Re discovering Nero d'Avola Anew with Marabino by Emily Harman →
“How have I never tasted Nero d’Avola like this before? Better yet, why are more people not making it, in this style?”
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UNFILTERED Christmas @ The Zetter - 6th Dec 2018
UNFILTERED is a travelling pop up organised by Sommelier Emily Harman (VinaLupa) that is all about drinking great wine at great prices. The events exclusively serve wine from Magnum and larger format at drastically lower prices that what you would pay in a restaurant or bar.
For this event - we are taking over a bigger space than usual, so we can welcome bigger groups.
There will be a full food menu available and we are taking a number of reservations for those who wish to eat. Olly Roberts is the DJ for the night and he will be bringing down a new selection of music (Disco, Soul, Funk, Groove) and we have a brand new wine list again, with some extra big bottles (jeroboams) this time for the festive period.
For those wishing to reserve for food, please email unfiltered@thezetter.com
No entry fee.
This one is going to be a big one.
Hallesches Haus, Berlin
Roast. Wine. Records
Hallesches Haus
25/09/16
from 1pm onwards
Join us for an afternon of Roast, Wine & Records!
Alan Micks, Head Chef at Michelberger Hotel on Warschauer Straße (Berlin) wil be cooking up a Sunday Roast Dinner on the 25th September at Hallesches Haus.
VinaLupa Wine Bar - all afternoon, we will be pouring of selection of wine from small, lesser known producers as well as fine wine from iconic and desired estates.
Records - Adam Purnell will be playing slow disco, boogie, funk and rare groove throughout the afternoon into the early evening.
VinaLupa at The Cooking Shed.
On July 22nd, The Cooking Shed and Emily have put together an exclusive evening of wine tasting. Kickin' off at 8pm with welcome drinks, followed by an hours talk from Emily. She will use four wines to demonstrat the basics of how to taste wine and omre importantly how to choose a wine that will complement your meals at home or when dining out. All wine will be accompanied by cheese and meat boards sourced from local suppliers with homemade chutneys from The Cooking Shed.
To book tickets: click here
The Cooking Shed is owned and run by self-taught cook and food writer, Regan Anderton. Regan works with a team of award-winning local suppliers to ensure high quality welfare standard and sustainable products are used in all dishes created there.
Two years ago Regan brought her son into the world and she quickly realised that food wasn't there purely for enjoyment, but also played an important role in our development and ongoing quality of life. With so many diets, media hype and misinformed nutrition and health advice, as well as the constant rising price of food, Regan started to feel that feeding a family had become a complicated, uninspiring minefield.
She realised that the teaching of kitchen skills had skipped a generation. With fewer children learning from their families and home economics no longer being an option in many schools, it’s no wonder we don't feel confident enough to experiment and enjoy time in the kitchen on our own - let alone together.
Regan created The Cooking Shed at the end of her garden to go some way to helping to change that. The Shed is intended to provide a haven for food and learning - to experiment, experience and enjoy the amazing flavours and skills that the world of food has to offer. Either on your own, or with your child. It's simply a bunch of people getting together, cooking real food and enjoying real experiences.
UNFILTERED at Super Brick Garage 13 - 16 May 2016
Magnums & motorbikes at UNFILTERED. Sun 15 May 2016.
Rory from Duck Soup selecting records on Sat 14 May 2016.
Emily Harman opening up a Jeroboam of Bellugue Rose. Sat 14 May 2016.
Sat 14 May 2016
Gemma and Libby getting ready for action on Sat 14 May 2016.
Busy Sunday afternoon at UNFILTERED. Sun 15 May 2016.
Amit Patel of Brilliant Corners playing music on Sun 15 May 2016.
Friday evening off to a busy start. Fri 13 May 2016.
Emily Harman (VinaLupa) & Mark Andrew (Noble Rot)
Winemaker Vincent Wallard dancing on Mon 16 May 2016.
Beautiful Donna of Brilliant Corners playing music on Mon 16 May 2016.
Busy balmy start to the night. Mon 16 May 2016.
Emily Harman and winemaker Tom Shobbrook. Mon 16 May 2016.
Magnum sabrage with Emily Harman. Sat 14 May 2016.
Busy bar. Fri 13 May 2016.
Set up and ready to go. Fri 13 May 2016.
Magnum enjoyment on Fri 13 May 2016.
Jan Hugel of Wild Things (Berlin) & Mark Andrew of Noble Rot (London) pouring wine on Sun 15 May 2016.
Magum enjoyment on Sat 14 May 2016.
Busy Saturday night - Sat 14 May 2016.
Winemakers Anton Van Klopper of Lucy Margaux Wines (centre) and Sean O'Callaghan of Riecine (right) on Mon 16 May 2016.
Kicking off on Fri 13 May 2016
Mark Andrew of Noble Rot, pouring wine for us on Sun 15 May 2016
Busy outdoors. Sun 15 May 2016.
Magnum enjoyment. Sun 15 May 2016
Interview with Ali Finch
Ali aged 25, has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Previously Assistant Head Sommelier at Michelin starred Murano, she is now Assistant Beverage Manager at Cubbitt House. Her approach to wine is dynamic, warm and well informed.
When did you first begin working with wine?
I had been working part-time for various hospitality companies during my last 2 years at university and after a post-graduation jolly around Australia - with my newly awarded WSET level 2 – I managed to sneak a job as a commis sommelier at Murano.
Marc-Andrea Levy and Bastien Ferreri whipped my arse in to some kind of service shape and after 2 years I became assistant head.
Within my first couple of weeks the restaurant hosted a special dinner with Jean-Charles Abbatucci and it was my first glimpse into just how much I could learn there, if I could only put up with the Frenchmen long enough.
How would you describe your style of service?
Over-excitable.
Guests know more about food and wine than ever before thanks to all the new openings, cheaper global travel, the number of television shows etc. and will not accept being talked down to.
The easiest way to engage someone enough that they trust your recommendations is through passion - for the wine, for the producer – and a genuine desire to fulfil the guest's needs.
Please can you describe an inspired wine moment?
Drinking what was probably the last bottle in existence of the mythical Els Jelipins White 2006 (from her neighbour’s old vines that were scrubbed up the following year) at the estate with some of my closest friends. It was an incredibly special day.
What advice/knowledge would you pass on to anyone who aspires to work with wine?
Taste lots and ask as many questions as you can.
Try to trust your own palate – we can only ever attempt to understand a wine through our own perception so if you like or don't like something, that's ok.
What do you think affects the experience of a guest the most (other than the wine itself)?
Some kind of backstory. We're emotional beings and it's beneficial to have something other than a physical reaction to a wine.
Lots of wine is technically well-made, emotion helps to distinguish what you want to drink or sell on a regular basis.
If you were to champion anything, what would it be? (e.g. region, grape, style etc)
I'm a bit of a sucker for Cabernet Franc
What do you enjoy most about the work that you do?
Watching that light go on when a guest or member of staff tastes a wine for the first time and they form an instant connection with it.
And obviously terrorising MAL(Mark Andrea Levy)…
What would be your wine choice in the following situations…
Desert Island?
Clos Rougeard "Les Poyeaux" - though it would be drunk quickly, before I burnt to a crisp
Picnic wine?
"Le Vallon", Henri Milan - in magnum, obviously!
Relaxation?
Vincent Dancer’s Bourgogne Blanc
Party Wine?
"Le Mont Benoit" by Emmanuel Brochet for some classy bubbles
Tell us your wine secret….
If there’s nothing good on offer, drink gin.
Interview with Bastien Ferreri
Bastien aged 25, is the Head Sommelier at Hibiscus, London. The wine list reflects his passion to source unique wines from small conscientious producers.
When did you first begin working with wine?
I started to step into the madness and passion of wine in 2007, in Provence.
After three years of catering school, I studied at Sommelier school in the Languedoc for two years whilst doing my apprenticeship in a 2 Michelin restaurant in Provence.
The place was rocking, buzzy, fun, and it had a huge wine list of wine from all over France. I visited lots of winemakers, wine bars, restaurants, distilleries, breweries, meat farmers etc. I became completely addicted to all of these gastronomical pleasures and discoveries!
How would you describe your style of service?
Well, this is never easy to answer, obviously my background and workplace represent Michelin’s fine dinning standards.
However, I have always been lucky enough to work in roles that allow me to express myself freely, with a massive funky twist!
Back of house, I am very sharp and organised, this allows me to 200% freestyle on the floor. I can provide our guests with a fun experience. We change the wines as often as we want to always showcase something new and exiting.
My only goal it to make sure our guests have a great time with fantastic drinks, delicious food, with a superb friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Please can you describe an inspired wine moment?
Sipping some Meursault 04 Coche Dury with my good friend Ludovic Engelvin, a piece of Saint Felicien cheese, during our afternoon break when we were both working in a restaurant in Provence.
What advice/knowledge would you pass on to anyone who aspires to work with wine?
Taste, taste, taste…..and draw maps again, again, again and again.
Try to spend time with the winemakers, by visiting their places or going to wine fairs/tastings as they will always be your best source of information.
Go out, explore, read but do not forget that real life happens around you, by talking with other professionals, customers, wine buyers….
(We all talk a bit more around a nice glass of wine too!)
What do you think affects the experience of a guest the most (other than the wine itself)?
I think the way in which you present a product is extremely important.
We're all bored of things that are too technical. For example when you read the back label of a packet whilst food shopping - you want simple and clear information. I apply the same idea when describing a dish or a wine - I try to be precise and technically perfect. I believe a sommelier is there to share his or her knowledge of the products, not to show off his knowledge.
Once again, I believe its really important to create a fun experience! And for that you need to really listen to your guests to understand their needs and wants (and more so to what they do not want!) to create a great experience.
If you were to champion anything, what would it be? (e.g. region, grape, style etc)
Good wine made by great people.
What do you enjoy most about the work that you do?
Every day is a different party!
I am very lucky to work in a creative environment with a regularly changing menu, that offers me the pleasure - and hard work - to change the wine selection very very often!
What would be your wine choice in the following situations…
Desert Island?
A fresh and flinty Pinot Blanc by Schueller in Alsace (in case I get my hands on some massive oysters!).
Picnic wine?
A super juicy, explosive Barbera by Cascina Tavijn.
Relaxation?
A delicately sweet Jurancon by Souch with a few years in bottle.
Party Wine?
Casot des Mailloles, Canta Mañana Rosé, this wine will make you go crazy ! We say “Le Canta ça rend Fada”
Tell us your wine secret….
Plooop (sounds when you open a bottle).
Natural Dilution by Josh Elias
Stepping outside his usual role of editor of Alquimie Magazine, Josh Elias talks candidly on his affections for ‘natural’ products.
I have a beard and I wear Oliver People’s glasses. I’m part of ‘new wave’ media and I love to drink Riesling. I used to be the stock in trade of punch pushing sommeliers and now I write. My horoscope projects a daily love of ‘natural’ wine and indeed, I love gulping the good stuff. What I’m not so fond of is the label for this category of wine. ‘Natural Wine’?
‘Natural wine’ is a movement that is very much defined by what it isn’t; no pesticides in the vineyards, no additives in the winery, no critics, no ‘winemakers’. ‘Natural wine’ is a truly democratic movement. You heard me. It is democratic. No listen to me, you aren’t listening. It is democratic. By the people, for the people. It is a new wave. A revolution and so “the beat goes on, yes the beat goes on.” – Macho Man Randy Savage
I can’t help but be repulsed by the general aura of vociferous and sycophantic ‘realism’ that has piggybacked on this particular wine category. By creation of the category, it seemingly renders all other wine ‘synthesized’? As an asthmatic, I can speak to ill-affects of excessive sulphur-dioxide levels in wine. However, does the inclusion of any additive render a product artificial? What then of dried fruit? It’s not quite grape drink vs grape juice is it? Consult Dave Chapelle on those definitions.
No doubt, the most industrialized bulk produced wine undergoes a plethora of mechanical intervention. With modern technology, almost any element of a wine can be manipulated. No doubt, this is something more consumers should be alerted to. However, I’d have thought that this distinction is amply covered by organic and biodynamic certifications without the need for a new religious sect.
I’m wary that this little rant is like sticking my hand into Rudolph Steiner’s beehive, so I’ll tread carefully on this most sacrosanct turf. I’ll draw my subtle line in the elusive continuum of the many first world wrong’s scratched into my soul. The dogma that has become the ‘natural’ wine Conga line, I believe, is it’s own worst enemy.
For all of us that read about wine, which includes you, yes you, most importantly, you, we learn to embrace the beauty of the variables; the vineyard, the vintage, the varieties, the peacefulness of the land, the fauna, the flora, the richness of agriculture and between all of us, almost anything and everything that makes wine such a true and agriculturally reflective beverage.
I contend that the moniker of ‘natural wine’ is the witness protection for wine. Once it is categorized as such, the variables that went into the production of the wine, most frequently, disappear. They are swept under the iron curtain of ‘natural’. They are marketed to the consumer as ‘wine… but… a new type of wine’. The grape varieties; unimportant. The vineyard; some place. The vibe; natural. At best, it initiates some of ‘less-initiated’. Join us. Be included. And even then, would you consider yourself one of the ‘unfortunately’ less initiated?
To borrow / mis-appropriate / steal / vandalize a quote from Kurt Vonnegut – “It was sort of ice-cream cone on fire.”
The artisans and vignerons that make this sort of wine, I’m fairly confident, largely disregard the label of ‘natural’ wine. They craft a wine that suits their expression and they largely do so, in solitude. It’s the chanting masses marching behind them, in cities far away from their vineyards, that need chiropractic re-adjustment.
Take for example two of the elder-statesmen cast under the projected moniker of natural within the Australian Wine Industry; Anton Van Klopper and Tom Shobbrook. They are two, very different men, so amazingly vibrant, richly engaging bounties of humanity. When Tom hugs you, it is a sort of warm human blanket of an embrace that shifts internal organs and bestows happiness upon the recipient. Anton on the other hand, is seasoned to the point of piquant. He’ll talk you through the night until all but his consciousness waiver. They are real people, every bit as much as Michel Rolland or Aubert de Villaine.
Their wines shine in the glass. Tom’s Didi Giallo; a golden yellow sort of Sauvignon Blanc elixir with tropical notes, herbal complexity and lip-smacking acidity - it is a delicious drink. The hedonistic fruit reflects the Australian sunshine. It speaks of with bold personality of a variety, a place and a friendliness. It’s so much more than ‘natural’. On the other hand, I enjoyed a gander at Anton’s 2014 Lucy Margaux Syrah at a wine bar recently. The wine is bristling with cherry and plum fruit, anise spice and sappy tannin. The wine is a rich, bold and an irresistible juggernaut of energy.
Anton’s wine is crafted in the Adelaide Hills and Tom’s in the Barossa Valley. The wines are expressions of those people, their place, their grapes and they evoke unique, beautiful and different reactions.
The modern wine critic champions crisp fruit, clean acidity and freshness. I too search for wines with ‘vitality’. A slogan not unlike that of an Australian supermarket chain, we are the fresh wine people. What of it? What relevance is this to the moniker of ‘natural’ wine? In fact, when ‘Natural Wine’ is pronounced in the accent of an Australian wine-judge, the phrase can infer microbial fault or oxidized juice. To this extent, natural is a prerogative term. Go figure. All of a sudden you are part of the gang. But apparently gang smells like wet Band-Aids?
I’ve watched consultant winemakers pull their hair out about certain ‘natural’ wines only to praise others. I’ve seen battle hardened wine critics do the same about bulk produced, super-market wines. Surely, producer must be our first consideration, not ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ or ‘kosher’…. I jest. We all respect Kosher wine. (mood is sarcastic)
The mood is now serious.
Natural wine deserves neither special treatment nor prejudice. It should be welcomed into the fold of all the wines of the world, if that would be diluting the brand, so be it.
The wine is here to stay, the label, not.
