Remember I hurt my knee doing The Nutcracker at Christmas? (We take charades very seriously in this house). Turns out I’ve got to have surgery later this week so I’ll be sofa-bound for a couple of days post-op. For obvious reasons, I’m thrilled at the prospect of being forced to put my feet up for a whole weekend. Plans mostly involve books and box sets but don’t include cooking for, clearing up after or ferrying small people. It’s like a mini-break without having to leave the house.

Talking of which, I did have a mini-break of sorts this week. I headed to Kent to visit a winery and then stayed the night at The Pig Hotel at Bridge Place. It’s the latest to join the fast-growing litter of Pigs and everything about it is gorgeous. The uninterrupted bath before supper was a particular highlight but what I really loved was the wine list, crammed with wines from surrounding vineyards. See this week’s recommendations for a particularly quirky find.

With thanks to The Pig at Bridge Place for hosting my stay. 

Current white in the fridge: On the QT Pinot Meunier

Price: £15.99 - Buy From Waitrose

Simpsons Estate has one of the prettiest vineyards in the country, lying on a gentle chalky slope overlooking the Kent countryside. And this unusual white is made from the Pinot Meunier grape, one of the three grapes usually found in English sparkling wines (as well as champagne). It’s rare to find it on its own in the bottle, especially as a white wine. And it’s a real eye-opener with lovely ripe tropical fruits thanks to the hot 2018 vintage. Only a couple of thousand bottles made so get in there if you want to try it.

Current red in the rack: Aglianico del Vulture

Price: £9.00 - Buy From M&S

Down at the bottom of Italy’s boot is the Basilicata region and the only red grape you’ll find there is this one. Aglianico loves the region’s volcanic soils, producing big brooding wines with bags of colour and black fruit flavours. This one’s got gorgeous bramble jam flavours with a touch of spice thanks to a bit of French oak. One for anything slow roasted.