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Summertown Wine Café was opened in 2005 by Rob Malcolm, who moved here from his native Sydney with a great idea – to bring the wine tasting experience to the suburbs. The concept is simple: why spend your hard earned cash on a bottle of wine you’ve never even tasted, when you could taste first and make an informed choice? As Rob points out, you wouldn’t buy clothes without trying them on – why buy wine without trying it on?
We’ve all had that nervous moment in the posh wine shop, shifting from one foot to the other and staring at row after row of bottles, names you’ve never heard, prices you’d never pay, snobby assistants judging your wine knowledge until you finally snap and either buy something expensive and hope they don’t realise you’re so clueless, or grab any old bottle based on a country whose wine you’re familiar with. (We’re all guilty of this one – but grapes don’t know which country they’re from! So surely it depends on what the winemaker does with the grape that makes the wine taste good, or bad?) You rush from the shop swearing that you’ll learn more about wine one of these days…
Summertown Wine Café to the rescue! Their aim is to make people feel comfortable about wine – to lose this feeling of intimidation and encourage a new way of buying wine.
Certainly the comfy/casual bar area and the airy, modern, bright conservatory are conducive to relaxation, and the staff welcome you with bright and cheery greetings.
So, on to the all important tasting. 12 wines for just £5! An absolute bargain. The 12 wines of the month are chosen in a unique fashion. Around 15 sample bottles are sent from select wine merchants (all the wines come from smaller growers, and consequently won’t be found in any supermarket – no mass-produced rubbish here!). There is then a blind tasting by the staff, who narrow each category down to four favourites. Then members of the Nude Bottle Society (to join, all you have to do is buy a mixed case of 12 of the wines of the month) come in for an evening of voting. How very democratic!
The knowledge of the staff is incredible without being intimidating. When we came in, they asked what kind of wines we normally drink, so they could point out similarities based on our individual taste. We started with a crisp, refreshing cava which was a real treat. I’m surprised to note that it costs just £10.95 a bottle (£9.86 to members) – the quality puts some of the “premium” champagnes I’ve tried in the shade.
As we moved through the list, “wow” moments included a fresh Galician Leiras Albarino
(no I’ve never heard of it either – but trust me it’s worth a try!), a surprisingly delicious and fruity Chardonnay (coming from someone whose rule of thumb with white wine used to be ABC – Anything But Chardonnay), a lightly spicy Italian Barbera, a smooth and velvety Tempranillo blend, and a sticky strawberry and orangey Pinot Noir dessert wine.
A platter of delicious cheeses and meats complemented the wines perfectly.
The Café is open from 8.30am daily for coffee and pastries, is a wine bar by evening, and sells wine throughout the day and evening. A refreshingly different attitude, a new experience, a fabulous atmosphere. My new favourite place in Oxford – it’ll soon be yours too!
Reviewed by Kirsten Fraser |
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