Staying central this week with a Italian tipple or two at Il Baretto on Blandford St in Marleybone from 7pm this Wednesday 28 April. Address is 43 Blandford Street London W1U 7HF and closest tube station is Bond Street. See you there.
To give you a little heads up we’re likely to head south to Green & Blue (Clapham North) on the 12 May and then east (Islington) on the 26 May for some tasting at “The Sampler” before we take a few bottle on to a local restaurant. More details to follow . . .
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Two Halves at St John
In the place known for bringing hearty British food back into fashion we hardly managed to get beyond the wine list . . .
Sunday, 11 April 2010
St. John Bar & Restaurant
Simple food, an architecturally inspired space and good wine . . . St. John Bar and Restaurant promises to deliver what we love best in a classy setting. If the weather is as good as last week it may be standing room only so I’ve booked a table. In an old smokehouse near Smithfield Meat Market this establishment takes its name from the street it resides on, actual address is 26 St. John Street, London EC1M 4AY (don’t get confused there is also one in Spitalfields). Look forward to seeing you there.
Belle Époque
Stepping into what are a very big pair of shoes (or possible an even larger pair of red pants) we embarked on WoW without its founder and brainchild. Ant, I can safely say we have not sold out. A hitherto undiscovered wine bar, some good company and lively conversation. It is always good to have a couple of WoW freshers and they came with fear of having to talk about Tattinger and tannins all night. To their relief the chat remained as simple as our choice of wine (and the A20 and EC2 are just the names of wines on the Bedford & Strand wine list not some complex wine terminology). We started on the Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir and stuck to it all night. It hails from the Napa in California (an area I know so little about) and takes it names from a bicycle inspired by the Belle Époque era that was “a celebration of the freedom and happiness that pervaded Europe in the late 19th century”. We didn’t come up with any such life-changing inventions but we did solve the problems of the world. The pinot was soft and plummy like an Aussie merlot but had complexity probably more expected of its Central Otago relatives. In short, good wine.
Monday, 22 March 2010
What's in a name?
Wine on Wednesday is on this week, 24 March from 7pm. The venue is Bedford and Strand, a well-established wine bar near Covent Garden that apparently avoids the tourist crowd. Needless to say there are plenty of wines on offer including an A20, an EC2 and a "Middle of Everywhere" Shiraz but I think I'll be hard pressed not to try the Gladiator.
Look forward to seeing you there,
Charlie
Who What When Where Wine
WoW! What a big, wonderful night.
First, the venue - Wine Wharf, what can only be described as bustling, with an extensive wine list worth checking out. No surprise it's attached to Vinopolis and in Borough Market territory.
Next, the wine - we certainly went around the world in this department. In this respect, on a personal note, it felt more than fitting as my farewell to London wine nights as we hit a great variety of vinos. Some highlights included:
* "Little Beauty" Pinot Noir from Marlborough in New Zealand, courtesy of Ralphy and in honour of Mike Perry's love of this grape variety and the kiwis in attendance.
* A Serbian red, courtesy of Allana (though she wasn't happy with this particular drop, it was great to explore a less frequented wine spot on the globe).
* The 2006 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, the smooth Italian red headlining the formal tasting at the start of the night.
The other wine which stuck in my head from the night was when proceedings had moved on to The Hide Bar in Bermondsey Street - a 2006 Francis Ford Coppola Director's Cut Zinfandel from California. Lovely, smooth and one to keep an eye out for and try. Zinfandel is America's answer to Italy's Primitivo red grape and this one is a beauty.
Last but not least, the people - like the wines a great mix and made the night. Thanks to all for coming.
Keep enjoying your wine, each other and the times and places you do it.
Cheers
Anto
First, the venue - Wine Wharf, what can only be described as bustling, with an extensive wine list worth checking out. No surprise it's attached to Vinopolis and in Borough Market territory.
Next, the wine - we certainly went around the world in this department. In this respect, on a personal note, it felt more than fitting as my farewell to London wine nights as we hit a great variety of vinos. Some highlights included:
* "Little Beauty" Pinot Noir from Marlborough in New Zealand, courtesy of Ralphy and in honour of Mike Perry's love of this grape variety and the kiwis in attendance.
* A Serbian red, courtesy of Allana (though she wasn't happy with this particular drop, it was great to explore a less frequented wine spot on the globe).
* The 2006 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, the smooth Italian red headlining the formal tasting at the start of the night.
The other wine which stuck in my head from the night was when proceedings had moved on to The Hide Bar in Bermondsey Street - a 2006 Francis Ford Coppola Director's Cut Zinfandel from California. Lovely, smooth and one to keep an eye out for and try. Zinfandel is America's answer to Italy's Primitivo red grape and this one is a beauty.
Last but not least, the people - like the wines a great mix and made the night. Thanks to all for coming.
Keep enjoying your wine, each other and the times and places you do it.
Cheers
Anto
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
WWF
Wine Wharf Finale. Next Wednesday's WoW (so 10 March 2010), we're heading London Bridge way to the wonderful Wine Wharf - attached to Vinopolis, it's the wine bar you enter from Borough Market side.
http://www.winewharf.com/
I've organised a formal tasting to kick-off of the night at 6:30pm, so please let me know if you're interested in that (further details below) or just come along as usual around 7:30pm for a mid-week vino.
I hope to see as many of you at some stage on the night as possible and share a wine with you as next Wednesday is the final WoW for me before heading back to Australia later in the month. So, though WoW will remain (under the careful guide of my brother, Charlie), I will be bidding farewell to London.
The tasting, for those keen, is run by the Wharf's own sommelier who covers six wines over the course of an hour and costs £25 per person. Again, please just confirm with me if you intend on coming to this so I can advise them of the numbers.
Cheers
Ant
http://www.winewharf.com/
I've organised a formal tasting to kick-off of the night at 6:30pm, so please let me know if you're interested in that (further details below) or just come along as usual around 7:30pm for a mid-week vino.
I hope to see as many of you at some stage on the night as possible and share a wine with you as next Wednesday is the final WoW for me before heading back to Australia later in the month. So, though WoW will remain (under the careful guide of my brother, Charlie), I will be bidding farewell to London.
The tasting, for those keen, is run by the Wharf's own sommelier who covers six wines over the course of an hour and costs £25 per person. Again, please just confirm with me if you intend on coming to this so I can advise them of the numbers.
Cheers
Ant
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