Tell us about the moment you first became interested in wine
There’s a photo of me in my parents’ cellar (in South Africa), aged about one and a half. The caption in the photo album is ‘cellar master Donald’, so I guess I’ve been interested for longer than I can actually remember.
Describe your wine list at Nora
With Nora we wanted a wine list that celebrated the unique viticultural diversity of Anatolia, whilst also taking the opportunity to recontextualise the way winemaking history has been presented in wine list form in the last decade or so. Anatolia has played such a key role in the spread of viticulture across Europe, but we in Western Europe seem oddly blind to its influence on winemaking culture, both due to our baffling indifference to the glories of the Byzantine Empire and the neglect the region underwent during the Ottoman years. As such, it has been wonderful to write a list with Turkish wines front and centre, alongside Eastern Mediterranean neighbours, ex-Byzantine provinces and countries with large diasporic Turkish populations, adding extra colour and diversity. Essentially, a list that encapsulates Türkiye, both modern and ancient.
Over the course of your career, have you had any wine-related disasters?
I still occasionally get a flashback to the time in my first sommelier position at the Hotel du Vin in Brighton when I dropped a bottle of Pouilly-Fumé onto a magnum of Henri Giraud Fûts du Chêne. Suffice to say, the bottle of Pouilly-Fumé was fine. That, and the time I arrived at work to find out I’d accidentally ordered 36 cases of White Port instead of 36 bottles.
Name your top three restaurant wine lists
OMA – a list I can lose myself in. I love the fact that it exists in a way that it probably couldn’t have done even 15 years ago. Cloth – honestly some of the best-value vintage Port in London, plus their German Riesling selection is phenomenal. Quality Wines – I always know that Marcos (Spyrou) will have something I’ve never tried before and that I’ll love it.
Who do you most respect in the wine world?
Probably Queena Wong, who’s quietly been battling to make the world of wine a better (and more diverse) place for years now.
What’s the most interesting wine you’ve come across recently?
Yaban Kollektiv rosé 2023. It’s a saignée rosé drawn from three different ferments from parcels of old indigenous Turkish varieties across the country: Patkara, Erciş Karası and Karasakız. Not only is it part of a conversation about the fight to save old vines across Anatolia, but it’s also a fantastically complex and textural rosé which is so up my street it’s silly.
What are the three most overused tasting notes?
Mineral, saline and textured. They’re also three of the words I use the most.
What’s the best value wine on your list at the moment?
I’m going to go with the Çal Karası from Kuzubağ. They’re a small family winery in the Denizli region (Aegean coast of Anatolia), and every time I taste the wine I’m shocked at quite how charming and delicious it is for about half what a similar wine would cost elsewhere. Çal Karası is genetically almost identical to Liatiko, which we find in Crete. It’s quite a pale variety and makes wines that taste like an abstraction of Juliénas: all succulent cherries, violets and the most delicate floral edge.
What is your ultimate food and drink match?
Vintage rosé Champagne (preferably a paler style) with venison tartare.
Old World or New World?
Given my longstanding interest in the origins of ancient viticulture, I’m going to say the Old World, though I have a proper love for South Africa.
What is your pet hate when it comes to wine service in other restaurants?
When I don’t get comped Champagne on arrival. I jest – it’s actually serving red wine too warm.
Who is your favourite producer right now? (and why?)
I am a little bit in love with a chap called Cyril Sevin. He’s an ex-maths teacher who makes gorgeous wines in Cheverny, the labels of which have a wonderful 1970s progressive maths department poster vibe that I adore.
As a sommelier, what question do you most get asked by customers?
Probably a toss-up between whether the dry Riesling is actually dry and exactly how pale the Provençal rosé really is.
Which wine producing region or country is underrated at the moment?
Germany. Specifically Mosel Kabinetts. Nowhere else seems able to make these wines that dance between delicate sweetness, perfectly poised acidity and terroir expression for days. What’s more, they’re only about 7.5% abv. Why can’t we sell them? Because, for some reason, consumers are terrified that their Riesling might have a touch of sweetness to it.
It’s your last meal and you can have a bottle of any wine in the world. What is it and why?
83 Margaux out of magnum. Why? Of the Bordelais first growths, there’s something alluring about Margaux: an understatement that the others often lack, a come-hither nature to the perfume and a structure that’s just perfectly hidden. I take 83 over 82 as, in Margaux, for me it edges its slightly more powerful brother. And we drink it in magnum not only because it’s my last meal and I’d like to take my time, but also because, as these wines nudge towards their half-centuries, the magic of magnum ageing means they sparkle just that bit more.