Tell us about the moment you first became interested in wine
My first trip to Napa – I was hooked. One of my best mates and I drove up from San Francisco to explore it, and I completely fell for an off-dry V. Sattui Riesling. I didn’t really know anything about wine at the time, but I loved that juicy baby so much.
Describe your wine list at MOR
Having recently joined Hi-Story Hospitality, the MOR list isn’t entirely mine. It’s a collaboration between my colleague Carolina Seibel and me, and is a celebration of the ocean and Cornwall’s local cuisine. Naturally, the list features plenty of white wines. We also rock sake by the bottle and glass, which complements the sashimi and oysters beautifully.
Over the course of your career, have you had any wine-related disasters?
In my early days as a sommelier, I dropped a tray of glasses on a British celebrity. Thankfully, he had generous hair, so the glasses bounced off his head before falling and breaking on the floor. He laughed it off, but I was humiliated and removed from service for the night.
Name your top three restaurant wine lists (excluding your own!)
Bar Blondie, Mountain and OMA, all in London.
Who do you most respect in the wine world?
Any woman who has braved and succeeded in this male-dominated business and is now helping to lead it. Many of them are my mates, and I admire and respect them tremendously.
What’s the most interesting wine you’ve come across recently?
Yamada Juro Plum Sake. It has a sort of sweet-and-sour chicken profile – without the chicken. It’s savoury, sweet and sour, with bell pepper and a touch of fortified character. It’s complex and exciting to pair with food.
What are the three most overused tasting notes?
Toasty, dry and acidic.
What’s the best-value wine on your list at the moment?
All our sparkling wines by the glass offer good value. La Grande Dame Rosé 2018 is particularly well priced at £48 for a glass of prestige Champagne. As a sommelier ambassador for the brand, I’m able to offer it to our guests at a great price. Affordable Champagne is a must on a list, as is making prestige cuvées accessible.
What is your ultimate food and drink match?
High acidity and fried food. I love our McMOR fried fish sandwich – our take on the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish – with a chilled glass of Triennes Rosé from Diana Snowden. I came back to that pairing all summer.
Old World or New World?
Tough one! New World for the bones, as an American girl, but Old World for the heart.
What is your pet hate when it comes to wine service in other restaurants?
Boring communication and dated, old-school wine chat.
Who is your favourite producer right now?
I’m on team volcanic wine. I love Jonatan García Lima’s wines from Gran Canaria’s Bodega Tamerán and Tenerife’s Suertes del Marqués, but I’m also a big fan of the Azores Wine Company. The wines are salty, mineral and taste like the ocean.
As a group head of wine, what question do you get asked most often by customers?
People often ask what I drink when I’m off duty. I go through waves, but currently I love a dirty Konik’s Tail vodka martini.
Which wine-producing region or country is underrated at the moment?
Jerez. Sherry, particularly Palomino, is such a delicious gastronomic wine, but it gets no attention. It works from the start to the end of a meal and is great with almost anything. From old-school producers to smaller independents, I rate it all. It’s also great in a cocktail.
It’s your last meal and you can have a bottle of any wine in the world. What is it and why?
A birth-year DRC. It would bring things full circle, from start to finish – and I’d drink it with a fat cheeseburger. I don’t even eat red meat.