A Mexican Wine in London

by Gal Zohar

A mexican bottle

Luigi is exactly the type of sommelier we like. He’s young, he knows his wines and is very down to earth. His list is one that could only exist in the crazy metropolis of London. One of the top picks at his Caravaggio restaurant is the Estapor Venir Mezcla Tinto 2007 from the Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico. Yes, a Mexican wine served in an Italian restaurant in London. Best of all, it works superbly! Luigi agrees that selling unusual wines like this is a big challenge but it is one he is more than happy take. Here’s the man himself talking about Estapor Venir:

Another gem on the list is the L’Excellence de Bonassia, a real Moroccan delight.  This is definitely not a gimmick and Luigi is so confident in the quality that he serves it by the glass. I was pleasantly surprised by the wine – it is well made, elegant and has that punchy, cheeky Mediterranean feel I often find in wines from the south of Italy such as Aglianico. You can have a look at the wine list here

Luigi is one of a refreshing new generation of sommeliers who are confident, opinionated and prepared to take risks on their lists. After all, a good wine list should partly be a reflection of the sommelier’s personality. Thankfully, the days of generic wine-lists-by-numbers are gradually becoming a thing of the past. The best sommeliers now try to be innovative and surprise their customers, to create wine trends rather than simply follow them. In order to be successful they have to work harder to source interesting and unusual wines and more importantly to convince their customers to join in the adventurous mood. The pay off they get is seeing diners drinking and enjoying wines that they would never have even considered before.

Finally, if you still need convincing about the quality of Mexican wines, then surely Steven Spurrier can persuade you:

Caravaggio, 107-112 Leadenhall Street, London EC3A 4DP, 020 7626 6206

Tags: Estapor Venir, Luigi Buonanno, Mexico, sommelier, Video

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 5:21 pm and is filed under Food & Wine, Sommeliers Corner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.