Tell us about the moment you first became interested in wine.
It was something that really crept up on me. From a young age, I started to become obsessed with food and wanted to explore as much as possible. Heading to university and cooking for myself, that passion developed. When my parents moved out to Spain, wine became a very important part of the visit, whether we dined at home or ate out in restaurants. Tempranillo has become a very ‘homely’ grape because of this. Other moments that stand out for me include a tasting I attended at a restaurant where I was working, and being the only one to nail the lychee flavour in the Gewurztraminer, something I’d picked up from Thai food, and I started to realise there was much more to wine than I’d originally thought.
Describe your wine list at The Black Bull?
The wine list is very personal to me. It would be easier to have a fixed list, but the passion we have for the wines we offer would not shine through. We embrace cloudy, funky wines are focused on organic, biodynamic, ‘natural’ wines, and with a particular preference for smaller producers. I think people forget wine production is just another type of farming, and as with all the produce we use in the restaurant, those farming processes are important. That said, I also keep certain customers in mind, and include some ‘comfort classics,’ much like the beef pie on our à la carte menu. The ever-changing wines by the glass allow both staff and customers to sample something different and build their own palate. France and Italy, classically, do take up a good chunk of the list, with some fantastic producers in both countries producing some of the world’s best organic, biodynamic, and natural wines. However, you will also see a focus on Germanic, Central and Eastern European wines too.
Over the course of your career, have you had any wine-related disasters?
Not so much a disaster but misunderstandings. Some of our more natural wines can throw some of our customers. We serve some cloudy, funky, and tart wines, and some people still don’t get that it’s a real thing and not a flaw. Part of the problem is that some people see a cloudy wine and instantly presume it’s not right, and that impacts their first taste.
Name your top three restaurant wine lists
L’Enclume in Cumbria, Where The Light Gets In in Stockport and Wild Izakaya in London.
Who do you most respect in the wine world?
Anybody who sticks to their guns and produces what they feel is right. It has a habit of coming right in the end, and people will start to follow.
What’s the most interesting wine you’ve come across recently?
Not wine, but sake. I’m currently travelling down a new rabbit hole and trying to learn as fast as I can. I struggled with it for a long time, but something just clicked recently, and I’ve started to crave it more and more. As with wine, there is a huge amount of variety to explore with a rich, interesting history. The variety of flavours and styles you can get from rice is mind-blowing. It’s also great for food pairings, eastern or western.
What are the three most overused tasting notes?
Salty, tart and apple.
What’s the best value wine on your list at the moment?
We have so many on our list. There are a lot of hidden gems within the cellar list. Some tiny production, rare vintages that are just a steal at our prices. Allante & Boulanger, Amalgamè Gamay/ Poulsard 2018 is a great example among many.
What is your ultimate food and drink match?
Beaujolais and Brie, with a bit of cured meat and sourdough on the side. For my palate, at least, there’s something about the combination of Gamay and funky soft cheeses that elevates both.
Old World or New World?
Old World but in the new style.
What is your pet hate when it comes to wine service in other restaurants?
Stuffy service. It doesn’t have to be. Wine is there to be enjoyed and shouldn’t be a ritual. I understand it does have its place, in the right environment and that shouldn’t be lost, but the majority of the time wine service should be a laid-back affair.
Who is your favourite producer right now? (and why?)
That’s an easy one, Strekov 1075 (in Slovakia). All the wines of Zsolt Sütó I’ve tried have been a delight. There’s something so unique about them that you can’t you just can’t pinpoint what it is. It’s strange. They are so drinkable; you can just imagine sitting with friends drinking them without a care in the world, yet if you sit back and think about them, they are actually pretty complex and have a lot going on. His Veltín, Grüner Veltliner, is something else, as is his Portugal, Blauer Portugieser, but his field blend ‘Fred’ series is such a reasonably priced and accessible wine.
At The Black Bull, what question do you most get asked by customers?
Where do you find this wine? As a lot of our producers are small, niche and a little unusual, and people just can’t get their heads around how you’ve put the menu together.
Which wine-producing region or country is underrated at the moment?
Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia. The wines I’ve been drinking from these countries just seem to be alive. These are countries that have been producing wines for 1000s of years, some before the Romans, yet we barely know anything about their wines. History hasn’t been kind to winemaking in these regions for various reasons, such as disease, war, and the introduction of mass production. Happily, there are now some very exciting producers coming from these countries.
It’s your last meal, and you can have a bottle of any wine in the world. What is it and why?
Grower Champagne, you’d have to celebrate and what better way? Benoît Lahaye, Jardin de la Grosse Pierre Bouzy Grand Cru would do the trick just nicely.