Ratings

Here is what I have in my mind when I give marks out of 10:

10/10 Naturally this has to be the perfect score. Celestial choirs sing in surround sound while spotlights bathe it in a golden glow etc etc. Can't imagine how it could be improved.
9/10 Almost there. Wonderful in all aspects, but doesn't quite have what it takes for 10/10.
8/10 Memorable, would definitely buy again.
7/10 This is the point at which I would recommend it to others.
6/10 "Nice." With all the ambiguity and lack of any other recommendation that accompanies that adjective. Nothing seriously wrong with it.
5/10 No strong feelings either way.
4/10 Some good qualities but not enough to make up for poorer aspects.
3/10 Might have it out of politeness if someone else offered it to me. Would not buy it again.
2/10 One portion can be finished, with difficulty.
1/10 Revolting. Tried a tiny bit and left the rest.

Waitrose Stem Ginger Ice Cream

Mmmmmmmm No picture of this one so you're going to have to conjure up your own image!

Imagine you have a mouth full of ice cream- quite light in consistency and very basic (but oh so good) in flavour: no vanilla, no nothing, just cream.

But this light cream is the perfect base to hold chunks of zingy crystallised ginger, which adds a spicy bite and a sugary crunch. And some of the ginger is inside dark chocolate, which you have to bite off (or melt off) going through rich cocoa to find the ginger. All inside the cream.

Perfect. Not too sweet or rich or spicy or chocolately but still assertively flavoured with a great texture. In fact so good, I have just upgraded my rating from a 7 to 8/10.

English Wine

The Cyclist and I have just finished a 7 week course on Wine Appreciation, so when we saw English Wine on sale this weekend we decided that we should try some- in the interests of broadening our education, of course.





Frankly, it was a good job that we didn't buy with pleasure in mind, because it did turn out to be an exercise in wine tasting, rather than an overwhelming sensory experience.





The tasting team consisted of The Cyclist and myself, both enthusiastic amateurs in educated quaffing, and The Lollipop Lover, who claims not to like wine, but has been known to enjoy a glass or two of Desert Wine!





The wine was 'Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Dry White Table Wine', produced in the New Forest. We bought it from the Gift Shop at Beaulieu.








We all gave it an overall rating of 3/10 [I will post my rating system on here soon!]


Looks: Clear pale yellow; all one shade


Nose: Clean. The Cyclist's first response was Honeydew Melon, I also got something that it took me ages to put a name to, but subsequently became convinced that it was the smell of cold roast chicken breast, with a metallic touch, almost like the chicken had been stored in tinfoil. There was also a slightly bready note. The Cyclist and The Lollipop Lover agreed that chicken smell was there!


Flavours: Tropical (Honeydew Melon); some Gooseberry; and something of the chicken smell (didn't actually taste of chicken!).


Sweetness: Surprisingly sweet for something billed as 'Dry'. The Cyclist and I both thought it was pushing the sweeter boundaries of off-dry. The Lollipop Lover thinks of Eiswein as medium sweetness, so happilyagreed with 'Dry'.


Acidity: Medium to high-possibly too much acid/not sweet enough to balance the acid.


Body: Medium


Length: Medium length, with something of a dry sherry edge to the aftertaste (we even got out the sherry to compare!).





I admit that I found the chicken association disconcerting. We had a long chat about what could be causing that flavour, and the use of sulphites was suggested. The Lollipop Lover has a background in analytical chemistry, however, and was dubious that sulphites would cause that taste. Guess a career in the detective branch of the wine industry is not for me, then!



For those of you keen to see a rave review of a wine, there is certainly one coming up, all about Malbec!