Forget Dry January - a new year should mean a new wine outlook

Our wine columnist Nuria Stylianou talks to wine innovator Aimee Hartley to find out what and why we should be drinking this year
Nuria Stylianou12 January 2017

Instead of doing “Dry January”, why not make a resolution that’s much more fun? Embark on a voyage of discovery and try wines that are new to you. Be a little braver instead of always playing safe with the familiar. Just because it’s January, it doesn’t mean you have to go from festive feast to new year famine - a fresh approach and a different experience could put as much of a spring in your step as a month on the wagon.

A great place to start is Above Sea Level, a magazine and events platform that launched late last year, seeking to create a refreshing conversational buzz around wine. Founder, Aimee Hartley, looks at wine with an inquisitive eye, in the context of food, design, people and places.

“Reading about wine can often seem daunting”, Hartley says. [We] tend to focus more on the details of a particular wine than on the context in which we are drinking it. Above Sea Level was meant to be an antidote to this.”

Through Above Sea Level, Hartley explores how wine influences our daily lives, whether at the dinner table, on our travels or with friends, and how these sensory experiences shape the overall experience of what’s in our glass. “It is as much about celebrating people and place — winemakers, photographers, writers and artists — as it is about wine.”

Her own wine journey began 10 years ago while living in San Francisco. At a restaurant one night, Hartley noticed a group of friends were openly discussing their wine (in this case, a Ridge Zinfandel) with the sommelier. “I loved the ease in which they spoke about wine and how naturally it sat within the context of the dinner table. For them, wine was about community and sharing something; a sentiment that has very much shaped my own approach to wine.”

To get January off to a more intriguing start, we quizzed Hartley for her favourite restaurants, wine predictions and her top picks for 2017.

Aimee Hartley, founder of Above Sea Level

What do you love about food and wine, and matching the two?

For me, mood dictates what I drink with food as much as the food itself. Sometimes I’ll open something decadent on a Monday night with a simple dinner, just to show Monday what I’m made of. I think the best rule of thumb is not to be scared to experiment. Juicy red grape varieties such as Gamay and Trousseau are a brilliant match for white fish, for example, and I love a textured white from the Rhône with a pork roast and all the trimmings.

Personally, I tend to look for wines that have a purity to them - for whites I love Riesling and Aligote and for reds I love that heady mix of rose and earthiness that you find in grape varieties like Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir.

What is your approach to drinking wine?

To enjoy it! Wine is such a personal thing and for me it is about the experience — where I am and who I’m with. I think its easy to get overwhelmed by the details and forget to sit back, relax and be yourself with it. That’s when the magic happens.

Above Sea Level Magazine (Addie Chinn)

Do you have a go-to drink when in a celebratory mood, or when toasting the start of the weekend?

I’m a big fan of vermouth and an Americano is always where I like to start my night — it is essentially a Negroni without the gin (so all the bitterness, but a little bit less like a smack in the face). Punt e Mes is my vermouth and weapon of choice.

Any predictions for the world of wine in 2017, in terms of consumers, the industry - or just what you'd like to see more of?

There’s an increasing number of wine bars opening in London with great lists. But prices are rising (a combination of London rents and Brexit) and it’s becoming harder to find a good glass of wine around the £6 or £7 mark. Places like 10 Greek Street have nailed it on this front, and I’d like to see more of this. The 10 Cases recently launched a wine delivery app called Drop that takes the fuss out of buying and carrying wine home by delivering it to your home on the same day.

I’d also like to see wine having more of a sense of humour — I organise a wine and R&B night called GENUWINE with my friend and ex-Lyle’s sommelier, Courtney Stebbings. We curate a short list of awesome-value wines and Daniel from The Clove Club plays old-school R&B all night. It’s amazing to see people drinking wine in this environment and dancing like they’re 15 again.

Places in London or abroad that you would recommend for their wine list or for their inventive approach to food and wine pairing?

I’ve just come back from a trip to Porto to research the next issue of the magazine, and was blown away by a wine bar called Prova. The owner, Diog, opened up some amazing bottles, including a Vinho Verde from the Nineties, a youthful white Madeira that tasted like the sea, and a bright, fresh red made with a grape variety called Bastardo (known as Trousseau elsewhere) — he totally challenged my idea of what I thought Portuguese wines were capable of.

A great late-night wine bar and eatery, The Laughing Heart has recently opened on Hackney Road, a road that has also established itself as a new food- and drink-worthy destination with places like Morito and Bad Sports opening in quick succession.

Aimee Hartley's top wine picks for 2017:

Grape: Treixadura

Coto de Gomariz, The Flower and the Bee, Spain

Vino Vero, £13.50, Buy it here

Spain offers a lot of bang for your buck when it comes to wine and Galicia in north-west Spain, known for its wild landscapes and bountiful seafood, produces wonderfully fresh and interesting whites. This wine is made with native grape variety, Treixadura, and is a great partner for tapas.

Grape: Cataratto

Nino Barraco Cataratto, Sicily 2015

Noble Fine Liquor, £26, Buy it here

While Marsala is famous for its fortified wines, natural winemaker Nino Barraco’s focus is on making beautifully wild table wines from overlooked grape varieties in the region. This Cataratto literally tastes of the sea. Noble Fine Liquor is a great wine shop selling natural wines from small winemakers online and in its Broadway Market outpost.

Grape: Zweigelt and St. Laurent

Ink, Judith Beck, Austria, 2014

Drop wine, £13, Buy it here

Austria is better known for white wines, such as Gruner Veltliner and Riesling. However, it also produces some delicious, juicy reds that don’t break the bank. This biodynamic red from winemaker Judith Beck is available for delivery straight to your door within the hour with new wine app, Drop. Search their reds section to find it.

Grape: Syrah and Grenache

Du Grappin Bagnum Rouge, Cote du Rhône

Eebria, £26, Buy it here

Bag in box and alternative packaging for wine has become big news over the last year. I love the ‘bagnums' (1.5L - equivalent of two bottles) from Le Grappin, which are great value for money and made by two brilliant humans - Andrew and Emma Nielsen - who have also been making waves with their wines from overlooked regions in Burgundy and Beaujolais.

For more information on Above Sea Level, visit here

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT