There
are some people out there who wish the next 4 weeks were on fast forward and would quite happily ‘beam’ themselves into January. I, on the other hand love Christmas but feel this year it has suddenly appeared out of nowhere. One minute it was peeing with rain in August and ‘ta daaaaa’ it’s snowing and December. There’s the angel costume to get ready, the teatowel to find for a Mary head dress and wierdly enough a toga & laurel crown to make for roman day next week (that’s at school not here at CPW, though that would make for an interesting day !). Where’s the glue, the cellotape, the stapler etc etc when you need them ? So Christmas is en route and I for one feel I need to start getting ready.
So on to Christmas presents. Well, having put together these Christmas Cases under the suitably apt title of ‘The Passing of Time‘ I’ve actually sorted out all my relations presents in one go. The Shepherd Gate Clock Case (The Shepherd Gate clock at Greenwich was installed in 1852 and was the first to provide Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to the public. It is a 24 hour clock with noon at the bottom) will be going off to myAunt who refuses to drink red wine saying it ‘makes her twitchy’. I’m not sure what she means but she’ll enjoy the 6 bottles of delicious whites now on its way to her.
Great Granny gets the Old Father Time Case, 6 bottles of fab red wines including our new Côtes du Bourg which won the Bordeaux Regional Trophy in this year’s 2010 Decanter World Wine Awards. The third mixed ‘Westminster Case‘ is going off to my parents who have kindly offered to bring a few bottles when they arrive for Christmas Day (I will make sure there are stickers clearly marked on the ones suitable for turkey !). I hope they’ll enjoy the Gremillet Champagne on Christmas Eve by the fire and savour a small glass of Somerset Pomona from the Somerset Cider Brandy Company. All delicious.
So no need to ‘beam me up’ into January yet, though I’m sure the moment will come when I’m singing the third verse of Away in a Manger for the fourth time that I’ll think longingly of the New Year. Happy Christmas Shopping to you all !
up to The Innovation Centre on the Exeter University Campus I was struck by the great design of the building. Our ‘tasting room’ was a bright, airy, colourful room with glass windows to the floor. On the dot of 5.30 our tasters arrived, all clutching their tickets and eagerly perusing the 80 or so bottles on display ranging from crisp, dry whites, to dense dark reds, sparkling, port and many others. On my table it was the Australian 
a very interesting tasting yesterday to select a replacement for the much-mourned Château Lassègue, we discovered two excellent wines. One of these was the 2004 Château de Candale – a very good St. Emilion Grand Cru, which was the essence of our tasting. This now in stock. However, Chris also slipped an odd-ball in to the tasting, also from the Right Bank but only from the lowly Côtes de Bourg AOC. It was so good that it actually won! It is a phenomenal wine that will sell well, I’m sure. As soon as it’s in stock (end of the month) we will reveal more…….
