Hipsters are still a thing right? Defined by their off the beaten track tastes, cool demeanour and big beards. My dad has a big beard but he isn’t a hipster, he does drink a fair amount of wine though which brings me to a dawning moment I had last week at an extremely buzzy wine trade tasting of New Wave South Africa wines held in Shoreditch: the home of the hipster. The tasting showcased some of the most eclectic and fine wines coming out of SA at the moment but no finer a wine than some of those shown at tastings in more traditional venues: the Royal Horticultural Halls round the back of St James’, Lords Cricket Ground in St Johns’ Wood, Whitehall to name a few.

Hipsters are defined as much by their beards as they are by their eclectic tastes, the more esoteric the better; move over Sauvignon blanc, Merlot and Shiraz it’s Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Riesling served here. Indeed if wine were a hipster it would probably be a Riesling… with a beard obviously. Unfortunately I haven’t come across a Riesling with a beard but you can embrace your inner hipster with a bottle of Etre à l’Ouest Chardonnay from Red Squirrel Wines which they say ‘translates loosely as “leftfield” or “away with the fairies”, or this cheeky little number from my day job: Fleuri de Barbebelle which translates as “flowery, beautiful beard” from Coteaux d’Aix en Provence.

For a great Riesling, on the other hand, check out this Taste the Difference stunner, £8.00 at Sainsbury’s. It might not look very hip but it smothers your taste buds in Elderflower cordial and pink grapefruit juice and comes from Awatere Valley in New Zealand which is surely the Shoreditch equivalent of the wine world.

Now our extension is pretty much finished Mr Bouquet and I are fully back into hosting mode. It was an odd few months of disarray and disruption as the luxury of choosing wine and then drinking it with family & friends took second place to a building site and other wine related activities like choosing a wine fridge and locating the box with the beautiful wine glasses in it.

And so to last Friday when the recent past and the new present collided in beautiful harmony ………

Thanks to the raw disappointment expressed by my 4 year old last Christmas, when stockist issues meant Santa delivered the wrong hot wheels track, I have vowed (along with Santa) that Christmas will indeed start earlier this year and We. Will. Be. Organised.

So it is with no apologies that I post my first shout out for Christmas drinks ideas on the 4^th of October because to get your hands on these little gems you’re going to have to be quick: Pickerings Gin baubles are back and they’re on sale now.

You’re welcome.

www.pickeringsgin.com

(ps: seriously, be quick, they sold out in 82 seconds last year….)

Wine drinker. Wine marketer. Wine blogger. Wife. Mother. Sister. Daughter. PTA committee member (I was bullied into that one). Occasional runner. A pretty standard bio for a social media account holder like me. A job for life doesn’t exist any more, diversification (or in my case winersification) is at the heart of who we are and just like businesses in order to survive we now need to constantly add to our portfolio of roles to make up the jigsaw of our lives.

Wine is no exception and Lyme Bay winery in Devon is a great example. ………

Global consumption of alcohol is steadily on the decrease, which isn’t too surprising. I for one have unwittingly contributed to the trend for no other reason than having two small children which doesn’t leave as much room for dozy evenings on the sofa or hangovers in the morning. But I heard it’s #NationalFish&Chip day today so not only does that mean dinner is sorted but also gives me an excuse to introduce you to my favourite English still wine to date.  ………

As the weather flits between searing summer sun (today, while we’re in the office) and tropical downpours (last Sunday as we lit the BBQ) it’ll come as no surprise that that rosé feeling hasn’t had the chance to linger for long enough to force us down the offy. But if the forecasts are to be believed then we have a scorching bank holiday weekend heading our way which means this rosé deal is too good to miss. ………