So very Gilly

 

Last year we had to socialise outside and within 2m of others, so we spent lots of time in my nextdoor neighbours garden. To keep warm we had our chiminea lit, wore lots of clothes and drank mulled wine! This year (as you do) we decided to try all the brands. This led to a full survey with spreadsheet. We tried to taste them all (only Tesco was missed). The outcome was Asda extra special (£5 now £4.50) came top. Very closely followed by M&S (£5) and 3rd was Three Mills from Home Bargains (£2.99). (Very bottom was Lidl, sorry Lidl). Anyway....

.... A week past Saturday I was watching James Martin on his TV programme. He was poaching pears in mulled wine, and chatting to the woman who makes the mulled wine, on zoom. James Martin said it was the best mulled wine he had ever tasted. Soooo in respect of the above survey I thought I simply needed to buy some! I went online and purchased 3 bottles! After all, it is made by hand, using the finest ingredients and tastes the best in the world. I mean, who wouldn't? Though if you saw the price you may have decided not to. But no, not Gilly. I thought at this price it MUST be blinking good. And hey I'm working two jobs, so I deserve it. Last week it was a gorgeous afternoon/evening, perfect for sitting outside (as a gesture to last year) with the fire and mulled wine. We also had a bottle of the top two (asda and m&s) together with my Fraser's bottle. Well wasn't it just the best thing I ever tasted? Clearly knocking the other two off the top spot? Worth every penny? Actually no, it was not. It was, I can only describe, revolting! And I kid you not. Yuk! And all 4 of us were in complete agreement. We tried adding sugar but that didn't help. At £20 per bottle (oh yes, you did read that right) I was determined to drink it - but I really couldn't. None of us could. It was put down the sink 😢😢. It was much much worse than lidl's. And least you could drink lidl's!

Now that could be the end of my story but it's not. Had it just not been to our liking, fair enough. Had it been cheaper, fair enough. But under the circumstances (we had drank the other bottles of wine at this point, and I may have been tipsy) I decided to email Fraser's Mulled wine explaining how disgusting we four consumers thought of it. Now I wasn't rude I just said it wasn't nice and could I please have a refund and they can have the unopened bottles back? A response was swift, and terse. Apparently in the 8 years of mulling this wine mine was her very first complaint for taste! And in fact BBC good food said it was the best, ever! She would refund me for all 3 bottles but could not uplift the other 2. And since my dislike was palpable to dispose of the wine and recycle the bottles. Oops I think I upset her! Sorry. The moral of this story? Don't give Gilly a credit card? Probably.

Just to let you know we had a fabulous fake Xmas and Boxing Day. Spending time with my children, eating and drinking all day and of course, giving and receiving gifts. 

I wish all my readers a Merry merry Christmas and I'll see you next week. 🎄🧑‍🎄❤️

Santa I would like a fat bank account and a thin body, please don't confuse it like you did last year.