This is a collaborative post: London is an extremely special capital city, even amongst capital cities. A global centre for commerce, culture, and more, it is a place where anything can happen – and the perfect destination for an urban getaway.
Although one might be tempted to look at England’s countryside for wine-tasting experiences, a train into London provides just as many opportunities to discover new wines. You can find refined restaurants and bars with wine-tasting options all over the city, but which of these are the best of the best for broadening your horizons?
Humble Grape
Humble Grape is an exclusively London-based wine brand, with six wine bar concepts across the city. The bars each have their own unique identity, and their own subsets of incredibly knowledgeable staff.
One of Humble Grape’s USPs is that its 450-strong wine collection is for the most part directly imported by Humble Grape; another is that their wine tasting sessions are uniquely accessible! Their locations are Battersea, Islington, Fleet Street, Liverpool Street, Canary Wharf and Crouch End, meaning you’re never too far from the opportunity to sample their incredible collections.
London Cru
London Cru describes itself as ‘London’s first urban winery’; cru, of course, is a delightful play on words here – where ‘cru’ is used to describe the nature of a wine with respect to its vineyard (‘premier crus’ being the ‘first growth’ of a given vineyard, thus benefitting the most from the nutrient-richness of the terroir).
This winemaking operation takes place in Seagrave Road, and it’s supervised by expert vintners producing bespoke wines for some of the most exciting wine tasting menus in the city. This cellar can be toured, and regular tasting sessions give you a look-in at the handiwork of some of the country’s most forward-thinking vintners.
Hedonism Wines
Hedonism Wines is an extremely remarkable bottle shop in Mayfair, trucking in around 300 of the world’s tastiest and most sought-after wines. It perhaps has the most recognition outside of London, if only for its ostentatious festive window displays each year; year-round, though, it offers patrons the chance to taste incredible wines from region to region. That said, tickets are often hard to come by!
The Mulwray
Lastly, we come to The Mulwray, a beautiful and well-hidden wine and cocktail bar, situated on the first floor above The Blue Posts – a pub which has recently played a surprising bit-part in a suitably cringe social media moment.
But don’t let the pints, chit chat and good people fool you; this Soho venture is a natural wine extravaganza, with natural wines having become a sub-industry all of their own (and rightfully so). This secluded wine-bar getaway is a great place to explore wines of all stripes, with a relaxed atmosphere and without the pretension.