If you're a thirsty Londoner, you'll know that it’s not just red, white and rosé that are celebrated at wine bars around the capital. Fortified wines from around the world are enjoying some well-deserved time in the sun lately – and nowhere more so than this brand-new sherry bar from the brains behind Worship St Whistling Shop and Black Rock. SACK, which shares an address with the latter, serves up some great-value Spanish wines, but really hangs its hat on sherry. The menu's compact, but there’s opportunity here to really get to know the quintessential Spanish fortified wine through different expressions available by the glass, half bottle or full bottle.
LWW £5 wine flight: Disco Sherry Flight – taste your way through three stunning sherries from Jerez, Spain's home of sherry.
Photograph by Addie Chinn
There's no end of food and drink options at this sprawling venue, which consists of a café, restaurant and two wine and cocktail bars – as well as a pizzeria that does takeaway. Upstairs, you can make your way through some great Italian wines permanently on its list, but if you want something quicker, cheaper or more experimental (or any combination of the three), visit the ground floor bar, where you'll find 12 rotating guest wines on tap from craft winemakers.
LWW £5 wine flight: Choose any three of 12 wines on tap – proof that it doesn't need to come with a cork.
You'd be forgiven for being in the dark about this boutique wine bar – that's because it's hidden away beneath The Tea House on Stoke Newington's Church Street. It's all about cheese and wine here – a safe combination, if you ask us – so dig into some cheese and crusty bread and wash it down with something delicious. There's even a cellar, if you want to store wine by the bottle.
LWW £5 wine flight: Bouverie's Finest Summer Sips – a crisp chablis, a smoky, smooth malbec from Mendoza and a fruity special reserve carmenère from Chile.
The dishes of Tuscany are always flavoursome and moreish – especially at this Brick Lane restaurant, which serves up a menu of Tuscan small plates as well as artisanal charcuterie and cheese. There's also a craft edge to its wine offering, with a focus on natural, organic and biodynamic wines from small producers back in Italy, chosen to perfectly complement the snacking-style menu.
LWW £5 wine flight: Taste Tuscany in Colours – discover the flavours of Chianti with three wines from natural/organic vineyards.
If you're an oenophile, the '68' of 68 & Boston will be the part that piques your interest. This is the venue's wine bar, while Boston is the first-floor cocktail lounge. At 68, it's all about choice: there are always 25 different wines available for £20 per bottle, as well as 45 different ones available by the glass. That doesn’t mean they’re all designed to be wallet-friendly first and foremost, however – there are options north of £30 if you want to try something a bit more premium, and a fine wines cellar for really special occasions, too.
LWW £5 wine flight: World Traveller – journey around the world in a glass, with three wines from Chile, Portugal and Alsace.
Now in its fourth year, London Wine Week hosts a varied line-up of festivities, including its famous Wine Tours – £5 wine flights and Sip & Snack food pairings in more than 125 of the capital's best wine bars.
These offers are available exclusively when you purchase a £10 Festival Pass from Drinkup.London. Foodism readers get 25% off with code FOODISM-LWW17
