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“Ah, Wunderbar!”

WONDER BAR
Written by Aksel Ritenis

WONDER BAR

Selfridges’ “Wonder Bar” is one of London’s best wine showcases. Wrapped around the store’s wine shop with Muji-esque beige wood panelling rising high, it fills up rapidly. There’s a feeling – and a pleasant one – that people have come here to be educated.

The great attraction of “Wonder Bar” is the ingenious selfservice ‘wine juke box’ from which you can choose from no less than 52 different wines and vintages. People can buy a card, then run through a preserving machine on one wall with measures as low as 125ml – not as small as they once were, but at least not as headache-inducing as those in some bars. For those that prefer, there is also table service from a team of expert wine waiters, headed by Selfridges’ sommelier.

You can also choose a superb smorgasbord of charcuterie, crustacean and cheese to complement the chosen tipple you have poured.

Meat platters like flavoursome Spanish pata negra ham and celeriac remoulade go well with the carefully selected wines; new wave Spain is well represented via 2004 Alvaro Palacios’ Petalo del Bierzo, and there’s a taste of what passé Châteauneuf du Pape ought to be like in the rich, dense and spice-inflected Vieux Telegraphe’s 2003. There are some quality champagnes available by the glass too.

About the author

Aksel Ritenis

Axel is the Editor and Publisher of Connoisseur Magazine "for the Finer Things in Life" and has been the custodian of the magazine for over 10 years and leader of a team of freelance Journalists and Community Members who continue to make it all happen!-Join the Team at Connoisseur Magazine!

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