You might not be particularly au fait with NZ wines, but now's the time to learn, and New Zealand Cellar's new bar is the place to do it. The good stuff will be available by the glass or by bottle, but the really great news is that you can buy the wines at retail price to drink at the bar's neighbours in Pop Brixton. It'll also host complimentary guided tastings and informal events, introducing us Brits to boutique Kiwi wineries and small production wines.
Luckily for cocktail enthusiasts all over the capital, small-batch distilling, along with London’s world-class bar scene, means the spirits business is soaring – and arguably bigger than it’s ever been. Capitalising on this is new off-license and tasting room Brahms & Liszt, set up by small-batch specialist Melanie Symonds in a former craft tequila distillery, which sells off-the-wall bottles of spirits and bitters the scale and diversity of which you’ll find hardly anywhere else. And, in a victory for the love of the product over financial nitpicking, trying before you buy is not only tolerated, but actively encouraged. If only all offies worked the same way, we think we’d probably be a lot happier. Although probably also a lot more drunk. Which is fine, too.
New Clapham wine bar Cellar.SW4 is an extension of the founder’s successful shop in Clapham North, which specialises in Antipodean and biodynamic wines.
Laura and Kiki of wine education service A Grape Night In have always been keen to improve your wine knowledge, so it makes sense they’d carry on the theme in their new wine bar Unwined. There’s a tasting table, an always-eclectic wine selection, and more than 50 bottles available to drink in and take away.
It’s 2015, and wine is changing and becoming more accessible all the time. Case in point: Vagabond – an ingenious café-cum-wine shop that on any given day has 100 different wines in enomatic machines. Load up a card, taste, and drink in for a set price, or take the bottle away for £10 less. A great way of getting to know new, exciting wines on a budget.
Husband-and-wife team Paola Tich and Mike Taylor have capitalised on the success of their Acton-based independent wine store Park+Bridge to open Vindinista, a bar offering an eclectic selection of both familiar and lesser-known names, from rioja to susumaniello. This is also the place to try “orange” wine (we hear it’s the new white). All the wines are available by the glass or carafe, but you can also buy a bottle from the store – handily located over the road – and drink it at Vindinista for a £10 surcharge.
Gone are the days of opening the beer fridge in an off-license and staring blankly. Here, the staff will talk you through recommendations based on your tastes, as well as presenting staff picks and even guiding you through homebrewing. That’s our kind of bottle shop.
