The Premier Cru - Wine Podcast

We have decided to pause The Premier Cru podcast. This episode is just a quick announcement and an opportunity to say a huge thank you for tuning each week and supporting the show. We hope you enjoyed every minute of the content! We will be keeping up The Premier Cru Instagram account (@the_premier_cru), starting up a new wine of the week series, featuring a wine that we love or want to try weekly...

We welcome Sarah Heller, Master of Wine, to The Premier Cru! On a recent trip to Montalcino, we got the opportunity to try Rosso di Montalcino from over 60 producers. To place the wines into context, Sarah treated a small group of us to a masterclass introducing the category and the different styles of wines produced. What stood out, is how useful the wines are. They are approachable young and ada...

We welcome Gabriele Gorelli, Master of Wine, to The Premier Cru! I recently had the opportunity to visit Montalcino and go on a tour of the region. It was exceptional fun and a highlight was attending a seminar, delivered by Gabriele and the Consorzio del Brunello di Montalcino, introducing a new research project they have conducted. The output is a new map of the region, which is as detailed as y...

We welcome Lucas Reynaud-Paligot, Head of Wine at Hélène Darroze at the Connaught Hotel , to The Premier Cru! In 2021, Hélène Darroze at the Connaught was awarded a third Michelin Star, placing the restaurant at the top of the culinary table. It goes without saying that the food and service is therefore impeccable, but Lucas has made sure that the wine list is no supporting act! There is simply no...

We welcome Sunny Hodge to The Premier Cru! Sunny is the Founder of two wine bars, Diogenes The Dog and Aspen & Meursault , and the author of a newly published book, called a " Cynic's Guide to Wine ". Sunny's academic background is in engineering and that made him continually question his wine education once he started his career in hospitality. Finding wine textbooks and ans...

Welcome to the final part of our mini series "Champagne: Meet the Growers", in which we introduce you to some amazing Grower Champagne Domaines. In this episode, we welcome Raphaël Piconnet to The Premier Cru, who is the head winemaker and vigneron at Domaine de Bichery located in the Côte des Bar. We wanted to end the series by showing you a rising star in the region. Since releasing th...

Welcome to part three of our mini series "Champagne: Meet the Growers", in which we introduce you to some amazing Grower Champagne Domaines. In this episode we move from the the Côte des Blancs and the Vallée de la Marne to the Côte des Bar, which is one of the most exciting sub-regions within Champagne. Historically it has been viewed as secondary to sub-regions further north. However, the silver...

Welcome to part two of our mini series "Champagne: Meet the Growers", in which we introduce you to some amazing Grower Champagne Domaines. In this episode we move from the the Côte des Blancs to the Vallée de la Marne, which is the home of the best Pinot Meunier in Champagne. We welcome Geoffrey Delouvin, who is the 11th generation winemaker and vigneron at of Domaine Delouvin Nowack , t...

Welcome to the part one of our mini series "Champagne: Meet the Growers", in which we introduce you to some amazing Grower Champagne Domaines. We welcome Arthur Larmandier of Domaine Larmandier-Bernier to The Premier Cru! Larmandier-Bernier make quintessential Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs. They started in the 1970s and have become one of the leading Grower Champagne Domaines. Simply put, Gr...

We welcome John and Desiree Chantarasak, Co-Founders of  AngloThai , to The Premier Cru! AngloThai started as a pop-up and evolved into a restaurant in November 2024. Within six months, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star, which is testament to the hard work, passion and skills of John, Desiree and their team. The cuisine takes inspiration from Thai flavours, people and culture using season...

We welcome Alex Pitt, Co-Founder of Lower Wine Bar , to The Premier Cru! When a wine bar gets set up by a team that's worked at Brat, The Clove Club, Kiln and The 10 Cases, you know it will be good. Lower has a brilliant wine list and at some of the best prices you will find in London. Right in the heart of Waterloo, the bar is intimate and welcoming with a functional cellar as an awesome priv...

We welcome Federico Moccia, Head Sommelier of  67 Pall Mall , to The Premier Cru! 67 Pall Mall is a private members club devoted to fine wine. It gives members the opportunity to enjoy their passion for wine with like-minded people in stunning locations. The first club was founded in London and offers an extensive wine list without standard restaurant mark-ups. The club has a fantastic restaurant...

We welcome Clément Cousin, Co-Founder of Bavette Bistro , to The Premier Cru! Clément and his partner Sandy met whilst working at Terroirs (now closed), an iconic wine bar located in central London. After honing their crafts for 10+ years , as front of house and chef respectively, they decided it was time to set up their own venture and Bavette Bistro was the result. It has been incredibly well re...

On this episode, we continue our conversation with Jasper Morris, the leading Burgundy wine critic. Jasper is the author of "Inside Burgundy" which is an in-depth guide to the region and has evolved into an online subscription platform . During part 1, we focused on the 2023 vintage and the en primeur campaign. This week we discuss the top trends shaping the region including: Exorbitant prices Top...

It is January, which means one thing for the wine calendar: Burgundy en primeur. As a result, we decided to welcome Jasper Morris to The Premier Cru. Jasper has established himself as the leading Burgundy wine critic, having previously imported many of the top domaines to the UK. More recently he wrote “Inside Burgundy” an in-depth guide to the wine region, which has developed into an online subsc...

We welcome Walter Speller to The Premier Cru. Walter has built a brilliant career as a wine writer, specialising in Italian wine and contributing to Jancis Robinson's purple pages. Walter recently invited us to the Benvenuto Brunello tasting, to try the 2020 vintage that is being released to market in January 2025. We thought it was the perfect opportunity to: Introduce you to Brunello as a wine r...

We welcome Patrick McGrath to The Premier Cru. Patrick has had an amazing career in the wine trade, becoming a Master of Wine in 1993 and the CEO of Hatch Mansfield . More recently he has also founded Domaine Evremond in collaboration with the Taittinger family. It represents the first attempt by a famous champagne house to produce wine in Britain. The project began in 2015 and their first non-vin...

We welcome Charles Carron Brown to The Premier Cru. Charles is the Restaurant Manager at Aulis , an exclusive Michelin Star restaurant as part of the Simon Rogan Group. Aulis is not your everyday dining experience, incorporating: Tasting menus - both food and wine Exceptional food - Michelin Star restaurant Sustainability - food sourced from Simon Rogan's farm Exclusivity - just 12 covers per even...

We welcome Michael Sager to The Premier Cru. Michael is the Founder of: Sager + Wilde wine bar Bruno Sager + Wines Equal Parts Michael burst onto the UK wine and food scene via a wine pop-up, which inspired him to found his first venture, Sager + Wilde wine bar. It was an instant success and encouraged him to turn the concept into a brilliant restaurant in Bethnal Green (also called Sager + Wilde)...

We welcome Matthew Mawtus to The Premier Cru. Matthew is the Head of Food & Beverage at ⁠ Hide ⁠ restaurant, following an amazing career including stints at Claridge's and Pollen Street Social. When you imagine a Michelin Star restaurant, Hide is exactly what you see: Tasteful decor - the UK's most photographed staircase World class chef - Ollie Dabbous Unrivalled wine list - full access to ra...

We welcome our first couple, Patrick Williams and Amy Corbin, to The Premier Cru! Patrick and Amy are the dynamic duo behind the Kudu Collective - a set of South African inspired restaurants in South London. Since opening in 2018, Patrick and Amy have been serving exceptional modern European food with a South African twist, influenced by Patrick's upbringing in South Africa. From establishing a lo...

We welcome Anthony Gopal to The Premier Cru, who is the Head Sommelier at KOL . KOL is the brainchild of Santiago Lastra (Head Chef). The principle aim of the cuisine is to transport the flavours and soul of Mexican food using local British produce. Since opening in 2020, KOL has received a Michelin star and also been listed in The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Anthony has done an incredible job de...

We welcome Melania Battiston to The Premier Cru. Melania is one of the UK's top young sommeliers, having worked at The Medlar and Aman Hotel Group whilst running her own coaching business and judging at the Decanter World Wine Awards. Melania's latest adventure is joining David Liverpool and the team at Cornus , a new roof-top restaurant based in Belgravia. They serve delicious food ground...

We welcome Ed Templeton to The Premier Cru, who is the Co-Founder of Carousel . What differentiates Carousel from other restaurants? Well, they have a weekly chef in residency programme, inviting new chefs each week from across the world to showcase their cuisine to London customers. It is a culinary hub where you can explore different cuisines, cultures and real creativity. On top of that they al...

Hedonism Wines has to be one of the most luxurious retail experiences in the UK. Think of it as a wine Disneyland including chandeliers made of wine glasses, multiple large format bottles and some of the greatest wines you can get your hands on! Hugo and Ben welcome Julien Le Doaré, General Manager of Hedonism Wines, onto the podcast. In the episode we discuss: The vision behind Hedonism Wines The...