Hipsters are still a thing right? Defined by their off the beaten track tastes, cool demeanour and big beards. My dad has a big beard but he isn’t a hipster, he does drink a fair amount of wine though which brings me to a dawning moment I had last week at an extremely buzzy wine trade tasting of New Wave South Africa wines held in Shoreditch: the home of the hipster. The tasting showcased some of the most eclectic and fine wines coming out of SA at the moment but no finer a wine than some of those shown at tastings in more traditional venues: the Royal Horticultural Halls round the back of St James’, Lords Cricket Ground in St Johns’ Wood, Whitehall to name a few.
Hipsters are defined as much by their beards as they are by their eclectic tastes, the more esoteric the better; move over Sauvignon blanc, Merlot and Shiraz it’s Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Riesling served here. Indeed if wine were a hipster it would probably be a Riesling… with a beard obviously. Unfortunately I haven’t come across a Riesling with a beard but you can embrace your inner hipster with a bottle of Etre à l’Ouest Chardonnay from Red Squirrel Wines which they say ‘translates loosely as “leftfield” or “away with the fairies”, or this cheeky little number from my day job: Fleuri de Barbebelle which translates as “flowery, beautiful beard” from Coteaux d’Aix en Provence.
For a great Riesling, on the other hand, check out this Taste the Difference stunner, £8.00 at Sainsbury’s. It might not look very hip but it smothers your taste buds in Elderflower cordial and pink grapefruit juice and comes from Awatere Valley in New Zealand which is surely the Shoreditch equivalent of the wine world.