When you have finally had an overdose of art and history in the British Museum, spent all your money shopping on Oxford Street and ate all the fish and chips in the world at, well… any chip-shop in the city, be sure to head to Earl’s Court where London’s first winery, London Cru opened its doors to the public in November.
London Cru, a unique boutique winery built in an old gin distillery, is the brainchild of Cliff Roberson (founder of award-winning merchant Roberson Wine) and investor Will Tomlinson. The day-to-day operations of the winery are run by a team of experts such as international winemaker Gavin Monery and Master of Wine student Mark Andrew.
When asked about the decision to launch the winery, Gavin Monery said; “With so many talented people creating world-class craft beers and spirits in London we thought it was time to do the same with wine, sharing the experience of making it with people who want a hands-on, informative and entertaining experience. London Cru will be the embodiment of the “Made in London” spirit, and this brand new concept fits perfectly into the city’s thriving wine scene.”
Leading up to the grand opening, staff at London Cru were busy installing specialist wine making equipment and receiving shipments of expertly sourced grapes from vineyards in Piemonte, the Languedoc, and the Roussillon.
Besides savouring the wines from the winery visitors are also able take part in a tour of the winery every Saturday, after which they are welcome to stay for a drink and some snacks from the pop-up bar. For those wanting a bit more in-depth experience in the winery, they will also be offering “Winemaker for a Day” sessions, where wine-lovers will learn what’s in a winery, how wine is made, and even blend their own bottle to take home. A souvenir couldn’t get better than this.
Noémi is a thirty-something Hungarian who moved to the Netherlands many moons ago but is still trying to get her head around the clogs, bikes and 'harings' . She considers herself adventurous when it comes to food and travel…although those who have seen her struggle with a haring/ stroopwafel/ stamppot might disagree. She loves trying out new restaurants and dishes and luckily the Hague has been a perfect playground for that. 
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