The problem of stains has been vexing me this week – red wine stains to be exact. This rather clumsy oaf managed to knock over a nearly full glass of rather delicious Chianti on to the waiting once cream-coloured carpet below. I don’t know whether I was more vexed at losing the ability to enjoy that particular glass of wine or why the home of a wine writer has cream-coloured carpets in the first place. Prompt action solved the stain situation and the need to decide on a replacement carpet.
Pouring the contents of the water jug on to the now 6x4inch dark mark meant that the red wine was immediately diluted and also wetted the carpet area even more fully than the wine did. Because the secret of stains (of almost any sort) is not to let them dry out – leaving a stain, particularly red wine, until the next morning when you might be feeling more robust and in a cleaning mood is fatal as the offending liquid will have soaked right into the fibres and be ‘set’. So making it five times as difficult to remove the stain with the added bonus that the fabric may never look quite the same again afterwards.
But back to the carpet – the now semi-flooded area was hasiltly attacked with many sheets of kitchen roll. But none of this dainty dabbing that is often suggested for wine stains but rather pushing down and scrubbing back and forth with the aim of soaking up as much of the liquid as possible in as short a time as can be achieved after eating the meal that the rest of the bottle of Chianti accompanied.
It worked. An almost entire roll of kitchen towel was sacrificed to the absorption of the mess and the carpet returned to its once cream colour where all the other little stains and burn marks from spitting logs from the wood burning stove are once again revealed.
Another upside of this episode is that I now understand why pubs and restaurants nearly always cover their floors with swirly patterned carpets in those shades of browns and greens that hide the stains so well.
PG Wine Reviews
Aldi’s Malbec Vignobles Roussellet Vin de France
£4.49 Aldi
Flavours of damson, plum and cherry with a bit of milk chocolate. Quaffable and great value.
Edizione 789 Italian Pinot Grigio 2015
£4.75 Sainsbury’s
Flavours of apple pie, lemon and peach.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Chilean Pinot Noir 2015
£8 Sainsbury’s
A great wine with flavours of cherry and plum followed by darker nuances of coffee and rosemary.
Morrisons Red Burgundy 2014
£8 Morrisons
A really nice wine that is light and fruity with a bit of dryness. Cherry and redcurrant flavours.
Morrisons French Vouvray 2015
£8.50 Morrisons
From the taste you’d think this was a Riesling but it is in fact made from the Chenin Blanc grape. Both give a slightly sweet and floral wine that’s great with rich foods.
Chateau Moulin du Terrier Bordeaux 2012
£10.99 Virgin Wines
Treat this like a port replacement as its flavours of black cherry, liquorice, coffee and barley cough sweets needs careful handling.
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© Paula Goddard 2017 www.paulagoddard.com
