I did a bit of DIY yesterday, assembling a length of wood and some hooks to screw onto the wall where a previous coat hook unit had previously been removed. One of the hooks I bought had the holes drilled and bevelled backwards so I needed to pop into B&Q to swap it, hence we ended up buying the makings of our supper in Aldi, which is next door to that store.

Among other things, we came home with was a bottle of cheap Australian shiraz. “Nice label” is probably about the most generous thing one could honestly say about it! It tasted surprisingly sweet and, to be fair, wasn’t too bad with dinner, but it was far from a fine wine.

It did prompt me to try an experiment though, mixing a portion in about equal quantities with some bianco vermouth. Now that was a rather pleasant combination, which knocked back the sweetness and brought out the herbal notes of the vermouth. I didn’t try warming it but the thought which came to mind was ‘instant winter cup’.