Contingency Plans due to Storms

The weather forecasters were on the money and the coptic storm arrived today bringing heavy rain.  This would not dampen our spirits but did have an impact on The Itinerary so we had taken the decision to move what we had penciled in for today to later next week when the sun is due to return.

This meant that John and I had a quiet morning around the house which was welcome as we are both feeling quite tired with all the socialising.  It is lovely having friends and family over here it would have just been a bit nicer to have them spread out just a little!!!

Our diary shows friends and family here on the island until nearly mid December and add into the mix my brief return to the UK for Michael's wedding and you can see we are busy, busy, busy.

So this afternoon we had decided to go and investigate what Sterna Winery has to offer by way of a wine experience.  We had read good things and over more recent years the quality of Sterna Wines has improved greatly.

We were going around 2.00pm which meant that I could do a bit of cleaning and tidying up and make the extra pasties that John had promised which I had known nothing about!

With the beef we had taken out of the freezer I was able to make two large pasties and a pasty pie.  I used different pastry this time and I am not overly happy with it as it split.  Having said that they smelt ok and they were a gift so beggars can't be choosers as Mum would say.

We set off for Sterna during one of the brief bright spells we had today.  Lots of other people had had a similar idea - wineries are obviously a good choice when the weather is wet!  We were made very welcome as we arrived and invited to look around the museum where I am pleased to report the life-sized, rather freaky looking papier mache animals are still in residence.  We then went down into the cave where they store wine and then took a table so we could do the wine tasting.  I had already asked why they no longer made their lovely Xinisteri white and was told that they still do, just that the shops weren't stocking it and they would add it as an extra to the tasting.

For 5 euros you get to try several different wines and they give you a sheet so you can record your opinions.  They also give you some olives, bread and olive oil to cleanse your palate between tastings.

For each of the white, red and rose you are offered the choice of sweet or dry.  We also, as I said above, got the Xinisteri to try, then we had the extra special oak-aged red, their Zivania and a sweet pudding wine along with some Cyprio delight and sugar coated nuts.

The guy talking about the wines was very knowledgeable and personable and indicated he would do us a good deal if we took a mixed case which we had already decided we would do.  The Xinisteri proved to be a big hit with The Clan and obviously it was served to us at exactly the right temperature.

We then moved outside and grabbed a table so that we could order a bottle of wine to drink there and then (not me as I was driving) and a mixed meat and cheese platter to go with it.  We hadn't organised anything much by way of a meal today so we were hoping that this might pass for a late lunch but we hadn't tried anything here by way of food so we really didn't know what to expect.  They only offer snacks, like platters, sandwiches and salads.

This was a large platter - OMG it was delicious will all sorts of meats, cheeses, olives and vegetables and an amazing orange and ginger dip in the middle.  This came with extra olives and bread and a second platter of fresh fruit.  It was amazing and everyone dug in and ate what they wanted and there was still some left.

We all agreed that it had been an excellent way to spend a couple of hours on a stormy afternoon.  We got back in time to catch up on the day's play at the Ryder Cup before John and I walked down to the Corner House for a glass of wine.  The heavy rain came whilst we were there turning the main road which passes by into a river!!!