I like reading wine bottles.

Especially when the producer has added a bit of poetry alongside the warnings about units of alcohol and instructions to re-cycle the bottle.

With black fruit and complex savoury spice flavours,

with the distinctive taste of ‘garrigue’ – the fragrant wild bush plants of southern France,

and smoky notes to balance the fruit and add complexity……..

How lyrical!

A little breath of France!

Describing wine is a complex art with its own special vocabulary which you can learn at World Food and Wine  or winefolly.com if you can spare the time.

However, life is full of surprises!

On Saturday night we opened a bottle of French red that had a different approach to labels.

The main label was headed up:

Is drinking wine good for you?

And this was the answer from the wine producer:

Opinions on the matter are diverse. But either way, take it easy.

Don’t drink too much and always relish every sip.

Try to move a little more as well. Don’t enjoy sports – don’t do it.

Drink plenty of water. Don’t go overboard on the fatty foods.

Think positively, laugh a lot and love your life.

That way you’re likely to live the longest but definitely the most enjoyable life.

Well, what do you think of that?

Good advice! Just didn’t expect to read it on a wine bottle.

And, the wine was lovely. Chateau la Tulipe de la Garde which sounds expensive but was about £8 from the supermarket. Which, of course, is expensive if you’re on a tight budget. But maybe drink less cheap crap and just have a decent bottle now and again.

The line about sports shouldn’t be confused with exercise. I don’t particularly like sports but I walk regularly (in addition to walking round the house). I played hockey when I was at school but that was a very long time ago and I enrolled at a gym for a few months when I was getting older and needed to fight the flab. I joined a line dancing class once to have some more energetic exercise but ended up putting my back out for several weeks so avoided anything like that thereafter. Walking has been my preferred exercise throughout life from route marches round the English Lakes to ambles along the cliff paths of the Yorkshire coast. So, I agree with the winemakers: Try to move a little more. And take your exercise in a way you enjoy.

Thanks for reading my blog today. Hope you have a good week ahead.