London Wine Week 2018
London Wine Week, London Wine Fair, English Wine Week (AND some great weather too!) – are there any more reasons to love living in London in the month of May?
London Wine Fair is a permanent annual fixture in the diary since I first went three years ago and had a ball trying millions of different wines from all over the world – it was like a mass tasting, where there were so many wines you’d never get around them all (that’s why I’m going for all THREE days this time and I’m going to give it a good go). Imagine my luck this year, however, to find out about London Wine Week, which falls the week before the London Wine Fair and lasts for a whole week!
I can’t believe I haven’t been to London Wine Week before, especially as it’s in its fifth year. It’s organised by DrinkUp London, the team that runs London Cocktail Week and London Beer Week, and is seven days packed full of tastings, events and dinners across 125 venues in the city.
The festival programme starts on Monday 14th May, where people can start enjoying £5 wine flights and Sip & Snack wine and food pairings, then Tuesday is the official launch party in Flat Iron Square – which will be the Hub throughout the festival. The Hub sounds really cool; it’s basically an outdoor (but semi-covered – this is England, remember) oasis that will feature food trucks and feasting tables, and will play host to some fabulous events, including a Royal Wedding garden party on Saturday 19th May, undoubtedly with reams of bunting and loads of bubbly!
I had a taste of what to expect at London Wine Week at the press night that I covered for BOE Magazine and, I can tell you, it’s going to be fun. We visited Renegade London Wine, an urban winery in Bethnal Green, ran by two lovely chaps, Warwick and Josh. They are passionate about making great wine in the city – and they’re not afraid to experiment, either. The winery tap room bar is a cool place to hang out amongst the barrels and pumps and lose a few hours during London Wine Week seeing how good English wine can be.
We also visited Martello Hall in London Fields, who specialise in tap wine – in fact, it has more wines on tap than any other bar in London, meaning you must try them all during London Wine Week via the £5 wine flights. I tried one of white, rosé and red whilst nibbling on some of the dishes on offer on their Sip & Snack menu, and I very quickly reached my happy place. The pizza was excellent, too.
In a nutshell, there’s loads to do, see and drink, so it’s well worth buying a £10 festival pass, which gives you access to the £5 wine flights and £5 glasses of wine at the Hub. You can buy it on the DrinkUp.London app (new to this year’s festival), which is also a digital festival guide, or on the DrinkUp.London website. Happy festivalling, hic!
Follow @drinkupldn and @murphyems for updates. #LWW18