Choosing and presenting the Michael Caines Restaurants wine lists with Steve Edwards, ABode Head of Group Service
These are exciting days for all of us who love wine, for there has never before been a greater choice of quality wines available from literally every corner of the world. In the not so distant past, fine wine lists in restaurants centred mainly on the famous and traditional European wine regions, notably the classed growths of Bordeaux, the grands and premiers crus of Burgundy, spatleses and ausleses from Germany, as well as Champagne, vintage port and other such classics.
Today, curious and intrepid wine lovers and diners approach a wine list with a different set of assumptions. Grape variety and style of wine are as important as country, region or precise vineyard of origin. With this in mind, the wine list development for Michael Caines Restaurants has evolved over the past five years. Above all, the days when wine was approached as if there were some secret mystique about it are long gone. Our aim is to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible in order to make our wine list approachable and user friendly, for novice and expert alike.
For example, the structure of the main Michael Caines Restaurant wine list is by grape variety, as opposed to region or country of origin. Wine drinkers and diners today are knowledgeable and sophisticated. We've found that our customers are very discerning and already have a fair idea of what they are looking for - the flavours and styles of wine that they like. So what is particularly fascinating is to draw connections on our list that would not otherwise be apparent or obvious, for example, contrasting more elegant and restrained Sauvignon wines, such as Sancerre, alongside pungent and grassy upfront examples from New Zealand's South Island; or big and full Chardonnay from Victoria, Australia alongside well-structured and concentrated classics from Puligny-Montrachet; a cru classé claret from the Haut-Médoc against punchy New World Cab Sauvignon examples from Chile, New Zealand and Western Australia.
