Cork & Bottle (Jamies)

Well, in my efforts to find new locations and bars I took a few hours on the internet researching wine bars in London trying to find the next locations for our events.  I decided on Jamies St Martins Place as they had a substantial wine list, a central location and some good food options, also, the photos on the web looked promising.  Unfortunately, when I got there the place turned out to be an after work bar.  Loud music and very crowded.  I got a glass of extremely average Chardonnay (for £8) and waited for everyone to show.  After 5 minutes I knew we couldn’t stay as we couldn’t have the kind of social occasion we were after and decided a last minute venue change was called for.  As we were only a couple of minutes’ walk from one of my favourite wine bars, the solution was simple….Cork and Bottle (C&B).

There were 5 of us in total which doesn’t sound a lot, but if you know C&B, without a booking it was a tight squeeze.  Although busy as usual, the staff were hugely accommodating and the evening was a success.  Fortunately, none of the other WoW patrons had been to C&B before which meant everyone was very happy to learn of an amazing wine bar in the heartland of tourist and tack.

Thanks to Burnsy, my new-found love for Pinot Noir prompted me to choose a Burgundy to start, which we followed with Cote-du-Rhone, an obligatory Argentinian Malbec and finishing with something different, a Negroamaro from Puglia.  We accompanied these with a cheese selection from the cheese counter and a charcuterie board.

After the inauspicious start to the evening we had a great time and Cork & Bottle stays as one of the places to go for wine in London.  (On the way out a I bought a couple of my favourite La Crema Chardonnays).

Cheers,

John.

WOW for WoW!!! (The Sampler)

Back in January, we had a night of wine and food at The Sampler in South Kensington and what a great place.  I found this place by accident when Dave and I took Sam to the Natural History Museum and thought we’d give it a try.

With a fantastic wine list, accompanied by an assortment of French style snacks (cheese, meats, pate, etc) and a basement seating area, I can’t recommend this place highly enough.  There’s no wine list as such as it is a wine shop at ground floor and any wine can be bought to drink downstairs with a £7.50 corkage fee.  In addition to this, they also have a number of tasting machines, with 80 different wines to try, including an “icon” which includes 8 iconic wines to try.

From the machines I tried a glass of The Cream by First Drop, a top shelf shiraz from the Barossa.  We also had a bottle of Bramare Malbec from Argentina, a large Italian Barbera and an equally enjoyable Amorone.

All I can say is, next chance you get, check this place out for an evening, hugely enjoyable!

Cheers,

John.

Winter Wine Warmer

Hi All,

I know it's been a long break but it's time for another evening of Wine on Wednesday.  The next event will be this coming Wednesday, 27th March:

Jamies Wine Bar - St Martins Lane
63-66 St Martins Lane,
WC2N 4JS.

I hope to see as many of you there as possible. As always, please let me know if you'll be available as I need to confirm an area.

Cheers,

John.

Gerald's Bar (Melbourne)

During  our recent trip down under we had the opportunity to celebrate an event spontaneously with the WoW in house artist Vincent van Chaz.

We headed to Gerald’s Bar in Carlton North, an inconspicuous surrounding with a flamboyant wine menu.  The ambience was unquestionably Melbourne (having been there for 2 days I had already worked out that “Melbourne’s too cool”).   What a great place, though, exemplified by the wine-by-the-glass policy (determined by the first orders of the night, with the first bubbles and the first 3 reds and whites ordered).

 

We went with a bottle of Efferus from Ruggabellus, a very drinkable and enjoyable red blend.   We partnered this with some chocolate for some reason.  When drinking with an artist anything can happen.

Cheers,

John.

Vats Wine Bar – 17th October 2012

Well, it’s been a long time since I updated the blog with our last event.  Unfortunately, since then I’ve been off in Australia and Germany so apologies for disappearing.

Back in October, we had an evening at Vats Wine Bar over near Russell Square.  All I can say is make sure if you’re in the area that you check this place out, a great set-up with an equally-impressive wine list.

The evening started out as a family reunion with just myself , my brother and my mum, but turned into a great night with the addition of a few familiar faces as well as a couple of newbies.

We tried some really nice wines, with the Montagny and the Saint Emilion the real crowd pleasers.

Thanks to all who showed up, look forward to seeing you at the next event, cheers,

JG.

Vats Wine Bar

Unfortunately the weather is changing, not a good time of year for many reasons, however, as the colder weather drives us indoors and the clocks go back to deliver darkness both before and after work, it’s time for another season of Wine on Wednesday.

I thought we should start somewhere fairly central and the next venue will be Vats Wine Bar between Russell Square and Holborn tube stations.  Set near the Piccadilly and Central lines should make it easy to get to and from for all.

Vats Wine Bar

Wednesday 17^th October – From 6:30PM

51 Lambs Conduit St

WC1N 3NB

I have added a few names to the invite list and for the information of the newcomers, Wine on Wednesday is an informal get-together of people (roughly once a month) who enjoy wine in a social environment.  There’re no rules or set ways, typically, we take turns buying bottles of wine from the list and sharing with the others in the group, which allows the opportunity to taste a variety of wines.  The events vary depending on the venue and number of attendees, however, we keep a very relaxed atmosphere.  From time to time I will try to book us on a formal event such as a tasting, although this is not very common.  Wine knowledge is not important, the only requirement is a willingness to have a good time.  Wine discussion is typically kept to a minimum, so don’t be concerned if you can’t tell a Chardonnay from a Semillon.

Once again, I would love for as many to come along as possible, but need to confirm numbers prior to the day to guarantee a place so please let me know if you're interested in coming.  Likewise, please invite friends or colleagues you think may be interested in coming along to have a great evening in a different venue to meet new people and try some new (or old favourite) wines.

Cheers,

John.

(White) Wine Wharf on Wednesday

The night started with a quick tour up the Shard for Dave and Jonny and continued on to Wine Wharf, followed by a bight to eat at Applebees.

As it was a warm, muggy evening we started with an Australian Verdelho and this set the white wine trend for the evening as we followed this with Chardonnays from America (La Crema Monterey which turned out to be the firm crowd favourite) and Bulgaria and finishing with a couple of French Sauvignon Blancs.  The Bulgarian wine turned out to be very easy drinking and pleasant.  Unfortunately, it was a bit lost as we drank it following the much larger Monterey number.

Applebees, if you’ve never been is a fish restaurant in Borough Market which has a great menu and friendly staff.

Another enjoyable WoW, sorry for the late notice, I’ll try and give a bit more notice for the next event.

Cheers,
JG.