After admiring from afar for several years, I finally made it to one of Ruth Spivey’s wonderful Wine Car Boot events last summer. I’m thankful that she chose Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross on that occasion as it allowed me to step off a 5 hour train back from Edinburgh and immediately get stuck into boozy proceedings. Wine Car Boot is a free-to-attend independent wine market that hopes to tempt the public away from buying supermarket wine by revealing affordable alternatives and by bringing punters face to face with the suppliers and merchants. You pay as you go, buying a glass and tokens at your leisure, and wander around sampling the plethora of produce on offer.
It’s a wonderfully relaxed, family-friendly affair. Some set up shop on central tables, buying bottles to share after making well-informed decisions, whilst others (me) get into deep chats with the approachable experts behind the stalls until there’s nothing left. Between three of us, we tried pretty much everything, enjoying a range of interesting wines from the likes of Southern Wine Roads, Berry Bros, and Bubbledogs. Two wines / producers stood out for me though – Swig’s Soli Pinot Noir, a cherry-laced Bulgarian red that’s an absolute steal at £12.95 a bottle; and Le Grappin’s superior selection of bottles and “bagnums” (1.5 litres of wine in a bag), in particular their Beaujolais-Villages because… gamay. Links are provided below the photos if you are keen to pick some up yourself.
Wine Car Boot is set to return in Spring / Summer 2020 so keep your eye on Twitter and Instagram, and save the dates once they’re released!
Wine Car Boot – Twitter / Instagram
Swig Soli Pinot Noir – swig.co.uk
Le Grappin – legrappin.com
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P.S. Calling all wine lovers! Gus Gluck of Quality Wines in Farringdon has put together an incredible wine auction to raise money for the bushfire crisis in Australia. The Auction will go live on Friday 10 January 2020 and will end at midday Sunday 12 January 2020. Spread the word, dig deep, and grab yourself some boozy bargains for a great cause. Follow the link below for more information.
https://www.jumblebee.co.uk/raisingmoneytosupportvictimsofthegreataustralianfires2019
