So, London Fashion Week finished yesterday. I know this because lots of pictures of the bottom half of people in 'distressed' jeans and bare ankles on my Instagram feed told me. I do love the circus of fashion but given that not wearing a fleece on the school run is a major fashion statement for me nowadays, I'm hardly cutting edge. So imagine my happiness when told that a pair of shoes I bought last week are, in fact, so on trend it hurts. Actually, I'm hoping that's exactly what they won't do because I've bought a pair of clogs on the grounds that they are beautiful - and really comfortable. I plan to break them in by wearing them around the house. By which time, I'll have my fleece back on.
Current rose in the fridge: Paparuda Rosé, Estate Selection 2014, £6.80, Tanners
This is made by the same team behind Asda's brilliant Bradshaw wines (the Pinot Grigio is currently on offer at £4 down from its usual £6). But this one was sent to me by Tanners, a long-standing family-owned wine company. The winery, Cramele Recas, is run by an Englishman who came to Romania more than twenty years ago and they make delicious - and outrageously good value - wines. This one's made from the indigenous Feteasca Neagra grape together with the better known Cabernet Sauvignon grape and it's gorgeous in both colour and flavour. Fresh with racy redcurrant fruits. It'll perk up a simple jacket & slaw supper no end.
Current red in the rack: Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Priorat 2011, £8 on offer (usually £10), Sainsbury's
Priorat, from the Catalunya region over on the eastern coast, is one of the smartest red wine producing areas in Spain. Along with Rioja, it's one of only two so-called DOC regions in the country (in other words, highly rated). It's brilliant - but subtle, it is not. Full on with heady black fruits and lots of oak, it's a blend of different grape varieties including Syrah, Garnacha (aka Grenache elsewhere) and Mazuela (also known as Carignan elsewhere). If you like Rioja, chances are you will love this. And it tastes waaaay more expensive than it is.
Chin chin xLabels: clogs, garnacha, Mazuela, Priorat, red wine, Romania, rose wine, Sainsburys, Spain, Syrah, Tanners