Wine Tasting - Brazilian Wines

WASP (Wine Appreciation Society, Penrith), Roundthorn Country House Hotel, Penrith. Thursday 27-March-2025.

I don't think we have ever tasted a Brazilian wine so this was a fascinating tasting presented by Nicholas Corfe of Go Brazil Wines.

The Brazilian wine industry was established around 1850. There are no indigenous grape varieties so the vines grown in Brazil are all European varietals. The wine region is that small diamond shaped province at the bottom of the map. But given that Brazil is the fifth largest country on earth that “little corner” is actually the size of France! 

Bento Gonçalves is considered the wine capital of Brazil. 

The map is somewhat out of date and does not show the new, central regions where vineyards have been planted in recent years. This is the zone where a winter (or 'tropical') harvest is practised, at the end of July/early August.

Name Grape Vintage. % ABV. Price. Description. Mary’s notes:

• Appearance
• Aroma
• Palate
• ✱ rating out of ✱✱✱.

Don Guerino 'Sinais' Itálico Riesling 2023. 13%. £13.79. Produced by Don Guerino, a family business whose eponymous founder arrived in Brazil from Italy in 1880, from grape of Central European origin, also known as “Welschriesling”.

• Pale lemon
• Melon, green, slight spicy/floral
• Apricot/pineapple, light, slight prickle of acidity, not bone dry
• ✱✱ Easy drinking.

Don Guerino Monteolivo Alvarinho 2024. 13%. £14.99. An elegant 100% Alvarinho, harvested from the Monteolivo Hillside, an undulating and irregular block within the Don Guerino vineyard, where there are several soil types and different levels of exposure to sunlight. Drink young. 

• Pale gold, very bright
• Light nose
• Heavier in body, more luscious than above, nice fresh acidity. Lemony/Melony, dry, good length.
• ✱✱✱ 

Don Guerino 'Vintage' Torrontés 2024. 12.5%. £14.99. Produced from this distinctive Argentine grape variety (here called “Torrontés Riojano”).

• Pale lemon
• Lychee, floral
• Tropical, lychee, elderflower, good acidity, light bodied, full flavour.
• ✱½

Pizzato Chardonnay de Chardonnays 2023. 13.5%. £16.99. 100% unoaked Chardonnay harvested from the best plot of Pizzato‘s Santa Lucia vineyard, the family’s large larger of two sites based in the historic Vale dos Vinhedos.

• Pale gold
• Slight buttery, toffee/honey.
• Green apples, dry, slight smoky, good texture and body, good acidity, pear, minerality. 
• ✱✱½

Pizzato Allumé Pinot Noir 2022. 13.2%. £12.99. From Pizzato's second, 'Allumé' branded range, this is a 100% Pinot Noir produced from grapes harvested from the winery's main Santa Lúcia's vineyard, the local Serra Gaúcha region and also the more southerly Serra do Sudeste.

• Mahogany, slight brown rim.
• Slight peppery, slight earthy, slight smoky, plums.
• Prickly tannins, oaky, earthy, soft fruit.
• ✱✱ Easy drinking.

Campos de Cima Três Bocas Tinto (Tannat/Cab Franc/Petit Verdot) 2022. 14.5%. £14.99. A robust, unoaked blend of Tannat (50%), Cabernet Franc (30%) and Petit Verdot (20%).

• Deep purple/red/mahogany; slightly lighter at rim.
• Deep, plummy/brambley, herbaceous.
• Sweetish, dark fruits, soft/smooth
• ✱✱ Nice wine but too sweet for Mary.

Don Guerino 1880 Origine Teroldego 2021. 14%. £14.99. From Teroldego, a grape variety indigenous to North East Italy, this is a 100% example.

• Dark, black/purple.
• Clean, peppery, herbaceous, cherry.
• Smooth, soft tannins, black cherry, smoky, vanilla, ripe fruit.
• ✱✱✱

Guaspari Vale da Pedra Tinto (Syrah) 2021. 15%. £25.39. Unusually, climatic conditions demand a winter harvest, when temperatures are low and the weather is generally very dry. The 'tinto' here is 100% Syrah, which has been aged for 11 months in French (3rd use) barrels.

• Dark purple-red, slight brown ring
• Smoky, earthy, vegetal, coffee?
• Smooth, prickly, tannic, sweet, dark ripe fruit, good balance, savoury, good length.
• ✱✱½ Good for a Syrah (not usually liked by Mary)

Given the size of the country, it is unsurprising that it supports such a range of different grape varieties and wine making styles. A fascinating tasting and definitely a country I will be looking out for on the shelves.

Spitfire Girls at Theatre By The Lake

Keswick, Cumbria, UK. Wednesday, 26 March 2025.

Once again the Theatre By The Lake comes up trumps with an entertaining production of Spitfire Girls. We booked our tickets as soon as we read about they play and invited Mary's aunt to join us. We treated ourselves to pre-theatre tapas at Bar eS and then off to the theatre.

Sometimes I think they should only allow audiences in by seat number rather like boarding an aircraft. We were at the end of a row and the remaining audience members trickled in ending with the central couple last. We spent quarter of an hour doing repeated Mexican waves along the row!

The plot concerns two sisters during the second world war who sign up for the Air Transport Auxiliary partly for the excitement of doing something for their country and partly to get away from their stultifying life working for their farmer father. The play covers their induction, training, the people they meet, romances they have and what befell them later, told partly in flashback. 

We learnt so much about an aspect of the war that was previously unknown to us. The ATA used women pilots to ferry new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, maintenance units (MUs), scrapyards, and active service squadrons and airfields.

The play is very much carried by the two brilliant female leads with excellent support from three other members of the cast who play a variety of roles. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Liverpool Blues Festival 2025

The Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool. Friday/Monday 14/17-March-2025.

A great weekend of music and sightseeing on our first ever visit to Liverpool. 

The Liverpool Blues Festival was a new location and organiser for us so an opportunity to hear and see new things, see also [City Break - Liverpool]. We saw eleven bands over three days, some new, some already known. We discovered three new ones we liked and came away with three albums and two T-shirts. 

The festival was held in the Adelphi Hotel, an impressive building with a huge lounge that we passed through on our way to the festival venue.

Friday 14th March: 

7pm to 8.15pm - Vincent Flatts Band. Four piece: drums, bass, lead guitar, singer. Passed the “every song distinct” test but their sound set up made it hard to hear what the lead was singing and saying. However that did not stop the majority of the audience enthusiastically singing along to Tennessee Whisky. Not really to our taste. ✱

8.45pm to 10pm - The Terraplane Blues Band. One of the bands we’ve seen before. They had the essential harp player for that authentic blues feel. They did an excellent version of C. C. Rider. Mary thought their set felt a bit flatter than usual but not sure if that was the room, the audience or herself. ✱✱½

10.30pm to Midnight - Chantel McGregor. We saw Chantel at Blackpool in January and decided she wasn’t really to our taste so ducked out for an early night.

Saturday 15th March: 

2pm to 3.15pm - Alex Fawcett. Caught the tail end of their set but not enough to form a view on their merits.

3.45pm to 5.15pm - Tom Killner. I thought they were better than last time, less country, but still too much so for Mary’s taste. They also had a self-indulgent battle guitar vs keyboardist which dragged on and added little to the set. The muddied sound setup did them no favours - the instruments came over as wall of fuzz. ✱½

7pm to 8.15pm - McHales Permanent Brew. The keyboard player was key to their sound. Their PA set up meant a cleaner sound than Tom Killner whereby you could hear the distinct instruments. A great new find, great rocking blues and, from the chats between songs eg entreating us all to be kind, they seemed to be lovely people. ✱✱✱

8.45pm to 10pm - The Milk Men. As previously seen at Skegness and Blackpool, they put on an enjoyable, high energy show. ✱✱✱ 

10.30pm to Midnight - Brave Rival. Unsurprisingly the highlight of the day. We are definitely fans now and have the t-shirts. “Stay Brave!” is their motto. ✱✱✱✱

Sunday 16th March: 

2pm to 3.15pm - Thomas Heppell. Classic blues sound. When we compared notes it turned out the neither of us were convinced about the drummer. He was lacking a certain fluidity / smoothness which detracted from an otherwise good performance. ✱½

3.45pm to 5.15pm - Will Wilde. Good musicianship, voice and harp, but perhaps not distinctive enough to stand out from the competition. ✱✱

7pm to 8.15pm - Chris Bevington Organisation. Very enjoyable big band sound with ten performers on stage. The only act of the weekend with a brass section which gave the act a real boost. ✱✱

8.45pm to 10pm - Zac Shulze Gang. High energy with a bit of shredding thrown in. Proper rockers and a bit of a cut above musically. Another band to follow! ✱✱✱

10.30pm to Midnight - Xander and the Peace Pirates. Seen previously and so we knew what to expect. A unique sound, great song writing and excellent guitarists​. The Sunday highlight. ✱✱✱✱ 

We bought their latest album, unusually delivered on a USB stick.

And so to bed at midnight tired from a weekend of great music and some new discoveries to add to the playlist.

City Break - Liverpool 2025

Liverpool, England. Friday/Monday 14/17-March-2025.

Friday 14: In Liverpool for the Blues Festival we had the mornings to do the proper tourist thing. We have taken to booking ourselves aparthotels as they have the convenience that we can do our own thing for breakfast rather than having to get up dressed and out to find a nearby café.

It would seem that this particular hotel is a converted warehouse of some kind as witnessed by this whacking great girder right up the middle of the bedroom.

Saturday 15: Saturday morning was, of course, parkrun. However, rather than do the nearest one we took the Metro out to Crosby to do a unique parkrun. 

Firstly, it is one of a few on a beach and secondly it features Another Place by Anthony Gormley, a series of iron men embedded in the sand or looking out to sea.

The first part of the course is out and back along the beach they use one of the iron men as a turnaround point. They have given him a high viz jacket a helmet and christened him Bing.

Sunday 16: We took a stroll round the city to take in the sights. First stop the cathedral.

One of the reasons for visiting the cathedral was to see to window dedicated to Kitty Wilkinson aka “The Saint of the Slums” who was instrumental in the creation of the first public baths in the U.K. in 1842. When we give talks on behalf of Friends of Carlisle Victorian and Turkish Baths we include a section on the origins of public baths including her pioneering work.

In our wanderings we stumbled across this Scandinavian church built to cater to the large number of Nordic émigrés who we presume were en route to America.

A poignant installation outside the bombed out ruins of the Church of St. Luke recalls the First World War Christmas Day truce and football match across no man’s land.

Liverpool had a significant Chinatown whose start is marked by this substantial ceremonial gateway. All the street signs in the area are bilingual.

Liverpool is, obviously, famous as the home of The Beatles. These statues are down on the docks. We also visited the site of the original Cavern Club with a statue of Cilla Black who at one time worked there as a hat check girl.

On the recommendation of a friend we visited the fascinating Western Approaches museum - the control centre for planning and monitoring the North Atlantic convoys bringing vital supplies from North America. They intercepted German morse code message and sent them to Bletchley Park for decryption. Here they planned convoy routes and arranged escorts on sea and in the air. Up-to-date information on U‑Boats was a vital part of planning and protecting the convoys.

They had an actual Enigma machine captured from U‑534, one of the few that was not destroyed by the Germans to prevent them falling into Allied hands.

Monday 17: A most successful weekend of touristing on top of the music festival.

Down Under 2025 - Sydney 2

Sydney, Australia. 03/05-March-2025.

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Introduction, 05-February-2025
• Sydney, 06/09-February-2025
• Cromwell, 09/12-February-2025
• Fox Glacier, 12/14-February-2025 
• Christchurch, 14/16-February-2025 
• Blenheim, 16/19-February-2025 
• Wellington / Martinborough, 19/23-February-2025 
• Napier, 23/26-February-2025 
• Taupo, 26/27-February-2025 
• Hobbiton, 27-February-2025
• Auckland, 27-February/03-March-2025
• Sydney 2, 03/05-March-2025

Monday 03: The return stop at Sydney with no specific plans. For a bit of variety we chose a local Argentinian restaurant, La Boca, for supper.

Tuesday 04: We booked a Skyfeast at Sydney Tower but we arrived in the centre a bit early so had time to wander around Hyde Park and St Mary’s cathedral.

View of the tower from Hyde Park.

On the way there we also had a quick peer into the ornate lobby of the Grace building which was apparently the inspiration for “Are You Being Served”. Originally a department store owned by the Grace Brothers it is now a hotel.

SkyFeast was a buffet lunch in the revolving restaurant at the top of the telecom tower. We went for the premium wine package which includes unlimited, better class wines.

You are allocated an hour and a half slot. The restaurant rotates every 70 minutes which means you get a circuit and a third while you dine. The bird’s eye view shows how much waterfront Sydney has.

We got a good view of the cathedral and Hyde park.

There was nothing on at the Opera House so instead we went to the (other) Royal Albert Hall to hear Cat Power sings Dylan. A  very different take on the songs. Pleasant enough but we, metaphorically, didn’t buy the CD.

I was also taken by the older stations on the Metro which very much reminded me of Baker Street station in London.

Lovely cream and green tiling.

Wednesday 05: An evening flight back to the UK. Pretty uneventful, simply incredibly long. Having landed at 05:30 UK time, we took the train up to Victoria, tube across London, brunch at Euston and train up to Penrith. Door to door it must have been 36 hours travelling. It took at least a week for the sleep patterns to fully normalise.

We both agreed it was a fantastic trip and lived up to the hype from everyone who had been and said what a great place New Zealand was to visit.

Down Under 2025 - Auckland

Auckland, 27-February/03-March-2025

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Introduction, 05-February-2025
• Sydney, 06/09-February-2025
• Cromwell, 09/12-February-2025
• Fox Glacier, 12/14-February-2025 
• Christchurch, 14/16-February-2025 
• Blenheim, 16/19-February-2025 
• Wellington / Martinborough, 19/23-February-2025 
• Napier, 23/26-February-2025 
• Taupo, 26/27-February-2025 
• Hobbiton, 27-February-2025
• Auckland, 27-February/03-March-2025
• Sydney 2, 03/05-March-2025

Thursday 27: After Hobbiton we drove the rest of the way to Auckland, dropped off the luggage at our Home Exchange accommodation before returning the hire car and taking the opportunity to explore a bit of the city.

Friday 28: We spent much of the day wandering around central Auckland following a booklet of Maori walking art trails.

In the mural on the side of this building each vessel represents a mountain and the tribal symbols for the Māori peoples associated with the respective locale.

Saturday 29: Was of course #parkrunday and the turn of Ōrākei Bay parkrun, our third and final parkrun in NZ. There were a number of tourists, many from the UK but also Australia and other parts of New Zealand.

A single out-and-back along a boardwalk by the bay. Mary striding in for the finish line.

Great bunch of marshals, especially the ultra-hyper lady and her lovely dog at the turnaround point. You could hear her cheering from about a kilometre away.

Any parkrunner will know the importance of handing in your finish token after being scanned.

The walk from our apartment to the local restaurants and shops took us down Great Road which was lined with luxury car showrooms: McLaren, Porsche, Lotus plus  Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bentley.

You could even buy a Bentley stroller for the tot who has everything.

It was a shock to the system to see skyscrapers after three weeks of low rise everywhere else.

One of the delights of this trip was being able to meet up with friends we made in 2008 when we took part in a London to Paris bike ride. Dave and Luci emigrated to NZ two years ago and live just north of Auckland on the other side of the bay, close enough to pop over for a meal. We met in a local wine bar and had a good catch-up.

As supporters of the Carlisle Victorian and Turkish Baths we were delighted to stumble across these Tepid Baths by pure accident as we were wandering about. They kindly allowed us to go inside to read about the history. The Baths were opened 1914 with a swimming pool and also slipper baths for cleansing. The parallels between their stories were remarkable, both addressing the need for public baths for the local working class and, in Auckland, also for visiting sailors.

And I just had to get an All Blacks’ duck to keep our Ampelmann duck company.

Sunday 02: A walk across New Zealand. Having walked across England and across Italy we thought it only right that we should add to our transnational walks with a stroll across New Zealand. Fortunately at Auckland that is a modest walk of 16 km so easily doable in a few hours.

We picked map from the Tourist Information office together with screen shot of the route description from the city website and headed off.

The start point was not signposted that we could see so the Maritime Museum seemed as good a spot as any to mark the beginning.

Passing through the city centre we passed some gnarly trees in Albert Park.

Next through Auckland Domain park, Auckland’s oldest park with lots of native flora.

We then had a steep ascent to the top of Mount Eden / Maungawhau for spectacular views in all directions complete with a caldera to let you know you’re on the top of a volcano.

We passed through suburbs many of which had lovely Victorian era wooden houses with ornately edged verandas.

The route took us past One Tree Hill / Maungakiekie which singularly failed to live up to its name, the eponymous tree having long since been replaced by an obelisk.

We then had a step descent with views of the southern shore.

We finally arrived at the coast where the signs petered out.

Not knowing where the formal end was we chose a suitable bench to rest and claimed “complete”.

Supper that evening was at a local BYO where we planned to use a fine bottle of wine we had brought on one of the wine tours. Unfortunately we forgot the wine so had to go to the supermarket next door to the restaurant and buy another bottle. Luckily we had room in a case so the forgotten wine became a souvenir to take home.

Monday 03: Up reasonably promptly for a morning flight back to Sydney.

Next: Sydney 2, 03/05-March-2025