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This weekend I decided that I would make some sloe gin so today I went out in the morning  to go and pick some sloes which I had seen in the hedgerows.

Now I don't know if you have ever picked sloes, but I can tell you they live in devil ridden bushes with every little blue berry surrounded by the protective armour of really sharp needle like thorns. So armed with the right clothng and a little tupperware box I picked a good amount of sloes (they look like blueberries but taste horrid!) enough to fill half a bottle of gin.

I am soaking my sloes in water and tomorrow I will prepare them by making sure that the stalks are gone and then prick each berry to release the flavours fully when I add to my gin.

I will be keeping you posted as to the progress of the sloe  gin as the days go by. I am hoping this will be ready for supping by Christmas.

New baby girl born to Samantha and David Cameron this week has been named.

Florence Rose Edndellion, was born 3 weeks early at Royal Cornwall Hospital whilst the the pair were holidaying in Cornwall this week.

Taking mum and dad by surprise the baby  girl arrived safe and sound. It was the Camerons wish to include a Cornish name to their new arrival and have now named the baby with the super name of Endellion.

Full name of the little girl is Florence Rose Endellion and we all hope that she will spend more happy moments in Cornwall.

Endellion : ( Sen Endelyn in cornish ) is a parish near the village that the Camerons were staying.

Ednellion : Also known as Endelient, Edelienta, or Edellienta was a 6th century virgin recluse from Cornwall. Her feast day is April 29.

Samantha & David Camerons new addition to their family arrived unexpectedly early today.

The early bird, perhaps wishing to be a 'Cornish Maid',  took mum and dad by surprise arriving 3 weeks early at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.

Samantha had a Caesarean birth  with the baby girl weighing in at 6lb 1oz.

Mum and baby both reported to be doing well. Aaaah bless!

We wish the Camerons well.

Richard & Judy in Cornwall 

Show in a field on Fri 27th

I have heard (on the grapevine) that Richard and Judy are holding a ‘do’ this bank holiday weekend.

Richard & Judy in Cornwall

Richard and Judy, our favourite tv couple own a home in Talland Bay between Polperro and Looe. Apparently Richard has invited Chris Evans to hold his Radio show in a field next to his home on the Friday before August Bank Holiday

All tickets for the show in the field have now been allocated but you can still watch / listen to it live.

For more info on the radio show go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/chris-vans/show-in-a-field/

All the tickets for a Show in a Field have all been allocated but you  I understand that it is being filmed and can be watched live - just follow the link above.

Richard said of Cornwall in an interview on holidays and travel: “we go as often as we can, it’s absolutely gorgeous there”

Richard, in the Telegraph (14^th Feb 2010) said that he loves Pol;perro for its gentle climate and the memories it holds for his family. Having discovered the delights in the mid 80’s the couple decided to buy a home here in Cornwall due to the amount of time they spent here in between work.

For more info on Talland Bay visit http://www.talland.org/

Well Cornwall is certainly becoming the place to be. David Cameron is holidaying this year with the family. A week in a cottage near Padstow David Cameron was seen sporting new shorts reportedly bought from a mail order catalogue (Boden) don't all rush out to get a pair!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/2463249/David-Cameron-relaxes-on-holiday-in-Cornwall.html

Seen sitting on a rock on a beach David looked relaxed and happy - Cornish air of course and hopefully he has spent some of that hard earned money on cornish cream teas, pasties and Camel Valley Wine.

How many Chateau Latour, Chateau Lafite, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Mouton Rothschild are among the bottles in your cellar?

I bet your cellar is not a patch on our Governmen'ts beloved wine cellar. Do you know what its worth? well you're not alone, its actually proving to be quite a challenge for the likes of us to find out exactly how much wine is in the hospitality wine cellar.

The wine is bought to entertain foreign dignitaries and it is believed that the cellars hold some of the finest wines one can buy, including the famous names of Lafite, Margaux and Mouton Rothschild.

A partial list has been published under the freedom of information act but the foreign office has refused to publish a full list of vintages for ‘commercial’ reason because it 'may prevent supplies from supplying these super wines at discount prices'

What we do know is that  since the election a further £18,000 worth of wine has been added to the list which now stands at a value of £864,000

Former Cabinet Office minister Tom Watson has tried to cite the new age of transparency to David Cameron "All I ask is that the public are allowed to know the contents of the ministerial wine cellar."

Well what do you think? Do you think the government should publish a full list of wines in ‘our’ cellar (after all we did in essence pay for it all) or do you go along with the foreign office and think it should all be kept a secret?

Have your say and we’ll publish the best. At Delmonicos we love to know what our customers & friends are thinking.

See the full report in the independent at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-challenged-to-reveal-contents-of-wine-cellar-2047749.html          

Wine Tasitng - 16th March 2010

Jason and I went on our first wine tasting without our late father David Delmonico.  I think we did okay. So I decided that I would share a few thoughts with you on the wines we tried out. (This is also the first ever blog I have written!)

We met in London on a  fine crisp day and got to the venue mid morning, giving us plenty of time to sample the wines. Sensible!

We kicked off at the top table with a pink champagne from Fourney pinot noir with some chardonnay a super brut rose, crisp with lively bubbles, strawberry tones, lovely bubbly that we needs to be in our bins for summer 2010.

Always on the look out for a new bubbly we tried out a rather nice rose (again) from Collalto,  a nice not too sweet flowery sparkling prosecco which we hope to introduce to you.

Having fortified ourselves we moved on to the main tables & started with the Muscadet La Hallopiere from the Loire.  A white wine with a  flowery aroma, easy to drink at any time. Quincy, Touraine & Sancerre still remain good quality and a delight to drink.

The beaujolais Fleurie 2008, Brouilly 2008 & the Morgon 2008 & Gamay all continue to deliver consistant flavours & colour.

The white Chablis retaines its usual robust flavours & we always like the Moreau Pere Et Fils, rich with orchard fruits, a fine burgundy which we will no doubt continue to stock along with the fine Mercurey 2008 which Jason and I both agreed was pretty good. The Puligny Montrachet were sample was an excellent example of great wine from a small grower, it was simply ....gorgeous, while the Saint Aubin 1st Cru is a punchy wine with terrific flavours & Jason was bowled over with the Maranges 1st Cru

By this time it was definately time for a break and food. Lunch was supplied at this venue & a top notch lunch it was too, so thanks from Jason and myself. No respite, lunch was served with an excellent selection of wines including Sancerre Blanc 2008, Massaysa Rose & Chablis.

After lunch we tackled the good solid reds of Bordeaux.Chateau Liversan, Chateau Siran & Madiran. From the Lebanon the good dark coloured massaya and one of our all time favourites the italian Barolos & Argiano incl top of the range Suolo and Solengo which were seriously good.

I could have lingered over the Italian wines a little longer but time was marching on. We made headway towards the sweet wines to finish the day off.

The Muscat de Rivesaltes was gorgeous, not too sweet & full of flavours. But the Tokaj selection was a winner.  the late harvest was beautifull & can be drunk at any time, the sweeter ones are ones to sup after a meal, from sweet to sweeter with the sweetest having a super long after taste. All these Tokaj have wonderful aromas and are sublime if you like a sweet dessert wine.

As we left the venue Jason and I had a quick slurp of the Armagnac from Chateau Montifaud. Beautiful. Ask Jason for a bottle, its on the shelf.

We had a good day, sampled some gorgeous wines and came away with lots of thoughts and ideas for 2010

Suzanne's Wine Tasting Blog
March 2010