I
have read of places in Italy and Spain where wine flows freely from a public fountain, an idea that appeals to me only in the abstract. Wine with no label and no context? No, thank you. I prefer quality to quantity, an accompaniment to dinner to an apéro available by the bucket.
In London today there are restaurants that care enough about wine to hire knowledgeable, personable sommeliers and give them the freedom to buy well and widely: great names from legendary regions, boutique producers making wine from grapes I’ve never heard of. These are people who consider themselves lucky to serve you something delicious alongside a dish that needs no other enhancement — and who have the tact to offer as much or as little information about it as you desire. I love a conversation where I learn something about wine but clearly remember a Valentine’s Day dinner where I spent more time talking to the sommelier than to the man with whom I was supposedly having a romantic evening. A really good somm would never do that. Here are a few of my London favourites.
Isa Bal, Trivet
Isa Bal, the master sommelier at Trivet
