Welcome back.
The next two blog posts will shine a spotlight on the wines behind my podcast episode with the inspiring writer and philanthropist Ndaba Mandela.
So pour a glass of South African red with me as we meet Chris White from Ellis Wines, a family-owned wine merchant with a proud history of supplying exquisite wines to the hotel and tourism trade.
As a champion of South African wines, they introduced us to Strandveld the Navigator (2017), a rich blend of four different grapes which we sipped (according to the podcast’s rules) during our interview with Chris.
In the process, we uncovered future wine trends, divulged cheesy jokes and gained insight into the fun and unpredictable world of working for a wine merchant (from Conservative club dinners to far-less conservative pool parties).
You are a business development manager for a family wine merchant. Could you explain your role in a couple of sentences?
Essentially, it’s just to get new customers for Ellis, my employer, and sell more of these fantastic wines across the southwest of England.
What are the most challenging parts of your job?
You have to knock on a lot of doors and there’s a lot of rejection, unfortunately. But I guess that’s the life of a salesman. And really, just trying to explain to people why Ellis are different from other merchants out there. It’s easy in some ways but it’s difficult as well because people are busy and they don’t want to be bothered by salesmen like me.
Can you tell me about the wine you sent to both myself and Mr Mandela?
This is from the Strandveld vineyard in the southern cape of South Africa. It’s a blend of shiraz, grenache, mourvèdre, with a little bit of viognier as well… so kind of a Rhone blend. All the grapes are fermented together which is quite unusual. These guys have been around for about 20 years on the very southern tip of South Africa. It’s a maritime climate, with lots of cooling winds which keep the wines really fresh, with great acidity. This wine also has a little bit of barrel age, about 18 months. It’s just really rich and gamey and meaty and you can imagine having it with a brai on a beach in South Africa. We’re in cold and miserable England at the moment but there you go.
It’s approved by Tim Atkin as well.
They’ve had great success with the critics. It’s a multiple gold medal winning wine and is Strandveld’s top cuvee. The climate and the soil is really well suited to sauvignon blanc as well so they make really fresh, grassy, herbaceous sauvignons that are early drinking but they do some oak-aged ones as well. They’re a really fantastic producer, really invested in biodiversity and sustainability.
What do you like most about working in the wine industry?
I’ve been very lucky to travel and meet new people across Europe and Asia and in Argentina and South Africa. So I think it’s exploring new places and meeting the people and the characters behind the wine. Also, you’re always learning, especially now they’re rediscovering old techniques of wine making which is really exciting, I think.
Is there a particular fun moment that you remember?
I took some customers to France recently and we had a very fun tasting in the vineyard which got a bit out of hand and ended up in a pool party with the customers and the winemaker. It was just a lot of fun, I guess. Too much red wine for sure.
Is there ever too much?
Maybe at 11 o’clock in the morning [laughs].
If you could drink wine with two inspirational people from anywhere in the world – dead or alive – who would they be?
I’m pretty laid back. I like a laugh. So there are a few comedians I like, Ricky Gervais and Larry David (the creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm). I’m just huge fans of theirs and whenever you see the big interviews and you hear their attitude to life it’s really encouraging. It’s just a happy attitude.
Could you recommend two of your favourite places to drink wine in London?
I got to know Noble Rot quite recently through a friend. Their wine list is just incredible, with really unusual and interesting wines. And the other one is Gordon’s Wine Bar by Embankment Tube Station, which is the oldest wine bar in London. Very different experience but just so cool. Downstairs they have these cosy little nooks and crannies and they have a great wine list, great sherry and a deli inside as well. So definitely those two.
Would you like to tell me a little about Ellis wines, the company you work for?
They’re a family-owned wine merchant run by the three Ellis brothers. They’ve been going nearly 200 years and they used to have wine shops back in the 80’s. But now they’re a merchant that sells to the wine trade. They’re based just outside of Richmond and focus mainly on the southwest and central London but have a few people that work in the north of England as well. They’re a great company with fantastic wines and a very personal family ethos. They’re really highly regarded and a great company to work for.
What are your thoughts on ethnic diversity in the wine world?
This is a hot topic at the moment across all industries. I think the wine industry is guilty of not being particularly diverse. It’s the classic red-trousered brigade, as they’d be called. And certainly, when I joined five years ago it was a bit of an old boys’ club. But I think there is change, with some really modern wine companies and importers out there. I think it’s important that the more we do to encourage a more diverse work force the better because it’ll only improve the industry for everyone – for our customers, for the winemakers, for the general public. I think it needs to work a lot harder.
You told me you love a bit of humour. Can you tell me a wine joke please?
Oh god, okay. What do you call a wine that is an anti-diuretic?
I don’t know.
Pee-no-more? I have to say I looked that one up because I didn’t have any wine jokes at hand. It’s pretty cheesy but that’s about as good as it gets.
If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be?
I’m a real keen sportsman. I guess my dream job would be to be a professional golfer. I started playing golf when I was about 10. My dad taught me and it’s just something that I’ve always enjoyed when I get the chance. I play in Bristol where I live, so there’s quite a few good golf courses. I play cricket in the summer and then golf in the winter.
What is the most awkward wine moment you have ever had?
I’ve had a few. Mainly involving spilling wine over customers. I had an Australian wine maker that came over to do a dinner for me with some customers. He sort of gave up and started telling a story and it was to a room full of slightly elderly people who were very much conservative in their views. And he told a story that was massively inappropriate and that they definitely didn’t appreciate. I guess telling stories in the restaurants and bars in Australia is a little bit more relaxed, shall we say, than maybe in the Conservative club in Christchurch but there you go. It made me laugh.
Red, white, sparkling or rose?
It doesn’t feel right to say when we’re drinking this fantastic red but I drink more whites than anything else. But it’s always difficult to choose when you have great reds like this, and especially going into winter. Overall, I drink more white wine though.
English sparkling wine or champagne?
It’s tough but I think I have to say English. One of my best friends works in the English sparkling wine industry and I see how hard he’s worked and how hard other people in the industry have worked to really grow the brand of English sparkling wine. I think more and more people are slowly but surely coming round to it. And the quality is outstanding. So definitely, English sparkling wine for now.
For now?
Forever, actually.
Do you have any thoughts on English wine potentially attracting international tourism in the future?
I think it’s a really exciting time for the industry and a huge opportunity. Because we don’t really have that tradition that some other countries have, actually, we can be quite innovative and we’re not stuck to one sort of style or method. I think there’s some really exciting times ahead.
Other than wine, what is your favourite alcoholic beverage?
I’m a real tequila fan. Normally I start drinking it at the end of the night when it’s too late but I actually love good sipping tequila.
I thought you were going to say you start drinking it early in the morning.
A friend of mine married a Polish lady and we went to a wedding in Poland and were drinking nothing but straight vodka for two days. We thought we’d show the Poles what we can do and drink them at their own game but that’s always going to end badly.
What are your thoughts on wines available in cans?
I think this is a huge area of growth in the industry. Sustainability, eco-friendliness, recycling and carbon footprint is a huge issue now and it’s something that Ellis are really thinking about. There’s a canned wine company in Bath that’s experimenting with better quality wines because in the past it had a reputation of just generally being a bit naff. But the days where you’ve got these heavy bottles that weight two kilos to make it feel like an expensive thing is just crazy. It’s not sensible to ship and produce those bottles. I think cans are the future.
That’s the red wine breakfast talking, I’d say.
This literally is my breakfast. I’m not sure I’ll have the most productive day now but there you go.
Can you tell me a fun wine legend?
The Paris judgement of 1976, that is a legend in the wine world. The French go up against the Californian wines and the Californian wines winning against the French. I would have loved to have been there.
If you want people to get some wine from you where do they need to go?
You can find us online at elliswines.co.uk or you can find me on Instagram or Twitter as @elliswineguy.
What is your favourite quote?
Maybe this says more about me but I chose a quote from a film I absolutely love called The Big Lebowski. There’s a famous bit where The Dude is talking to God with the image of God at the bar and he says, “Sometimes you eat the bar and sometimes the bar eats you.” And I take that as you win some, you lose some and you shouldn’t get too bogged down in life. Life is tough at the moment but there’ll be lots of times drinking in bars once this is all over and we can all look forward to that.
What do you like to sing?
I do like to sing but normally on my own in the car so I don’t have to punish anyone else.
Is there is a drinking song you know?
Well, normally I’d just shout “down it, down it!” at you. I don’t know if there’s an actual drinking song I know. I suppose, ‘Tequila makes you happy’? There’s another song.
Thank you so much for speaking to us today.
You’re welcome. I had a lot of fun. Every Saturday morning should start like this… though I think I’m going to need a lie down now.
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