What I drank this Christmas

I'm currently having a dry January, so I thought I would reminisce about some of the fabulous wine I drank this Christmas. 

I always find that everyone tends to splash out a bit more over the Festive Period (including me!) and this one was no exception. So I thought I'd make a little note of all the ones I enjoyed the most.

At the beginning of December, I wrote about how I'd ordered the Christmas mixed case from Naked Wines. Without a doubt, my standout bottle from the hamper was the Hacienda Don Hernan Rioja Crianza 2012. Smooth, fruity and full of vanilla. We all absolutely loved it and I loved having something so rich and dark coloured in my glass. And, not too expensive at £13.99 a bottle.

Many of you may have read that I got married in Italy. My brother, who has fabulous taste in wine, bought all of the wine for after the meal. And, as usual it was all delicious. He'd originally been to Greve in the Chianti region to buy the wine, but on New Year's eve he produced two bottles of the red as a surprise for my husband and I. What a treat. The Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico Riserva was as yummy as I remembered, all fruity and rich and brought back wonderful memories of our wedding day. Available from Berry Bros for £24.99. 

It wasn't just red wine that I particularly enjoyed. I had quite a few delicious bottles of white wine too. My favourite was almost certainly this bottle of Saint Clair Pioneer Block Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Marlborough which is £19.99 from Majestic. It just tastes expensive and I can assure you it is worth the extra pennies (and you get it a bit cheaper if you buy six bottles or "mix six" as they like to call it). Dry, elegant and packed with gooseberry fruits. Seriously slurpable. 

I can't talk about Christmas wines without mentioning a fizz. I drank a lot of very poor sparkling wine over Christmas, I really don't know why people buy cheap Champagne, because IMHO, it is nearly always rubbish. You're much better off buying a Prosecco or English Sparkling wine. As an example, I was sent a bottle of Valdobbiadene Prosecco Spumante DOCG as part of my membership of the Aldi Wine Club. At £7.49 a bottle, it is an absolute steal. Light, fresh and creamy - you honestly wouldn't guess this was so reasonably priced nor from a no frills supermarket. I also really enjoyed the Sacchetto Prosecco Col de L’Utia Brut 2015 from Naked wines at £14.49 a bottle.

Finally, a sticky! On New Year's Eve, we enjoyed the William Pickering, 20-Year-Old, Tawny Port from Berry Bros (£26.95). A fairly sweet and nutty port, with notes of caramel. Dangerously drinkable. We had a lot of fun drinking it with our Port Sippers from Hintons Home. I'll review these in a later post, but they are fab! 

Anyway, these were just a snapshot of the wines I drank over Christmas. And, as my birthday was just before, I can assure you, there were many, many more! My liver hurts! Hence why I am now having a dry January! Did you have any wines over Christmas you'd like to share? Just let me know.

The Aldi Wine Club - how I've found it so far

In November, I wrote about how I was lucky enough to be selected as a member of the Aldi Wine Club. I've now had three little parcels of joyful wine sent to my door, so I thought I'd write an update on my experience. 

At the start, I was slightly sceptical in all honesty because I don't buy that much supermarket wine and I was worried I'd end up drinking lots of wine that I didn't like that much. 

But, I've loved receiving the emails to tell me my latest batch of wines to taste is on its way. And, then waiting for the special little parcel to arrive at the door to try. 

Two Pinot Noirs I was sent to try. The one from
Marlborough was particularly good

As well as the excitement of new wines to try, I've been pleasantly surprised to enjoy drinking nearly all the wines that I've been sent.

My particular highlights have been the New Zealand Pinot Noir which is from their Exquisite collection. At just under £7 a bottle, this is a pretty classy Pinot Noir at a really affordable price. I also really liked their Prosecco Superiore which tasted much more expensive than you'd think from the actual price point. 

I'm a creature of habit when it comes to buying wine, so I often end up buying the same thing or wines I know I'll probably like. So, the best part about being part of the Aldi Wine Club has been getting to try lots of different wines that are slightly out of my purchasing comfort zone. For example, I would never have gone and bought a sparkling Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. But I was sent one as part of a special Aldi Wine Club package and it was really different and delicious. We drank it with a mild chilli and because of the lime notes, it went really well.

Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc? I'd never
tried one before either

There have been a couple of wines which I found a bit average (although actually really drinkable) but I guess some of that comes down to personal taste and you're not always going to love everything.

Overall, I've loved it. I think I get kicked out of the club at some stage as they constantly refresh members. And, I've noticed they're currently advertising for new recruits so if you're interested, then why not give it a go?

In the meantime, I'll wait to see if I get another little surprise in the post! And, hope I don't get kicked out just yet!