Travelling via Wine: Some Memorable Wines from over the Years

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn wineLeave a comment

“Wine is bottled poetry.”

– Robert Louis Stevenson

*

I am no wine expert. I don’t know a lot of the correct language to use when writing about wine. I just enjoy the journey of sampling varieties of wines from around the world like a magical mystery tour.

In place of sommelier vocabulary, I am going to write brashly and humbly about wines I have tried in recent years that have stayed with me for some reason, whether through taste, setting, company or experience.

I remember the first time I tasted red wine, when a bottle was placed on the table at my Year 11 prom and had one sip and declared it tasted like vinegar and wondered, how could anybody possibly like this?

Around my 21st birthday, a friend and I went to London and she bought me a glass of wine from the hotel bar. I felt grateful but guilty and couldn’t tell her I didn’t like it, but drank it anyway. She bought a few more, and I thought it wasn’t too bad by the end of the night.

I’ve loved to travel since I was 18 and I believe that the best way to sample a culture is through food and drink (not just alcoholic drinks; Moroccan mint tea, Italian espresso, freshly squeezed Seville orange juice and more are also delightful).

For me, tasting wine is a form of travelling. Opening a bottle from Chile from 2019, or a 2017 Chianti, or a 2020 Bulgarian, for example, is both a geographical travel and a time travel.

Here, I’d like to share some of these travels from wines that have stood out to me over the years. Reasons for my choices below vary from being because I loved the taste, to the memorable event I tried it, the beauty of the location, the life stage I was in, or a particular memory I have attached to the sensory experience.

Continue reading “Travelling via Wine: Some Memorable Wines from over the Years” →

Christmas Time in Budapest: Tracing Family Roots Alongside Food and Wine

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn europe, Hungary1 Comment

A blog post that focuses mainly on the food and wines my cousin Luke and I had on our mid-December trip to Budapest, Hungary!

I had been to Budapest twice before way back in 2007 and 2008 before you could get a direct flight there from the north-west of England (I’d connected in Prague and Zurich). I had enjoyed the cultural experience of seeing where my heritage came from but I must admit that I did not find the city easily navigable and it was hard to seek out places and activities without Smart Phones with Google Maps and taxi apps (Budapest now uses Bolt rather than Uber as of 2023).

In June this year, our grandad János passed away just before he turned 93 after a long and illustrious life. He was born in 1930 and raised on Csepel Sziget (Island), an area just north of Budapest but still within the capital city borders, neither on Buda nor Pest.

His passing this summer reignited curiosity and a thirst for knowledge in us all so it made total sense for my cousin Luke and I to head over at the start of our Christmas holidays. But would it be too cold? This was a main concern. Would it look pretty when the trees are bare? Would there be enough to see to do?

Continue reading “Christmas Time in Budapest: Tracing Family Roots Alongside Food and Wine” →

Boa Vista, Cape Verde: What A Vibe

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn Africa, beaches1 Comment

Seeking a stress-free holiday after a busy few months of job changes and exams, we decided to look for a holiday destination where we could just sit back and relax in a beautiful environment for once, rather than a busy week of hopping on trains and clocking up thousands of steps round city streets. I have been to beaches in recent years, of course, but I had not had this sort of all-inclusive holiday for a decade.

Hotel in Boa Vista

Where is Cape Verde and what is its history?

The ten Cape Verde volcanic islands form an archipelago in Western Africa and its official country name is the Republic of Cabo Verde. ‘Cabo’ means the end of something and ‘Verde’ means green, so these islands are named after the green ending/edge.

Praia on the island of Santiago is the capital city and the two most touristic islands are Boa Vista and Sal. Cesária Évora, the celebrated Morna singer, was from São Vicente island, and 93% of the country’s population live on Mindelo island.

Fogo is the only island that produces its own wine, with grapes grown on the Pico do Fogo active volcano. I bought a bottle from the hotel shop and brought it back to share with my cousin in the northeast of England and it was delightful; a rich smoky red.

Red wine from the volcanic island of Fogo
Continue reading “Boa Vista, Cape Verde: What A Vibe” →

A Weekend of Wine and Wonders in Warsaw

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn Poland, wine2 Comments

{Apologies for the quality of some of the pictures in this blog entry; my phone camera was cracked and only worked when zoomed out! I have a shiny new phone now!)

*

The King-to-be announced another British bank holiday for his coronation and immediately, my sister, cousin and I jumped at the chance for another whirl on Ryanair Roulette.

I pretty much did this when I ended up in Vienna in February, and we did it again for the May 2023 bank holiday, opting for the Polish capital of Warsaw.

My sister’s boss and my cousin’s friend are both from Poland and had both long espoused the coolness and culinary pleasures of Warszawa, so I was more than happy to book on and see what was in store!

After a rubbery, stale cheese baguette at a hen-party animated Manchester airport terminal 3, we ascended into aerospace and gabbed between ourselves until we drifted down into Warsaw airport where the staff barely even glanced at our passports, stock British smiles plastered across our tired faces as we passed the Polish frontier.

Continue reading “A Weekend of Wine and Wonders in Warsaw” →

La Isla Bonita: San Fernando, Cádiz

On By Laura Ferries WriterIn cadiz, holidays in spain, spain2 Comments

“There was something in the air that night, the stars shone bright, Fernando.”

I can’t help but begin this blog entry on San Fernando, Cádiz, with the tentatively linked Abba lyrics that simply mention ‘Fernando’. Anti-chronologically, I will also make the first photo of this post the last I took in San Fernando which was a beautiful sunset that recalled those lyrics as we watched on, cerveza in hand, bare feet buried in the cool, powdery sand as the tide lapped in peacefully in soft, white frothy waves.

I have long loved the Andalusian province of Cádiz which is located in the southwest of Spain, close to the border of Portugal and views of Morocco from Tarifa. (Also see- El Puerto de Santa María and Algeciras)

My friend Chris and his partner (now pareja de hecho) Pilar and their Pomeranian called Lobo moved to San Fernando a couple of years ago and they invited me to stay at their beautiful house built back in 1874 complete with a well in the hallway, a spiral staircase, stained glass windows and a traditional Andaluz patio complete with patterned tiles (I have a thing for these types of tiles!).

Continue reading “La Isla Bonita: San Fernando, Cádiz” →