Blind Tasting Wines, With a British Fish & Chip Supper

I went to a blind wine tasting at a wine club.

At wine shows, only experienced drinkers try to guess in contests oor people who hope that randomly they might win a free bottle.

 How do you blind taste a wine and guess grape and the country of origin?

1 Colour

Usually darker means older

2 Aroma

3 County

You can check which grapes are grown in each region and allowed to be used in a local wine with a specific coutnry or region or vineyard and winery origin.

4 Bottle

Darker bottles protect wines from light. Especially white wines. But customers don't like brown bottles so bottles are made greek occasioally blue.

5 Bottle cap

Some countries favour corks. Others favour screw caps.  

We went to a blind wine tasting in St Albans.

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Peter enjoying a guess the wine blind tasting evening at wine tasting club in St Albans. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Peter at a blind wine tasting, guess the wine, four whites and four red, with a small wine tasting measure for each person, and covered bottles. Best guess wins a bottle. Tie breaker is guess the price of each bottle. you hand in your sheet with your guesses and your name. After the winnders are announced you can take the covers off the bottles. 

We had a fish and ship supper, a pre-selected choice of three meals, two kinds of fish, hake or bream, or vegan, with chips or vegetable, served in  box, by a catering company.

Fish and chips. Photo from Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Many cities have a wine tasting club or group, or wine and dine group. Wine importers and shops can arrange wine dinners or attend an event where they bring wines for you to taste and compaare and buy a bottle or a case at a discount. 

This can be free, or subsidised, or paid for. 

Finding a Wine Tasting Group

IYou can find wine clubs and events for fund raising for groups. 

Starting A Wine Tasting Group

If you cannot find one, you could start your own. Over fifties and retired people, look for a group such as at U3A (Univeristy of the third age for the retired in the UK),. Alternatively, worlwide, you can find one or start one through Meetup.

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Useful Websites

https://www.meetup.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Albans

Safe Hiking

 Are there any hikes suitable for groups with splendid views and safety barriers all the way? If so, we need a book listing them. If not, some millionaire or tourist board should ensure that every country has one foolproof beginners' hiking trail.

PACKING LIST

hat

visor /baseball cap

Neck protector / scarf

a large triangular scarf can be used as a sling

gloves

sunglasses

Spare glasses / prescription

reading glasses for menus and maps and shopping

lip salve

mosquito and insect repellent

Suncream

sunbrn ointment

bite relief

blister pads / 

elastoplast (UK brand) (USA sticking plaster)

first aid kit

swimsuit for waterfalls, and towel for changing and drying

swimhat

jacket with sleeves

shirt with fold back tab sleeves

shirt with no-sew snaps instead of buttons

sewing kit

water bottle

enough water for a day and a night

GPS / watch

phone and charger

jacket with exterior and interior pockets

food such as 

directions and map

route left with person back at hotel (in case search is needed)

fill up car with petrol

maps of locality

maps on mobile phone

address of restaurant or hotel for later (in case you lose the guide or the last car and need a taxi)

alternative route in case you are tired or the route is blocked by rock fall or wild animals

guide on phone to edible and poisonous plants

vitamin pills in case restaurant is shut because of weather or wedding or national holiday or staff illness

address of nearest doctor or hospital

spare socks in case yours get wet or your shoes break

small tie in case you end up in a hotel restaurant, can also be used as tourniquet

torch for evening walks, campsite toilets

check under car and inside for animals or insects or humans or bombs or leaks

before accepting a lift, get the identity of the driver and photograph the numberplate and send it off

do not reveal your route on the media if you are likely to be followed, endangered or if you do not want people to know that your house is empty - put up your travel story a couple of days later and/or after you have returned to base

umbrella or parasol

something to sit on for resting or on walls which might have prickles or dirty or insects

watch water in Florida for sleeping crocodiles

keep away from cliff edges which might be slippery or crumble 

Leave only footprints.

Useful Websites

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11779419/Second-17-year-old-10-days-falls-death-hiking-friends-Utah.html#newcomment

https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/national-forests-grasslands/access-for-all/short-hikes

The start of a hike in Cyprus. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Michelin Restaurant Bam! in Singapore. More on dishes, desserts and prices.

 

Interior of Bam restaurant with waiter, bottles and glasses and plants. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

We could have had a three course set lunch at S$48 per person. Instead we chose the tapas. Our guest did not warm to the choices of egg or mushroom soup for starters, nor the alternatives of pork or fish for the main course. Saturday brunch is much the same at a higher price, 88 dollars. Plus Plus.

Chicken wings with sauce. Five pieces. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Photo by Angela Lansbury.

I have used our bill to identify my photos. The bill is presented with items listed alphabetically.

I should have listed the items as we received them.

The banana dessert was definitely a winner. Banana cake with exotic sorbet and caramelised pecans. I loved the sweet crunchy caramelised nuts. 

The other dessert, strawberry meringue looked pretty but did not enthral me as much as my banana cake. 

The Japanese service was unobtrusive but instant. When I knocked over a glass of water, two waiters were there beside us instantly with paper towels and a mop. 

Not like the Italian restaurant staff in England who gasp with excitement on seeing you, wave you to your table, talk loudly and enthuse over the menu, ask how you are and listen to your life story, then confide their own with raised eyebrows and gestures, and wink when you leave. Here, typically Japanese, quietly open the door as you exit and bow low without looking at you.

An alternative set menu is Omakase, chef's choice, starting with an amuse buche, then five courses for 158 dollars. Or seven for 188 dollars.

The main feature of the decor was a large picture of Sean Connery, James Bond, famous for his drink being shaken but not stirred.

Useful Websites

www.bam.sg

https://www.instagram.com/bam.singapore/

My previous post

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2021/12/japanese-michelin-starred-restaurant-bam.html

About the author of this blog

About the Author of this blog, Author Angela Lansbury

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books, including: Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

I  also have a blog on comic poems.

 Please share links to your favourite posts. 

What's On The Wine Label And Why?

A wine label tells you the country of origin, the grapes, where the grapes were grown, where the wine was bottled, who imported it to your country, how much alcohol is in the bottle, and how sweet the wine is. 

The bottle shape might tell you the country and style of wine if a particular wine is always sold in that style of bottle. 

The colour of the bottle may protect the wine from light and possibly heat. The red wines will be in dark bottles. Rose wines are often in white. More darker pink colour, more black skin from dark grapes. Generally a drier wine.

The year of the wine tells if it was a good year or a bad year (lots of sun or rain), as well as if the wine is young, or vintage. Gone brown, gone off.

Is it an ordinary wine, or a vintage? The French say vin ordinaire for ordinary wine. 

A blend? 

Appellation   

Apel is French for name. The appellation is the Name or naming on a wine label restricted to an area or style of wine which often must also follow rules specifying which grapes are allowed. Why? In order to promote consistency and protect both the growers and customers from fakes and confusion.

ABV - alcohol by volume - the amount of alcohol. Percentage of alcohol.

When I first started drinking wine I collected wine labels in a book so I could re-order wines I liked and recognize them on a menu.

If you are in a restaurant, you ask for the sommelier. that's French for the wine expert. His job is to advise you on which wine will go with your food, within any budget you specify. 

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Water bottles and drinking water when travelling

You need moisture in Singapore where it is so hot that you are perspiring all the time. At a morning meeting I looked for a drink. No water provided. 

The days of giving everybody a small plastic bottle of water and coming to an end (October 2018). Even if you stay in air conditioned offices and use cars and taxis, only a proportion of the car parks are underground. You spend a lot of time in overground car parks or bus stops or open air taxi stands. So you need water.

Yes, going green, saving trees, not using plastic, all very well, but people need a drink. I went to two meetings in a day with no water provided.

I used to carry water bottles. Then I got backache. I ditched the umbrella and water bottle, just carrying too much. 

We are in transit over water in Singapore. Early days - no water fountains. Then along come the gyms and hotels and coffee shop. Now you are expected to carry a water bottle and fill it up from a water fountain which has paper cups or no cups. You can buy a collapsible cup.

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Portuguese Daily Words to learn for trips to Portugal, Madeira and Brazil

Problem
How do I remember Portuguese words?

Answer
Look for links. Look for linking letters. Keep repeating them.

Portuguese - English
almoço - lunch (both words contain the letters l and c)
bolo - cake (made in a mixing bowl - oh! delicious)
cenoura - carrot (both words start with c and contain the letters a r and o)
cerveza - beer (both words contain letter e twice, letter r and b for beer is followed by c for cerveza)
garrafa - bottle - (like carafe)
lata - tin (both words contain the letter t)
manteiga - butter (both words contain the letters te)
pão - bread (turn the letter p upside down and you will see the letter b, then two vowels)
pimenta - pepper (both words start with p, include an e, and end with an er sound)
queijo - cheese (how do I remember if it's ei or ie in the middle. Think of que - ijo)

English - Portuguese
beer - cerveza
bottle - garrafa
bread - pão
butter - manteiga
cake - bolo
carrot - cenoura
cheese - queijo
lunch - almoço
pepper - pimenta
tin - lata

Where can I use my Portuguese? In Portugal, Madeira and Brazil

Handy Websites

visitportugal.com

visitbrasil.com

http://www.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/homepage

duolingo.com

earwormslearning.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English and other languages.

Remembering German words such as window and colours

Today, as usual I am learning German on Duolingo. I am also learning Italian. Just two different languages.

German I find very easy. So many words sound like English. I look for the same or similarly shaped consonants and same or similar vowels.

GERMAN - ENGLISH

beide - both (both words start with b, and b and th are similar sounds with tongue in the roof of your mouth

Blau - blue (Same initial letters, in fact three letters are the same blu bl.u . Two colour words are similar, blau is blue and grau is gray. In British English we spell it grey.)

Fenster - window (Capital letter means a noun or name, an object. Similar to the French word fenêtre. In French the little hat on the e means a missing s follows the letter so the word would come from old French or Latin fenestra.)

Flasche - flask or bottle (More usually bottle but remember flask and you've got the word and image. Remember the capital letter for nouns in German.)

haben - have (Same initial letter and b and v are the same letter in languages such as Hebrew.)

gelber - yellow (g and y are letters with a hanging part below the line; second and third letters are the same, el; word ends with a vowel sound er and ow - "er - it's yellow!) Another member of my family remembers gelb like gold or golden yellow; gelt is German-Yiddish slang for money.

Leute - people (Capital letter for nouns, people or places or objects, people loitering, people)

Weiss - white. (Look at the appearance of the word. Initial letter the same; third letter I is the same. Both include the vowels e and I. Think, ST, why - ST . But the Germans pronounce W as V as worsht pronounced VER sht which is sausage. if you are still having trouble remembering, make up a sentence: Your vice is wearing white clothes which aren't clean. Weiss is white.)

Wir - we (Initial letter is the same; i and e are similar, and I recall the spelling rhyme i before e.)

Angela Lansbury, English teacher and tutor.

Water, water, everywhere, but which is safe to drink?

Generally if you see a sign which says DRINKING WATER you might assume the water is safe to drink. But a glass is no guarantee, because hotels worldwide put glasses and cups in hotel bedrooms even when the bathroom water is not safe to drink.

Firstly, is the country known to have safe drinking water? Water in the UK is safe to drink when it's running water. But water in bathrooms in private houses and public buildings may be stored in tanks. You will also see signs on trains in England and Wales: not drinking water.

London 's Hard Water
The water in London is hard. It sometimes developed a cloudiness which may dispel.

Soft Water
When I travel to Fishguard in Wales or Swanwick in Derbyshire I always enjoy washing and showering, and washing my clothes and hair in soft water.

If you really like soft water, when you are in west Wales or the Midlands, take a bottle of water from London and fill the bottle with soft water to drink on the journey back to London.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Bella's Blooms tips for keeping plants moist whilst you travel

I looked at the plants in the new Bella's Blooms shops and wondered, how do you keep your plants alive if you are away travelling for a long weekend or a two week or longer holiday? Bella has several suggestions.

1 Aqua bouquets, sold by Bella's Blooms, come with a container like a vase underneath with water to keep your flowers fresh.
2 If yo've bought a plant from her or have one already and want to keep it most whilst you're away, you can buy a relatively inexpensive water dispenser from the pound shops.
3 Make your own water dispenser(s) from a plastic bottle such as a Coca-Cola bottle. After finishing your drink, cut off the sealed end of the bottle, place one end in the soil beside your plant and pour water into the bottle.

Visit Bella's Blooms, opened April 2015 in Hatch End, at Pickwick Walk, Uxbridge Road, Middlesex, near Hatch End station.
bellasblooms.co.uk

Angela Lansbury B A Hons is an author, travel writer and photographer. Also an English language and literature tutor, creative writing and speech workshop leader.  See more about Angela Lansbury author in YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook.