Unfiltered: Eugenio Egorov
The head sommelier and head buyer for The Stafford talks to Douglas Blyde about the hotel’s upcoming English wine-pepped Coronation street party, and the importance of keeping informed of trends despite working in such a historic setting…
WLC recommends: Bo-sen at Roketsu
Douglas Blyde heads to the Bo-sen lounge in acclaimed kaiseki restaurant Roketsu. While there, he meets Tokyo-born sommelier Ryosuke Mashio, who guides him through the restaurants drinks, beginning with a “homemade green tea sparkling sake amalgamation” and ending “with a love affair with obsessively grown and brewed rice”.
WLC recommends: Woven by Adam Smith at Coworth Park
Douglas Blyde visits Woven, Adam Smith’s Berkshire restaurant. While there, he tastes a trio of English wines, including London Cru’s Pinot Precoce 2021 alongside Cornish turbot with lobster, a “nod” to the dish that Smith won the Roux Scholarship with in 2012.
Unfiltered: Jonathan Ellson
The director of food and beverage for Coworth Park talks to Douglas Blyde about applying his neuroscience degree to Woven by Adam Smith, which scooped a Michelin six months after opening, the importance of homegrown wines, and who would play him in a film…
X Muse vodka announces plans for Art of Bartending competition
Scottish heritage grains vodka brand X Muse held an event at The Connaught hotel’s Red Room to announce details of its upcoming Art of Bartending Competition.
WLC Eats: Amphora, Cambridge
Douglas Blyde visits Cambridge wine bar Amphora, the brainchild of “aspirant Master of Wine” Cong Cong Bo, and samples some of the “knowingly esoteric” list.
WLC recommends: NoMad, Covent Garden
Douglas Blyde heads to Bow Street hotel NoMad. While there, he samples the “killer” Nebbiolo selection, as curated by wine director Bella Babbitt, and tries chef Ashley Abodeely’s dish of suckling pig confit with wild greens and smoked bacon jam. Taken from the 2022 Wine List Confidential guide, available for purchase.
Unfiltered: James Snowdon
The Edinburgh native and former manager of Fulham’s Harwood Arms co-founded the ultra-popular Edinburgh brasserie with Australian-born Lloyd Morse, previously of Spring. He talks to Douglas Blyde about storing wines and stealing naps in the vault of this former bank, mind-blowing coffee, and “floating about on a cloud of charisma”…
WLC recommends: Sessions Arts Club, Clerkenwell
Douglas Blyde heads to Clerkenwell to visit chef Florence Knight’s Sessions Arts Club. There, he finds food to match the captivating interior, and a largely Italian wine list from head of wine Molly Pepper Steemson that focuses on “less breadth, more depth”. Taken from the 2022 Wine List Confidential guide.
Unfiltered: Merlin Ramos
The wine buyer and head sommelier at HUMO talks to Douglas Blyde about appealing to “Epicurean explorers”, “digging” for wine finds, and his artistic talents…
WLC recommends: Ekstedt at The Yard
Wine List Confidential writer Douglas Blyde finds arresting cooking and characterful wines at Nordic chef Nicklas Ekstedt’s long-awaited Scotland Yard restaurant.
WLC recommends: The Old Bridge, Huntingdon
Douglas Blyde heads to Cambridgeshire to visit The Old Bridge. There, he meets proprietor John Hoskins MW, the first Master of Wine in the restaurant industry, who tells him why he believes that sommeliers might not be “necessary”. Taken from the Wine List Confidential 2022 guide, available to buy now.