This does include a cake and sparkling wine for groom and bride, but nothing more.

The difficulty we have is that, although we are having fewer guests than we probably would have if we got married at home, we still (hopefully) have at least 40 people coming along and we still want a sit down meal with speeches, a band and lots and lots of wine. 

As we'd hired a wedding planner, we consulted with him about costs and how much we should budget for our wedding. What we soon discovered was that, realistically, if we are going to have many of the elements of a traditional wedding, the costs are going to be pretty much the same as what we would have paid in the UK. 

The only real savings are as follows:
- We are hiring our wedding venue for 5 days which represents far better value for money than just hiring a venue for a day
- Venues in Italy seem much more relaxed around things such as corkage and feeding children. As we are in our own villa, we can probably supplement the wedding drinks with our own and we can feed the children a picnic rather than a sit down meal
- As we plan to have our honeymoon in Italy, we are saving on separate flights and the wedding effectively will become part of the honeymoon. According to You and Your Wedding magazine, the average cost of a honeymoon is £4,073 without spending money. This is far higher an amount than we expect our costs to be  

Over the next few months, I'll be sharing with you how much we spend on our wedding in Italy and the true costs of getting married abroad. If you have any tips or advice, we would love to hear them.