In the last year or so, I’ve shifted away from writing regularly on the blog, and spent more time on the photography side of things (oh hey, look at this – prints.mattthelist.com). And as the months have passed, I’ve also moved from being a beer geek to a wine nerd wannabe, inspired by boozy trips to Italy, France and California, plus the fast-growing London wine bar scene. Wannabe is the key word here – I don’t really have a clue what I’m talking about yet, but I’m keen to learn. I’m also keen to share my findings, which brings me back to the blog again (Instagram has to implode at some point, right?). So here’s to more wine-based content on MTL! P.S. Beer, if you are reading this, I still love you.
Salon Wine Store is the best place to drink wine in London – there I said it. Why? Well, the carefully curated selection of small production, low intervention wines from the old and new world is one reason. But several other places have such an offering too. Salon Wine Store’s secret weapon is that you can drink a bottle on site, at takeaway prices, with minimal / no corkage (if its £20+). Yes please. But wait, that’s not all. You can order glorious food from the full Salon restaurant next door straight to your table at the wine store. I’m talking ndjuja croquettes, burrata, and fresh pasta to go with your bargain bottles. What’s the catch? There isn’t one, really, except that there aren’t many seats in the wine store. And one of them is mine.
What’s Strictly Bangers? Salon Wine Store have a monthly wine and vinyl party where they invite down a friend from the wine industry to spin some records and choose a few special bottles to open. The £5 ticket gets you some tasters of the selected wines for the night, but it’s really just an excuse to have a rowdy booze up in Brixton. I went down for the July edition with Gus Gluck of Quality Wines who cracked some Californian wines in honour of Independence Day. Lo-Fi’s Gamay Noir was the standout of Gus’ bunch, but we soon found a new friend in Fred, a juicy Slovakian red made by Zsolt Sütó in the village of Strekhov. After a civilised start, it soon descended into glou glou carnage that spilled out of the store into the market. Some photos were too risqué to share. Friday morning was a struggle. Don’t worry that you missed it – scroll down for the next flyer and save the dates. See you there.
Salon Wine Store – www.salonwinestore.co.uk
18 Market Row, Brixton, SW9 8LD
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