Rockingham Forest Red

It's always nice when a well laid plan comes to fruition, even more so when you can drink the results.

Today I bottled up the gallon of red wine we made last Autumn from our Regent and Rondo grapes, and I must say the results are pretty good for a first attempt. Deep claret in colour with a rich fruity nose. Dry, full-bodied, but with a good balance of acidity and a hefty dose of Raspberry and Cherry fruits. Considering how poor the season was last year, this is a seriously rich and fruity wine which may even improve a little in the bottle.

It's a shame we only managed to produce 6 precious bottles of this Rockingham Forest Red Wine. The vines are still very young so yields and quality can only improve over the coming seasons, particularly if we get a 'Vintage' Summer this year to help ripen the grapes. It may even be worth investing in a small wine press to help boost productivity. Our cider press is simply too big to deal with such a meagre harvest, and I don't fancy a repeat of last year's messy, and inefficient squeezing of the grapes by hand. The finished wine may be worth the effort, but I could do without the purple hands.