If I could open a wine bar in London…

My big final project at Le Cordon Bleu.

It’s official: I have my diploma in wine. You can call me a sommelier!

Last week I graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, received my diploma in Wine, Gastronomy, and Management, and officially became one of the most obnoxious people you’ll ever know. If you ever get a glass of wine with me, I’ll swirl and sniff and say things like “it seems a little reductive” and “this sat in new oak.” But hey, I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and I’m excited for whatever’s ahead. Even though I left London last week and cried like an baby on the train.

Part of our exams to graduate involved a massive final project. The assignment was to put together a wine list for a restaurant or wine bar concept located in London. I had to provide a selection of sparkling, white, rosé, orange, red, sweet, and fortified wines, as well as some drink alternatives and wine-by-the-glass offerings. The concept could be whatever I wanted it to be, as long as I defended it with research based on why that concept would work in London, along with why I chose that particular selection and why I went with certain price points.

For my concept, I chose a natural wine bar.

Throughout my six months in London, my husband and I went to a lot of natural wine bars. It’s a style of wine we both enjoy (although I have come to appreciate all kinds of wine after this program), so it was easy to go out and taste wines and do the research first hand. It wasn’t exactly a requirement to taste every single wine for the list, but I liked the challenge. Our instructor informed us at the beginning of the program that this would be the final assignment, and me being me, I took it very seriously. I bought myself a little notebook I could carry around in my purse and noted every single wine I tasted outside of class. Perhaps a little obnoxious, but by the time I sat down to put together my list, I had a wide selection of wines to choose from, and even gave myself the space to be picky with the wines I genuinely thought worked for the menu.

And you know what, after all of that hard work, I figured why not share it here? Maybe you’ll find some of these wines out and about. Or maybe a magical investor will see this and decide to work with me, I mean, idk!!!

So, if I could open a wine bar in London, it would be called Berries & Boards.

Here is the concept I presented to my instructor:

Berries & Boards is a concept for a natural wine and charcuterie bar in Hackney, London. The two main focuses for this wine bar are exploration and sustainability. Customers are encouraged to come to Berries & Boards to explore new styles of wine, all of which are chosen with an environmental impact, whether it’s a wine that is natural, organic, biodynamic, vegan, sustainable, or a combination.

There’s a whole essay attached to the concept, but this is the main idea. A place for people to gather and explore different kinds of wine they may not be used to, all with some kind of environmental impact. Plus charcuterie boards, all made with locally-sourced ingredients. Because who doesn’t love a wine bar with charcuterie?

Okay, so here it is. If you want to check out the full wine list, you can download menu PDF right here:

What do you think? Would you come to London to visit this wine bar? Have you had any of these bottles before? Any that you want to try? Share in the comments—I love hearing from you!

Alright, back to my France wine trip. I’ve been sharing some snippets over on Substack notes, but don’t worry; I have a lot of content I’ve been saving up from this trip to share with all of you. And I haven’t even hit Champagne yet. 😉

Wine of the week

This week I chose a wine that is featured on my list: Naboso’s Opera Rosé 2021, from Bratislava, Slovakia. It’s a traditionally made sparkling with a blend of Blaufränkisch, St. Laurent, and Riesling grapes.

Tasting notes

Appearance: Clear with a strawberry-pink color

Nose: Strawberries, violets, and whipped cream

Palate: High acidity, light body, lively effervescence, moderate tannins, long finish

My conclusion: Light and airy with notes of fresh strawberries and violets, with a creamy, rounded finish.