This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to London
I came to wine relatively late. I was in my mid 30s, a little burnt out and needing a career change. With a desire to pursue my growing passion for wine and food, in 2013, I transitioned from seasoned account director at a youth marketing agency to starting from scratch as a server at Angela Hartnett’s Cafe Murano in St James’s. It was a humbling jump straight in to the deep end, and I soaked up every drop of biodynamic and organic wine I could get my naive little hands on. I still remember, during my first week with Angela, trying my first bottle of Radikon’s Slatnik Chardonnay, a skin- contact wine from northern Italy — the first time I’d tried orange wine. My inglorious introduction to natural wine.
Since then I’ve opened four restaurants, closed two, hosted wine raves and won awards for my wine lists, all the while drinking, tasting and yes, sadly, spitting an unhealthy amount of wine. As a big music head (I also have an independent record label and regularly DJ at venues across London), wine speaks to me the same way records do, a vinous rabbit hole to get lost in and nerd about and call it work.
Natural wine is a rather terrible label. It tends to polarise rather than unite people, but you can’t put the cat back in the bag, so simply put it’s a catch-all term for wines made in a low-interventionist way: organic or biodynamic grapes, which means no chemicals used in the vineyards; natural yeasts only; no or very few additives; hand harvesting; and small-scale production to ensure the winemakers grow the best, healthiest grapes — all to make the finest wines possible that reflect a unique sense of place. Most importantly, natural isn’t a style of wine — they don’t all taste or smell alike, thankfully. It’s an ethos and a methodology.
Over the years, I’ve convinced hardened natural-wine haters to drink beautiful ones, and for devout “natty wine” lovers to send back bottles because they aren’t “funky enough”. I’ve also had the pleasure of getting to intimately know some of the best places to enjoy natural wine in London. The wine world can be an odd, frustrating place. But when you get it right — and the wine flows — all is perfect for a short time.
Planque
322-324 Acton Mews, London E8 4EA
Along with being one of the best restaurants in London, Plonkers, as its fondly known to me, a modern French venue in Haggerston, houses a cellar for folk short on space and with deep pockets. The wine list is almost entirely natural, organic and biodynamic, reassuringly expensive and, for the particularly wine curious, there is a little black book — a handwritten notebook in which you’ll find rare, unique and one-off wines. For those who want something truly special. If money is no object, they also host events offering vertical tastings of champagne and other top winemakers, which are worth trying to get into. What to drink: if it’s available, the 2008 Ganevat Chardonnay — a medium-bodied, single-vineyard wine from France’s Jura region. Website; Directions
Hunan
51 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8NE
Those who know Hunan know it as a fantastic Chinese restaurant with Taiwanese influence in Belgravia, but wine heads know Michael Peng, who looks after the drinks programme here and is serious about his wines. Not everything at Hunan is “natural”, though the real gems are made in a more clean way with class and style — so don’t expect tonnes of bottles with overly designed labels featuring neon armadillos and wines that smell like farmyard. With a decent group of friends, we always grab a bottle of champagne to kick things off, usually something with a touch of age, like the 2017 Michel Gonet “Les Hautes Mottes” Le Mesnil Sur Oger Brut Nature, which is superb and a decent price. The wine list is very easy to navigate, but throw caution to the wind and ask Michael about his ridiculously great cellar, a vinous treasure trove just begging to be uncorked. Website; Directions
Provisions
167 Holloway Road, London N7 8LX and 308 Hackney Road, London E2 7SJ
Provisions are two brilliant shops by day, bars by night, each in east and north London owned by Hugo Meyer Esquerré, a Frenchman oozing charisma with better hair than most supermodels and excellent taste in wine. Along with selling tremendous cheese, charcuterie and artisanal food products, he also imports superb natural wine from across France and Italy. We host Strictly Bangers parties together on a regular basis, where I DJ and put a dent in his cellar, opting for bottles of Sextant, Yves Duport and Jean-Philippe Padié when I’m there. He’s also launched a great pop-up with chef Simon Shand (ex-Leroy) called Topa at his Holloway Road shop, distilling the essence of San Sebastián into plenty of sublime pintxos. Website; Directions
The Winemakers Club
41a Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4AN
If you’re looking for somewhere equally unique but with shades of a Jack the Ripper tour without the tourists — and a much higher chance of getting a buzz on — then a night ensconced in the caves of The Winemakers Club in Farringdon is a must. (The rail arches that stretch seemingly into oblivion were once home to the first Oddbins off-licence.)
The wine here is curated by the wonderful John Baum and his team, who import wine from across Europe and Australia. They offer bottles from two of my favourite producers, Tenuta Di Carleone from Radda in Chianti, whose “Il Guercio” is a stunning expression of Sangiovese, and Oliver Horiot from Champagne — both fantastic examples of chiselled beauty and finesse. Website; Directions
Binch
51 Greenwood Road, London E8 1NT
This tiny spot (it can seat around 20 people), which can be found in the no man’s land between Dalston, London Fields and Hackney, offers an excellent selection of fine wines and craft beers, primarily from French vineyards and local breweries, alongside a short menu of snacks to soak up the imbibing. Run by Sylvain Bertozzi, a wine-loving Paris native who moved to London and fell in love with English craft beer and culture, Binch reflects the merging of worlds. Head here for a well-priced selection of tasty and accessible wines, before inevitably cramming into The Spurstowe Arms on the same street for a Dough Hands pizza and a pint among east London’s young and hip. Website; Directions
Yuki Bar
426 Reading Lane, London E8 1DS
The industry den of iniquity. Head to Yuki Bar on a Sunday night and you’ll find the dregs of the hospitality industry raiding the cellar, with the effervescent master sommelier Yukiyasu Kaneko slinging wine. Yuki has worked at some of the best restaurants and wine bars in the world (Noma among them) with the wine knowledge to match. The rest of the week he offers a superb Japanese-inspired menu with a constantly changing selection of natural wines, and always one or two killer rare bottles for the real wine heads. If I’m feeling fruity and flush, I love to get stuck into wines from Jean-Yves Péron of the Savoie or champagne from Vouette et Sorbée. Website; Directions
Goodbye Horses
21 Halliford Street, London N1 3HB
Tucked away deep inside De Beauvoir Town’s leafy bosom is one of north London’s hottest addresses. It serves coffee and pastries by day (as Day Trip), and after dark becomes a wine bar with one of the best natural-wine menus around and an excellent selection of modern European plates to snack on. I’m a big fan of Masseria del Pino’s Caravan Bianco, from Mount Etna in Sicily, which is on the menu here. The space is a beautiful spot, with a wooden bar that stretches across nearly the whole site, and incorporates a very tasty hifi system from Tannoy and a gigantic 1970s broadcast turntable. It’s perhaps the most unique and beautiful wine hang-out in London right now. Website; Directions
The Remedy
124 Cleveland Street, London W1T 6PG
This central London institution seems to have been unfairly expunged from the ubiquitous top-wine-bar lists on the internet, probably because it’s been around for more than a decade and there are newer, shinier distractions. But this cosy hidden gem in Fitzrovia should not be forgotten. It offers a fantastic selection of wines from mostly small, old world producers, available by the glass and bottle, along with simple, largely Italian-inspired food, from Roman-style artichokes to Sardinian gnocchi with oxtail ragu. There’s no fuss, no hype. It’s just a classic. Website; Directions
Mark Gurney is the co-owner/director of the natural-wine-forward Levan restaurant and Bar Levan in Peckham
What’s your favourite natural-wine spot in London? Tell us in the comments below. And follow @FTGlobetrotter on Instagram
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