FOOD & DRINK
by Sadie Wilkins, Indie Wine Merchant
The art of matchmaking wines
Sometimes selling wine feels like a dating service, says Sadie Wilkins Wine is not just a drink; it’s a talking point, it’s a social tool, a thank you, a sign of gratitude, a celebration, an overdue catch up... the list goes on. Quite simply, we connect through wine, and the bottles we crack open bookmark our lives. So, every time we recommend a bottle to a customer, whether it be a midweek pause to punctuate a long day or an occasion to mark something special, we see it as a privilege to be trusted with all those small and large moments in people’s lives. In short, we better make sure the wine sings the right tune from the glass, which is a real skill when faced grapes and wines that hail from with a library of wine made up of regions not so mainstream – the 1500 plus bottles! ‘weird and wonderful’ grapes. We Equally, every bottle on our sample everything we source for shelves tells a story – from the the shelves, and we carry it out terroir to the winemaker and blind too, without everything in knowing the price “We sample between. We everything we source – just the varieties follow every and region. It’s for the shelves, and something we are wine we source from grape to we carry it out blind slightly obsessive glass, meeting too, without knowing about as we like winemakers to have zero prethe price” along the way, conceptions and before sharing let the wine do the its story with the good folk who talking. come into our wine shop. So, When you put this altogether, there’s a lot to consider when it means we know and love our making a recommendation – wines for what they are, and feel we’re like a dating service for passionate about sharing them wine drinkers, and we want to with others. make sure that we get a second date. We’ve got you For us, shopping in an So, let’s put our skills to the test independent should mean and find your perfect match this finding not only great examples Valentine’s Day. Can we be so of the grape varieties, but also bold to guess your brief? interesting interpretations of You want something ‘nice’ to go with a tasty meal that’s more special than your usual but doesn’t break the bank, right? Well, here’s my thoughts, and I’m going to go with a red and a white that never disappoint! Though for a personalised
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recommendation, we’d love to see you in person, at the shop, where we can take on the challenge of your brief – whatever it may be! Sadie’s suggestions: For a red - steak is a Valentine’s staple, and most people choose a Malbec, but here is a little twist. Morande Reserva Carmenere is simply divine. Think green bell pepper meets hedgerow fruit, with a firm backbone but without a huge tannin hit. This wine over delivers and every time I enjoy a glass it seems to give me another level of complexity. £12 per bottle. For a white - Karim Mussi was inspired by his favourite poets to create this wine: William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Jorge Luis Borges and Walt Whitman. Los Poetas Semillon is a fantastic wine from Argentina that is bursting with white flowers and peach aromas that lead onto citrus and tropical fruit flavour. Fantastic with white meats, salads, flavoursome fish dishes and even a goat’s cheese tart. £13 per bottle.
