When we expanded our wine list, we didn’t just want to add on a few more wines, we wanted to give you lots of additional information to help you in your selection. This has proved just as interesting for us as we hope it will be for you! Following up on some of the wine makers, their operations and their ethics has been fascinating.
We had added a number of symbols to our wine list to advise you which ones have specific qualities such as being vegetarian, or organic or produced with environmental considerations. While wine is essentially made from grapes, on occasion animal products are used in small amounts in the production process, and these wines may not be suitable to be part of a vegetarian or vegan diet – we have now highlighted these for you.
‘Responsible drinking’ is a bit of a ‘nanny state’ phrase, but in truth how many of us really know how much it’s sensible to drink, or how much we can legally drink and then drive? We have provided the information and it is then of course entirely up to you whether you want to follow it or not!
And if you are having to watch your intake, you’ll be pleased to know that we stock no less than 17 wines by the glass. We have a ‘Verre de Vin’ preservation system that means we can offer a wide selection of wines by the glass and keep them in good condition once opened. We are even able to sell a sparkling wine, like Prosecco, by the glass. So whatever you are eating, or whatever your budget, we are pretty confident you will find a wine to suit.
Two vegetarian wines. |
So, what wines will you choose? We have a style guide that grades our wines to help you find what you’ll like, and our staff are all trained by our wine merchant Walter Hicks, so do please ask if you are looking for inspiration!
Here’s our wine listing in full:
Guide for white, rosé, sparkling wines & champagnes
White and rosé wines are numbered 1 to 9. Bone dry wines that are relatively light, such as Sauvignon Blanc from cooler climates will be marked 1. Champagnes and cool climate Chardonnays such as Chablis will also be 1.
2 is a far more common category with the vast majority of white table wines fitting this group such as Chilean Chardonnay.
3 indicates a wine that is very slightly off-dry and a little richer in style – a Chenin Blanc from South Africa for example. Medium dry wines are between 3 and 5, like the Hungarian Riesling on our list.
Sweet wines range from 5 through to 9 and would include a rich Muscat dessert wine.
Style guide for red wine
All red wines in the list are lettered A to E. Light, soft, easy drinking wines will be at the ‘A’ end of the scale. Slightly more serious but nevertheless, light, wines will be B; Pinot Noir or Valpolicella.
C is the catch-all category that takes most red wines, with heavier, more concentrated wines falling into the D zone – such as Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.
E is reserved for the real heavyweights of great density, power and quality.