Brown Paper Bag Party

It has been a long time since my parents had one of their big get togethers. When we were kids, and teens, and even twenties, there were any number of parties during the year that we were all invited to and would attend. Australia Day at the Toms' home was always a highlight, and Anzac Day at our house was also great. With much of the old group beaking up and moving away, or in some cases even passing on, these parties have become a bit of a thing of the past.

However, today, for the first time in a long, long time, Mum & Dad hosted one of their famous "brown paper bag" parties.
Ah, I hear you ask, "What the hell is a brown paper bag party?!"
Well, every couple who come must bring with them a bottle of red wine. There is no specification as to what kind of red wine it is, nor how... good... it has to be. The bottle is wrapped in a brown paper bag so that the label cannot be seen, and each is designated a letter. Then, throughout the day, you have a 'taste' of each of the bottles on offer, and mark them accordingly out of five as to what you think of it. Once the bottles are empty, they are unwrapped for all to see, and their score is averaged out. At the end, you can see exactly which you thought was the best, without being swayed by  a label or price or anything like that. It's a good way to discover new wines by taste only, and a good social event.

The scores mount up

The weather was perfect for the outdoor event, and I caught up with a lot of family friends who I hadn't seen in 10-20 years, so it was a good afternoon.

I managed to try all 12 wines on offer, and found most to be pretty good. (surpise surprise). The winner turned out to be a 2010 Robertson's Well Shiraz. Current price at Dan Murphy's is $13.75 a bottle, so probably worth a couple of investments.

Later in the afternoon Tony and I took the kids over to Minnamurra River for a dip as tghe tide came in. I was amazed that the water was so warm for this time of year, and the kids enjoyed the swim.

To top off the weekend, we came back in time to watch the Eels pulverise the Warriors 40-10 in their first round clash in the NRL. After last season, what an amazing start to the new season. Their real form will be judged by their performance against Canterbury on Thursday night.

Also - here's a photo of Maddie playing around with the sprinkler this morning, just like we used to as kids, well before they brought in all of these nasty water restrictions.