Tell us about the moment you first became interested in wine
I’d already been working in hospitality for a little while when I joined Castle Terrace in Edinburgh. The wine list featured more than 300 producers, and the passion the sommeliers showed day in, day out opened my eyes to the daunting but incredibly exciting scale of the wine world.
Describe your wine list at Whirlybird
It’s accessible to the everyday wine drinker but also offers the chance to explore some highly sought-after wines. The list is always changing, with an emphasis on winemakers who take a biodynamic approach.
Over the course of your career, have you had any wine-related disasters?
I still break out in a cold sweat thinking about the time I broke the cork on a magnum of Saint-Julien from the early ’90s. In front of a silent, staring group in the private dining room, I made the job of fishing the crumbled cork out of the neck with a Bilame look about as stressful as open-heart surgery.
Name your top three restaurant wine lists
The Kitchin in Leith reminds me of the first list I fell in love with at Castle Terrace. Inver, on Loch Fyne, has a superb list that champions women winemakers. I walked into Palægade in Copenhagen for lunch and found pages of Burgundy from some of the region’s best producers. A glass of Meursault with my starter and Nuits-Saint-Georges with my main was an unforgettable treat.
Who do you most respect in the wine world?
Joel Bastian, who’s now at The Kitchin, was the first sommelier I worked with at Castle Terrace. Watching him identify a wine from that extensive list by smell alone was an eye-opening experience I’ll never forget.
What’s the most interesting wine you’ve come across recently?
I took a trip to Danbury Ridge in Essex recently. I was startled by the quality of the wines they’re making in England from Burgundy grape varieties. I can’t wait to see how they develop.
What are the three most overused tasting notes?
Light, fruity and crisp.
What’s the best value wine on your list at the moment?
We carry both a white and a red from Domaine Roche Audran in the southern Rhône. They’re among the more reasonably priced wines on our list, and I’d happily recommend either to any guest.
What is your ultimate food and drink match?
At one of my first fine dining meals, I had chicken liver parfait and clementine paired with a top-end Sauternes. It completely blew my mind.
Old World or New World?
As a French wine supplier once told me, ‘I have a clear passion for New World wine, and that doesn’t necessarily make me a bad person.’
What is your pet hate when it comes to wine service in other restaurants?
I’m pretty relaxed about wine service in other restaurants. I don’t like it when the food arrives before the wine, though.
Who is your favourite producer right now?
Pieter Walser of BLANKbottle makes some incredible wines from vineyards across South Africa’s Western Cape. He has an unrivalled ability to let each wine tell its own story.
As general manager, what question do you get asked most by customers?
‘Which of the white wines are dry?’ Every day in every venue.
Which wine-producing region or country is underrated at the moment?
Croatia has become my favourite place to visit, and I’m always impressed by the quality of the wine when I’m there. It’s still hard to get hold of Croatian wines in the UK, though there’s a certain joy in keeping these things underrated.
It’s your last meal and you can have a bottle of any wine in the world. What is it and why?
There are so many legendary bottles out there. But some of my happiest wine memories involve drinking Billecart-Salmon rosé Champagne with family and friends. A bottle of that would do nicely.