Tell us about the moment you first became interested in wine
There was no single moment of revelation – just a life spent constantly enjoying, being curious about and (greedily) pursuing food and drink. I think where wine has the edge for me is in its makers and their stories.
Describe your wine list at Bar Flor
Mediterranean-driven, mindful of provenance and practices, concise.
Over the course of your career, have you had any wine-related disasters?
At my old job I fell down the hatch into the cellar – disastrous for me and my shoulder, but less so for anyone else (thankfully).
Name your top three restaurant wine lists
Not a restaurant, but I really like the list at Lower in Waterloo; it stands out as somewhere a bit different. A lot of lists in London end up looking the same.I love the wines that Gergovie imports, so 40 Maltby Street is also a winner.Also Duck Soup in Soho.
Who do you most respect in the wine world?
Usually it’s the last winemaker I’ve had a conversation with. The life they live feels so precarious and so out of step with the world most of us exist in. I find it easy to romanticise what they do without losing any reverence. Months and years of labour go into creating these bottles we enjoy with ease in the comfort of a restaurant hundreds of miles away.
What’s the most interesting wine you’ve come across recently?
I really enjoyed drinking Clos Lentiscus Xarel-lo Domaine 2017 the other Sunday at Ancestrel in Forest Hill. Xarel-lo has this amazing mutability in different hands. This bottle had a richness that reminded me of the Chenins I love to drink, and the bottom of the bottle was this amazing apricot colour.
What are the three most overused tasting notes?
Mineral, vibrant and elegant (guilty of all three).
What’s the best value wine on your list at the moment?
Colet Navazos Reserva Brut Nature, Equipo Navazos 2020. It’s a traditional-method sparkling wine with a base of Chardonnay and 1% Palomino Fino, aged for 41 months with a little dosage of Manzanilla sherry. You could easily mistake it for a Champagne at a much higher price point.
What is your ultimate food and drink match?
Champagne and Morley’s chicken wings.
Old World or New World?
Old World.
What is your pet hate when it comes to wine service in other restaurants?
When they suggest they have other things open by the glass, but don’t – and also don’t offer to open something else. I think it’s great to have a short by-the-glass list and open things more fluidly, and to have conversations – but then please do that.
Who is your favourite producer right now?
I’m bad at picking favourites, but I’ve had a bit of a hyper-fixation on La Grange de l’Oncle Charles for a while. Their Alsatian wines are so beautiful, sherbet-y and moreish. I like a richer style of white, but sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach, and these wines are the sweet spot.
As a sommelier, what question do you most get asked by customers?
“Is this wine dry?”
Which wine-producing region or country is underrated at the moment?
Canary Islands wines are a pretty well-known “secret”, but wines from La Palma and Gran Canaria are maybe less considered than those from Tenerife and Lanzarote.
It’s your last meal and you can have a bottle of any wine in the world. What is it and why?
Definitely Champagne – but I haven’t drunk or lived enough life yet to have tried the best one.