Lunch opened with a delicious courgette soup, fresh, crisp flavours that ended with a underlying edge of curry, nicely done. No wine with this course but being seated near a window (lending an enchanting diffused light to the table) a delightful photo resulted. So forgive my indulgance for posting here rather than, as usual, on SpittoonExtra.

The first Paul Zinck wine - Pinot Gris Prestige 2007, proved an absolute delight with a fine, thick, slice of Foie Gras. The course only let down by being served with two toasted slices of white processed bread rather than something more artisanal like the homemade bread in the basket..

Paul Zinck offer three ranges. The more basic, introductory wines, are labelled as Terrior with Prestige being the next rung up before hitting the Grand Cru range. The vintage of this PG, 2007, is rather young; without exception all the wine makers and producers we met and visited acclaimed 2007 as one of the very best vintages in Alsace for many, many a-year. Well worth storing regardless of grape variety.

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Paul Zinck Pinot Gris Prestige, 2007, Alsace, France.
[More: Adegga / Snooth] Alcohol 13%.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

Certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest vat in constant use, it is still utilised to this day.

Our private lunch time tasting - just five wines - lasted way into the afternoon. I can think of worse things than being in good company, drinking a personal selection of stunning wines and regaled with stories on each. If the wine doesn't have a 'story' or Kathryn hasn't detected your 'passion' your wine just isn't going to be listed.

"At artisan&vine our objective is to bring your taste buds as close as possible to the fantastic produce of artisans and vineyards. To do this, all of our 120+ wines are either naturally or locally produced. We think you'll taste the difference this proximity to the grapes brings and we are proud to be London's first wine bar to specialise in local and natural wines.

With around 20 English wines and liqueurs, we think we could have London's longest English drinks list. With the remainder of our wines and liqueurs being all natural or biodynamic (more than only organic) we have one of the longest and most interesting natural wine lists in the capital too."

No English wines at the tasting, although I noted two from my local vineyard, Brightwell, on the shelf.

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Casa Coste Piane, Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, 2004, Italy.
Price: £29 [More: Adegga / Snooth]
Light and playful but appley, citrussy with some weight. Very fine bubbles with a "hazy, natural appearance". Long lasting yeastiness. Alcohol 11%.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Bret Brothers La Soufrandière Pouilly Vincelles, 2006, Burgundy, France.
Price: £31.10 [More: Adegga / Snooth]
A wonderful 100% Chardonnay. Palate has a richness that is quite delicious, barrel fermented, lovely texture, a big wine with elegance and structure. Touch of ripening strawberry to the flavour. Delicious. Alcohol 13%.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 92/100 [4 out of 5]

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Alain Caux,Tir a Blanc, Le Casol de Mailloles, Vin de Table, France.
Price: £35.60 [More: Adegga / Snooth]
Unusual in the extreme; a blend of Grenache Blanc and Maccabeu that is so distinctive on the nose that my initial reaction was met with hoots of laughter by those who had already tried it! Extremely 'cider-like', straw, apples, hawthorn, pears. Weighty, Exceptionally long aftertaste. Distinctive and I'm sure will have its detractors but, after initial scepticism, enjoyment ensued to the extent of drinking a glass or two rather than the Pouilly Vinzelles. Alcohol 13.5%.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 92/100 [4 out of 5]

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Frank Cornelissen Rosso Contadino 5, 2007, Vino da Tavola, Sicily, Italy
Price: £28.10 [More: Adegga / Snooth]
Another controversial bottle, but a huge talking point none-the-less. A blend of white and red varieties Carricante, Inzolia, Catarratto, Nerello Mascalese, Alicante,... 100% natural, no added sulphites; non-filtered. With the aroma evolving with every sip it was clear the wine is different (and doesn't hold up well after a day being open). The volcanic soils that give the grape a foothold on the mountainside also supply individuality - a combination of freshness and a Pinot Noir-like lightness that gives sweet rose-hips and darker, mixed fruit jam, gives way to darker, blacker fruit flavours and a tannic structure. Alcohol 13%.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Cuvee 51, Le Clos Perdus, 2007, Corbieres, Languedoc, France
Price: £28.50 [More: Adegga / Snooth]
A wine with character - gorgeous generous, black fruits and tobacco. A wine "that refuses to behave in the mouth". A blend of Grenache, Carignan, Mourvedre. Alcohol 14%.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 92/100 [4 out of 5]

All prices are 'drink-in' bottle price. All wines are available, cheaper, to 'take-away', there are even plans for a full internet wine shop. Fingers crossed! More photographs of the wine bar are on SpittoonExtra and pictures of some of the wines on flickr. Rob at The Wine Conversation has also written a post on the tasting.

"You'll notice that we have two prices next to each of our wines. When you buy form us, you can either choose to pay our standard RRP prices or our VIP prices. Customers paying our VIP prices are members of our Naked Cash Back scheme. IN other words, they set aside £20 a month into their Naked Wines Account, theirs to spend on ANY of our wines, at ANY time. And the best bit... as we know they're going to be buying form us, they're guaranteed a 33% saving every time they order"

The wines detailed below - my pick of just six from the 32 opened wines - have two prices the first being the RRP, the second the Cash Back price. This £20 regular saving scheme is in addition to being a Naked Wine Angel. Rather than £20 a simple £5 a month acts as a sponsor to a specific producer, which results in a 33% cash back on future orders of their wines. Don't do too many of these schemes guys, it's getting confusing!

Greg Baker tapped me on the shoulder (find him at twitter) a little challenge ensued - the best Shiraz? I would snap up the Manley Shiraz 2005 (RRP £12.99/VIP £7.99) simply for its superb structure, European-focused, restrained but still sweet fruit and long, long length. Greg was having none of it picking the Arabella Shiraz 2008 (RRP £6.99/VIP £4.66) for its pure drinkability, luscious ripe, up-front fruit, concentration and excellent price. If the latter is the main consideration then I have to concede the Arabella is rather decent. But the Manely is still lovely.

Neither bottle was the best of the evening though...

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Avondale Jonty's Ducks, 2007, Paarl, South Africa
Price: RRP £10.99/VIP £7.33 [More on Adegga / Snooth]

A Bordeaux blend (Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet) so distinctive, so technically perfect! Sweetness of fruit, upfront dissipating into a chocolate, almost meaty whole. Lingering.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Avondale Green Duck The Duke, 2005, Paarl, South Africa
RRP £12.99/VIP £8.66 [More on Adegga / Snooth]

A blend! The staff were under informed, sadly, and didn't have a clue as to the grapes; with one eye to those who really don't care about such specifics, preferring drinkability and price/quality considerations I won't stress on the lack of details. I'm guessing at a Bordeaux style blend*. Good depth, decent tannin-led structure and a long black fruit finish.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 92/100 [4 out of 5]

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Avondale Green Duck The Duchess, 2007, Paarl, South Africa.
Price: RRP £12.49/VIP£8.33 [More: Adegga / Snooth]
The white blend sister to the Green Duck Duke. I'm guessing at a Semillon/Sauvignon type blend (Chenin Blanc? Gewurztraminer?). My notes suffered from some dripped wine but I think this is the one that had a distinct edge of sweet spice (from Viognier or Gewurztraminer). More proof that decent blends offer superb complexity and interesting flavours.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 94/100 [4.25 out of 5]

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Strandveld Adamanstor, 2008, Elim, South Africa
Price: RRP £13.49/VIP £8.99 [More: Adegga / Snooth]
A near perfect rendition of a Sauvignon-Semillon blend. The Sauvingon is plucked from a single vineyard known locally as "Pofadder Bos Sauvignon Blanc" due to frequent encounters with the snakes in the surrounding fynbos. The Semillon component in the 50-50 blend receives a little oak treatment and some lees activity. These wine making activities result in a complex wine bursting with peashoots, broad beans and lettuce aromas and flavours. Dry. Alcohol 13%.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 92/100 [4 out of 5]

All these wines are 'on the water'; expected listing on the Naked Wines website is July.

Awards drip from the wines. If you have never encountered a drinkable, enjoyable, Pinotage Beyerskloof is the label to turn to.

If you sit in the open-sided deck restaurant, with the Kanonkop hill in the distance (photo on SpittoonExtra) at your feet lies the 'field' a mixed planting of vines that goes into the companies Bordeaux-style Field Blend.

Their pale, peachy, refreshing, sparkling Pinotage Rosé Brut washed down a plate of superb garlic snails beautifully while a selection of older Pinotage's and various Cape Blends vintages, tasted in the cellar with Beyers Truter himself, were very interesting. The latter come in various mixes - the 2006 Synergy comprises 43% Pinotage, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Shiraz and 7% Merlot compared to the 2001 Synergy being 55% Cabernet, 37% Pinotage, 8% Merlot and 14% 'others'. Basically they are still experimenting with these! I didn't enjoy the older vintage, I have to admit, the reductive edge on the nose dominatated but perhaps I'm just more susceptible to those aromas as my tasting partners enthused.

The Field Blends are certainly worthy of trying. They age beautifully too. The 1995, which my notes contradictorily say is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, had a gorgeous perfume, complex with tobacco-edged age. Little stock remains but it is available on the restaurant wine list. The 2001 was luscious with a vailed smoothness from the addition of Merlot. I didn't catch the blend details but the 2006 has 60% Cabernet Sauvignon coupled with 40% Merlot.

According to our host Pinotage works wonderfully in a blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Merlot, however, is not a great working partner. No stainless steel tanks for Pinotage either, rather the grapes at Beyerskloof see open, concrete, fermenters, a little temperature control and manual punching of the cape by hand.

While age worthy it is the younger Pinotage single varietals that impressed during the cellar tasting. With ripe, sweetish upfront fruit, good structure and length they have structure and drinkability with the Beyerskloof Reserve Pinotage being singularly impressive.

1. RowBags - Rowan Gormley, founder of Naked Wines
2. Fran Krajewski - also of Naked Wines
3. Simon Woods - journalist, also blogging at DrinkingOutsideTheBox
4. Charles Metcalfe - "speaker, writer and sometimes singer about wine"
5. Jo Mason - heads Wines of South Africa in the UK.
6. Denise Medrano - blogs as The Wine Sleuth
7. Philippa Vanham - runs Wine Unearthed a company offering wine tasting workshops
8. Victoria Bucknall - also part of Wine Unearthed
9. Kathryn O'Mara - runs Artisan & Vine, a London wine bar
10. Wink Lork - wine educator and heads up Wine Travel Guides
11. Robert McIntosh - promoting social media and Wine2.0 and all that entails
12. Fiona Beckett - food and wine guru, also find at Matching Food and Wine

If this list was expanded to 20 who else, UK-based only, should be included? Oh, and there is of course the Wine Scribbler.