Sommelier tips to invigorate your spring drinking

5 May 2023
Drinks, Sommeliers

Sommelier Edit Asked Top Sommeliers From Around The UK To Gives Us Their Top Recommendations For Spring Drinking Damien Trinckquel, Head Sommelier, Number One The Balmoral, Edinburgh I Love To Suggest Lacryma Christi Bianco, Lapillo Vineyard 2018, From The Sorrentino Family. It Is A Great Example Of A Friendly And Complex Wine From Campania, Italy: A Blend Of 80% Caprettone And 20% Falanghina, Stainless Steel Vat Fermentation And Aged 8 Months On Lees. This Dry White Wine Is Very Elegant, It Has A Great Mouthfeel And Texture With Bright Acidity Shows A Great Balance Of Fruit Concentration And Complex Aromas. Great Value, Middle Price Range And Very Versatile With Fine Dining Food. It Copes With Many Ingredients, Flavour And Texture. A Great Example Of This Wine Area Outside Pompei On The Foothills Of The Vesuvio Volcano. Underrated Bottle Of Wine To Enjoy Around The Table With Friends And Family. Lukas Hyner, F&B Manager, Le Manoir Aux Quatr’ Saisons, Oxfordshire For Me It’s Not All About Wine. Sommeliers Serve Everything – Not Just Wine. I Love A Good Gin And Here We Make Our Own Using The Botanicals We Grow In Our Own Kitchen Gardens. That Being Said, For Me It Is All About Lesser Know Wines, From Lesser-known Regions, What I Want To Have Enjoy An Experience When I Drink A Glass Of Wine, I Like To Have The Story Behind The Wine. Sonal Clare, Head Sommelier, The Wilderness, Birmingham I Am Currently Enjoying Wines From Italy; Piedmont And Tuscany. We Are Currently Serving Dolcetto D’Alba 2021 From The Cantina Del Pino Winery With Our Snacks “Big Mac” (beef Tartare, Onion Parfait, Gherkin Ketchup, Cheese Custard) And Our Smoked Eel éclair With Vanilla And Apple. I Am Also Serving Brunello Di Montalcino 2017 From Fattoria Dei Barbi With Our Carrot Dish (carrot Purée, Bread And Butter Goats Cheese Pudding, Yeast Custard And Carrot Cooked In Goats’ Butter) On Our Premium Wine Flight. These Wines Are Really Food Friendly. Philip Reinstaller, Head Sommelier, Trivet, London My Favourite Spring Wine At The Moment Is 2021 Chamlija, Terroir Series, Ten Goynek, Konya, Turkey. The Only Producer I Know Which Does Single Variety Ten Goynek, Which Is An Indigenous Turkish Variety. Salty, Mineral, Precise With A Natural High Acidity And Dominated By Citrus Fruits. Think Of Chablis Or Assyrtiko. Jaewon Jong, Head Sommelier, Amazonico, London “I Love A Rosé Champagne At This Time Of Year But Right Now I Would Recommend Xarel.lo From Spain. It’s Light With Racy Acidity, Full Of Grapefruit And Blossom Aromas. A Varietal That Is Different, Not So Well-known, Not Too Serious. The Style Is Fresh And Lively Perfect For Spring Drinking. Here At Amozonico We Serve A Lot Of Bordeaux And Burgundy, However I Love South American And Spanish Wines, Especially To Pair With Our Style Of Cuisine.

Five of the UK’s top sommeliers share their latest recommendations to help spruce up your spring drinking

Refresh your palate with a selection of wines, and drinks, recommended by some of the country’s leading sommeliers. Find something new from Italy, try wines from lesser known producing regions or experiment with a different grape variety you wouldn’t normally choose.

Damien Trinckquel, Head Sommelier, Number One The Balmoral, Edinburgh

Damian Trinckquel, head sommelier, Number One Balmoral, Edinburgh

I love to suggest Lacryma Christi Bianco, Lapillo vineyard 2018, from the Sorrentino family. It is a great example of a friendly and complex wine from Campania, Italy: a blend of 80% Caprettone and 20% Falanghina, stainless steel vat fermentation and aged 8 months on lees. This dry white wine is very elegant, it has a great mouthfeel and texture with bright acidity shows a great balance of fruit concentration and complex aromas. Great value, middle price range and very versatile with fine dining food. It copes with many ingredients, flavour and texture. A great example of this wine area outside Pompei on the foothills of the Vesuvio volcano. underrated bottle of wine to enjoy around the table with friends and family.

Jaewon Jong, head sommelier, Amazonico, London

“I love a Rosé Champagne at this time of year but right now I would recommend Xarel.lo from Spain. It’s light with racy acidity, full of grapefruit and blossom aromas. A varietal that is different, not so well-known, not too serious. The style is fresh and lively perfect for Spring drinking. Here at Amozonico we serve a lot of Bordeaux and Burgundy, however I love South American and Spanish wines, especially to pair with our style of cuisine.

Lukas Hyner, F&B Manager, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Oxfordshire

Lukas Hyner, Head Sommelier, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons — Lukas Hyner, Head Sommelier, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons

For me it’s not all about wine. Sommeliers serve everything – not just wine. I love a good Gin and here we make our own using the botanicals we grow in our own kitchen gardens. That being said, for me it is all about lesser know wines, from lesser-known regions, what I want to have enjoy an experience when I drink a glass of wine, I like to have the story behind the wine.

Sonal Clare, Head Sommelier, The Wilderness, Birmingham

Sonal Clare, Head Sommelier, The Wilderness (credit: www.thombartley.com)

I am currently enjoying wines from Italy; Piedmont and Tuscany. We are currently serving Dolcetto d’Alba 2021 from the Cantina del Pino Winery with our snacks “Big Mac” (beef tartare, onion parfait, gherkin ketchup, cheese custard) and our smoked eel éclair with vanilla and apple. I am also serving Brunello Di Montalcino 2017 from Fattoria Dei Barbi with our carrot dish (carrot purée, bread and butter goats cheese pudding, yeast custard and carrot cooked in goats’ butter) on our premium wine flight. These wines are really food friendly.

Philip Reinstaller, Head Sommelier, Trivet, London

My favourite Spring wine at the moment is 2021 Chamlija, Terroir Series, Ten Goynek, Konya, Turkey. The only producer I know which does single variety Ten Goynek, which is an indigenous Turkish variety. Salty, mineral, precise with a natural high acidity and dominated by citrus fruits. Think of Chablis or Assyrtiko.