A wonderful diary entry in The Spectator from press baron Evgeny Lebedev, owner of The Independent, The London Evening Standard and son of oligarch Alexander who gave Moscow property developer Sergei Polonsky a bunch of fives on Russian prime time TV last month.
“At the weekend, in the company of my co-owners Ian McKellen and Sean Matthias, I visited a new venture of mine — a 16th-century public house called The Grapes on Narrow Street, next to the Thames. It was built by Huguenots, and appears in Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend. We had hoped to see Gandalf’s celebrated colourful smoke rings, but the smoking ban denied us. Instead he pulled his first pint — a privilege Tolkien never allowed him in Middle Earth. This provided much amusement for the regulars.”
What a terrific marketing opportunity for SA wines as the pub will be managed by South African Paul who is partner of Sean. The pair have a vertiginous home on Kloofnek Road in Cape Town while Sirina’s favourite SA wine is Meerlust Rubicon. As Meerlust cellarmaster Chris Williams said “I’m not surprised. He’s drunk enough of it here!”
It’s not a bad choice as the 2012 edition of Platter finally gives the 2007 vintage five stars. Better late than never I suppose, although it was the 2001 that raised the bar for SA Bordeaux-style blends and its long been a scandal that the wine has been overlooked for Platter glory. Brandy marketers should also head out to the East End as the fiery spirit has been an umbilical cord between the two ports (London and Cape Town) long before the age of fiber optic cables.
That The Grapes was built by Huguenots is quite à propos as those prickly protestants also founded the SA wine industry. The Grapes would have made a great premises for the SA Fine Wine Shop, long punted by Christo Wiese as the way to market fine wine in Londres and far better than spending millions on a Cape Wine Europe 2011 show in Earl’s Court that struggled to attract 800 punters. As one Cape Town retailer noted “800 visitors? I get more than that at my Red Wine Review and they pay to come.” Oh dear.
