Sabrina Manolio

2019 profile

Head sommelier – Margot

Italian wine is one of the world’s great joys and also one of its greatest headaches. It’s claimed that even most Italians don’t fully understand it, but one who does, luckily, is Sabrina Manolio at Covent Garden restaurant Margot.

Previously based at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Manolio is, naturally, equally well versed in French wines too. While it may be an Italian restaurant, Margot is not slavishly devoted to only offering up drops from her home country. Although Italian wines make up the bulk of the 350-bin list (about 45%), the rest are split between the Old and New Worlds, with an especially strong Champagne component. This is all excellent stuff to play with for someone like Manolio, whose mantra is that wine is central to any restaurant experience. There’s nothing sadder, in her opinion, than the refusing hand placed over a glass. “I would prefer to stay home rather than go to the restaurant and have tap water to complement my dish,” she says.

You get her point when she begins enthusing about matching Alsatian Gewürztraminer with pumpkin and ricotta ravioli or Isola e Olena’s Chardonnay with smoked eel and roasted pineapple. For Manolio there’s nothing better than finding a customer to share ‘the moment’ with, and that makes the back and forth between a sommelier and diner intrinsic to the evening. “The guest that you can laugh with and know you made their visit more special is great, and after a tough day at work you’re kind of satisfied and proud of what you have done,” she explains.

In part this is thanks to her love of passing on knowledge. If it hadn’t been for wine and the hospitality trade, she reckons she would have continued her studies and carved out a career as a teacher instead. “I love the idea of passing on what’s ‘mine’ to others.” In that vein she’s keen to take in everything she possibly can and not miss a thing, because, she says: “I would prefer to regret something I did rather than something I wished I could have done.”


Leave your reply

Most Recent Stories

Meet The Maker: Derek Sandhaus, Ming River Baijiu

With a mission to “Bring baijiu from China to the world”, Ming River is crafted at Luzhou Laojiao in Sichuan province. Douglas Blyde talks to one of its creators about the “vast, and vastly rewarding category” that is baijiu.

Galvin at Windows to close

Mayfair establishment Galvin at Windows, which is located on the 28th floor of the Hilton on Park Lane, is to close after 18 years of business.

WLC Eats: Yong Yi Ting, Mandarin Oriental

Douglas Blyde walks through a forest of 70,000 mosaic tiles to the recently reopened Yong Yi Ting restaurant in Shanghai, where he experiences a "Negroni-scented" tea and "the best red wine in China".

Fell Brewery releases courgette beer with celeb chef Simon Rogan

The second collaboration between the two Lake District brands is a gose beer fermented in courgette juice.

Sushisamba opens new cocktail bar in London

The company behind Sushisamba has opened a new cocktail bar in London within the Heron Tower in Bishopsgate called Samba Room.

Most Recent Stories

Meet The Maker: Derek Sandhaus, Ming River Baijiu

With a mission to “Bring baijiu from China to the world”, Ming River is crafted at Luzhou Laojiao in Sichuan province. Douglas Blyde talks to one of its creators about the “vast, and vastly rewarding category” that is baijiu.

Galvin at Windows to close

Mayfair establishment Galvin at Windows, which is located on the 28th floor of the Hilton on Park Lane, is to close after 18 years of business.

WLC Eats: Yong Yi Ting, Mandarin Oriental

Douglas Blyde walks through a forest of 70,000 mosaic tiles to the recently reopened Yong Yi Ting restaurant in Shanghai, where he experiences a "Negroni-scented" tea and "the best red wine in China".

Fell Brewery releases courgette beer with celeb chef Simon Rogan

The second collaboration between the two Lake District brands is a gose beer fermented in courgette juice.

Sushisamba opens new cocktail bar in London

The company behind Sushisamba has opened a new cocktail bar in London within the Heron Tower in Bishopsgate called Samba Room.