19 minute read
POP WINES
Russell Buchanan has a lot of trade experience, but limited space. So everything on his shelves at Pop Wines in Glasgow is there because he enjoys it, not simply because he feels it’s something customers or suppliers would expect.
By Richard Ross
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Liz Coombes and Simon Hill, Salisbury, April 2022
One thing that sets the best indie wine shops apart from the supermarkets is the role of gut instinct in the buying process. Compare the mental image of the multiple buyer armed with spreadsheets and tick-boxes with that of the stand-alone business owner making selections based on an intuitive feeling for what’s going to get their customers excited.
Russell Buchanan is very much in this camp. “I focus on wines that I like,” he says. “There’s no formula for it whatsoever. I try to have a fair representation from all around the world, but I don’t say that I need to have a certain amount from any one place.”
Buchanan opened Pop Wines, in the Broomhill district of Glasgow, on the north bank of the Clyde, in 2019.
He’d been working in trade for most of his career, first on the supply side with Matthew Clark and Hallgarten, before opening a couple of bars in the city.
He then owned a restaurant in Barcelona for five years before returning to Glasgow and opening Pop.
Just four months later the pandemic hit, forcing a quick swivel to set up a website. “E-commerce was going to be the next stage of the business anyway,” he says, “but it forced my hand to do it sooner – maybe a year or two earlier – than I’d originally wanted to. It saved the business, there’s no question about it.”
The shop’s snappy name was inspired by that of his daughter, Poppy, and – naturally – the noise of a cork coming out of a bottle.
“I wanted something that was easy to remember and I didn’t want anything too convoluted or pretentious. We did consider spray-painting the front of the shop, but I don’t think I was ready for that.”
What prompted you to start the business?
It was something I wanted to do for a long time, but it seemed like a flight of fancy. My circumstances changed when I moved back to Glasgow from Spain for family reasons and I was looking for something that I could do, maybe a bit of a passion project where I wouldn’t have to rely on staff or other people – essentially something I could do myself. But the business has grown since I started it and now I do have a couple of staff.
What was your vision for the business?
I always wanted it to be good value and a well-curated selection of wines that would not necessarily be available everywhere. I wanted to use suppliers and producers that I’d worked with in the past. The location of the shop made sense too, but everything comes back to value for money, something a wee bit different, and a more personal approach. It’s not a big shop, so the idea was to talk to people about the wines.
What’s your typical customer like?
Very varied. We have a lot of local customers and we do sell a lot online as well, so it’s hard to tell. Our most regular customers tend to be looking for something really nice for Friday and Saturday night dinners. When the summer comes along I always make sure the fridge is stocked as people come in to buy wine to have with their barbecues.
This part of town has a tradition of being fairly booze-free.
Yes, our licence is quite unusual in Glasgow. Most off-licences operate until 10pm but ours is only until 7pm. It’s historically a
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dry area. There are a few reasons but I think the main one is the proximity of the hospital. The NHS were objecting quite often to the renewal of licences but times are changing now.
It’s not an area with a lot of young people, and most of the time I think it becomes a wee bit quieter around about 5pm or 6pm, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays. I suppose I could do with a little bit of extra time.
What would you say are your specialist areas?
It really is wines I like, so it’s a very personal thing and there’s nobody telling me what to do. The cost of living being what it is, I have to be able to justify what I’m charging for every bottle on the shelf. Whether it’s a Verdelho from Spain, or Burgundy or Bordeaux, it has to be value for money.
Cheap doesn’t come into it; it’s about value. It’s a good way to build repeat
custom, because people trust that you know what you’re doing and they come back. They know that the wine you sell is good.
Do you look for any particular style or approach to Pop Wines winemaking in the wines you source in any way?
Not necessarily. We’ve got some tiny producers and larger producers. I’m not a big advocate of natural wine; it just has to be first and foremost a good wine. More and more producers are taking a minimalist approach, which is great, but I’m not going to start doing natural wine just for the sake of it. Some are great, and some are not so great and some can be very expensive.
We do change things up according to
Do you look for any particular style or approach to winemaking in the wines you source in any way?
Not necessarily. We’ve got some tiny producers and larger producers. I’m not a big advocate of natural wine; it just has to be first and foremost a good wine. More and more producers are taking a minimalist approach, which is great, but I’m not going to start doing natural wine just for the sake of it. Some are great, and some are not so great and some can be very expensive.
We do change things up according to the time of year and what I think will sell. In Scotland in the summer we try to focus on lighter reds, and rosé obviously gets popular. Good quality sparkling wines, not necessarily Champagne, have become really popular.
Which are your main suppliers? I work with quite a few including
Hallgarten, Berkmann, Graft and Hatch. We try to keep it relatively tight, but basically we’re happy to work with wine importers who can bring something interesting to the table.
We have the beer side of things too. We have some cider and a few bits and pieces in snacks. This used to be a deli, but it’s never been my ambition to throw away lots of profit every week. I stick to things like crisps, olives and charcuterie – things people can pick up to complement a bottle of wine on their way home.
You opened in late 2019, so it was quite a short time before things went wobbly.
It was just myself and I had to think on my feet. I’d spent a lot of money filling the shelves when I opened, and it was just before Christmas, so sales were brisk. Things were inevitably quieter in January and February, and to get that news in March, it gave us a bit of a problem.
We were technically allowed to stay open but I didn’t want to be the reason that people were out and about. At that time it was extremely serious. We decided to close the business and I went and locked myself in a darkened room for a few days and built a website, which I’d never done before.
It opened us up to a lot of new customers. People were buying six bottles at a time, which they wouldn’t have done if they were just passing.
From a PR perspective it worked well, as we were seen as a bit of a saviour to an extent. People were very appreciative of the delivery service.
Have you held on to those customers?
Yes, pretty much. I am finding that people who were ordering online are now coming in and introducing themselves and saying “you helped me through lockdown”.
It’s good that people are coming back into the shop, as it was never intended to
Russell Buchanan is happy to consolidate what’s already been achieved
be an online-only business.
What’s your annual turnover?
About £250,000 this year. Margin wise we are at 30%–35% and obviously we try to take advantage of supplier offers where we can. There were some good offers to be had during lockdown.
What does the future hold?
I’d potentially like to do a bit of on-trade again, but we can’t have drinking in here, so that’s really for the future. At the moment, certainly for the rest of this year, I want to consolidate. Obviously, it’s been an uneven beginning to the business, so it will be quite interesting to have an uninterrupted year.
I’d like to expand the online side of things and I’d like to import a bit of wine myself, but after Brexit that has become a bit more difficult. The [proposed] duty changes and so on have tempered my appetite for it a little bit.
THE VERDICT
Emily Silva The Oxford Wine Company
Joe Whittick
Whitmore & White Heswall
Hannah Ford
StarmoreBoss Sheffield
Philip Amps
Amps Wine Oundle
Dean Harper
HarperWells Norwich
Nic Rezzouk
Reserve Wines Manchester
Our panel of independent merchants tasted a selection of DAOU wines from the portfolio of C&C Wines.
Founded by brothers Georges and Daniel Daou in 2009, DAOU Family Estates was created with the vision to make California “first growth” wine. Located in the Adelaida District of Paso Robles, DAOU Mountain provides the terroir to achieve this. The estate was named a “jewel of ecological elements” by the father of modern American winemaking, André Tchelistcheff, and was recently nominated for Wine Enthusiast’s American Winery of the Year.
For more information, visit carsoncarnevalewines.com, or call 0203 261 0929
If you are interested in tasting these wines please contact Jon Carson: j.carson@carsoncarnevalewines.com
DAOU Chardonnay 2020
RRP £23.99
“Rounded and full with a little sweet vanilla and coconut but plenty of tropical fruit. Exactly what you want in a young California Chardonnay, with a fresh, fruity finish that leaves you wanting another sip.” – Hannah Ford
“A lovely wine that oozes Californian Chardonnay character. Silky smooth with a long, superb finish and wonderful zesty fruit.” – Dean Harper
DAOU Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
RRP £27.99
“A classy glass of American Cab. Lovely dark fruits with structure to balance the wine. Very drinkable.” – Philip Amps
“A powerful, sophisticated wine with an abundance of boozy cherries, bramble fruit, wet earth, cedar and oak, a touch of mintiness and eucalyptus, green bell pepper, peat smoke, liquorice … there’s plenty to unpick.” – Hannah Ford
DAOU Reserve Chardonnay 2019
RRP £44.99
“Spot on. Really complex. I had it over three nights and it’s definitely a keeper.” – Nic Rezzouk
“The nose is rich, creamy and buttery, with some honey, citrus and butterscotch notes. The palate is nicely balanced, with integrated oak influences, butterscotch and citrus notes on the lengthy finish. A quality barrel-fermented Chardonnay.” – Joe Whittick
DAOU Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
RRP £59.99
“Loved the wine. Superb complexity which was discernible even if the wine was maybe slightly young. Gorgeous tannin; very smooth. Deep, dark and rich, with full flavour of fruit but not over-blown. Great use of oak. It tastes incredibly well made.” – Dean Harper
“Both the Cabernets are very precise, with good complexity and freshness, the oak very well judged, and both age-worthy. Considering they’re California wines I think the value is really good.” – Nic Rezzouk
DAOU Rosé 2019
RRP £27.99
“A moreish rosé whose flavour belies its pale colour. Full of summer fruit flavours.” – Dean Harper
“Fruit-driven yet elegant, with presentation that would just walk off the shelf.” – Emily Silva
“Nice and fresh, with dry peach and watermelon, and some minerality. Packaging is contemporary and stylish.” – Joe Whittick
The Pessimist by DAOU 2018
RRP £26.99
“Gorgeous flavours throughout the taste profile. Superb both with and without food. Excellent fruit and a bit of spice on the end. Smooth tannins; very approachable.” – Dean Harper
“The undoubted star. Delicious and opulent with a lifted nose of dark fruits, and a hint of herbs. There was a fight to take this one home, which I won, and served it with loin of venison. Perfect.” – Philip Amps
THE WINEMAKER FILES // Nuno Falcão Rodrigues
Casal da Coelheira, Tejo wine region
Traditionally the old Portuguese
vineyards made field blends and so there wasn’t the chance to taste a single-variety wine to understand the real potential of Portuguese grapes. So at first we grew what we knew: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Syrah. Since then we have increased our understanding of our native varieties and now we work with those.
Alongside the investment in the vineyard we have also modernised the
winery. It was, and still is, a very nice traditional winery with concrete tanks, but we added a cooling system and we’ve updated the pressing machines, among other things.
When I finished my agricultural studies
I dedicated my time to the winery. In 1997 I made my first wine completely alone, and that is when things started to be more difficult as all the responsibility was with me. Fortunately things went well, with several awards, which gave us some visibility.
We export about 60% of our production,
but we are still a small winery. The property in total is 300ha but we have 50ha of vineyards and almost every year we are planting new vineyards and replanting others.
Now we have about 70% Portuguese
grapes. We are still focused on the whites; we have never given up on our traditional Fernão Pires. It’s a grape that was not very popular 10 or 20 years ago, but now we understand the diversity of wines we can make with it. If we treat it well in the vineyards we can make amazing wines. We have Arinto, and Verdelho, which is an important grape for us. We also still have Chardonnay.
On the reds we have Touriga Nacional
and Touriga Franca – which maybe does not have the popularity of Touriga Nacional, but we usually make better wines with it. It’s quite a sensitive grape at the end of the ripening, and it’s very susceptible to early rains. As we are in quite a hot region, with very dry soils, we are able to pick the grapes quite early to avoid the end-of-summer rains. We have a lot of Alicante Bouschet, which gives us very good results. And we still have Cabernet and Syrah.
Our white wines are quite mineral
and fresh. I think the sandy soil has an important impact on that. For the reds, they are quite bold and full-bodied, but still elegant and fresh.
When I made my first steps in winemaking, experience was shared from one generation to another – habits and traditions that had no scientific
explanation. Now, the region has a lot of winemakers who have travelled and have different experiences. I think we are more open-minded. By sharing the information with our neighbours and colleagues, we have helped the region to grow.
Nuno comes from an agricultural family which entered the wine business in earnest when his parents bought a farm in the Tejo region of Portugal.
Casal da Coelheira wines are represented in Wales by ND John Wines and the company is seeking distributors in other UK regions.
More information at casaldacoelheira.pt
In the past it was not so easy because the region was known for bulk wine and high yields, but this is not the reality now and our image is changing. The quality of our wines has been recognised domestically and worldwide. We have so much diversity; we are able to produce very fresh white wines, full-bodied reds, traditional fortified wines and interesting sparkling wines. I think Tejo is going in the right direction.
Terraços do Tejo White 2021
This a single-varietal Fernão Pires, one of the most typical grapes of Tejo region. We’re looking to make a wine that’s easy-drinking, fruity and quite refreshing. There’s a fresh aroma with citrus fruit and light vegetal notes. In the mouth there are clear apricot and plum characters.
Casal da Coelheira Reserva Red 2019
This blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon is usually a safe bet when suggesting a wine to people I don’t already know. It’s probably our most universally popular wine: velvety, smooth and elegant, but also deep.
Mythos Red 2020
The icon of our estate, produced with the same blend of grapes as the Reserva but from older blocks with significantly lower yields. This wine represents a picture of Casal da Coelheira and the terroir where the grapes are grown, from the concentration of the dry and deep sandy soils to the freshness of the cooling nights.
Lebanon plays to its strengths
French traditions, small-scale production, altitude and diversity are four of the advantages enjoyed by Lebanese winemakers. Our recent online tasting of Chateau Ksara wines helped prove the point
There are four elements that make Lebanese wine stand out, according to Michael Karam, the wine writer and Lebanon expert.
First, it’s relatively small, in the grand scheme of things; second, it has an affinity with France, the most celebrated of winemaking nations; third, its vineyards are, in most cases, at high altitude, making for fresher more elegant wines; and last, it’s diverse, with 32 grape varieties currently cultivated, and more coming through.
“If the Lebanese can’t claim to be the first people to make wine, we can definitely claim to be the first wine merchants,” Karam told a Zoom tasting for Wine Merchant readers of wines from Château Ksara in the Bekaa Valley.
“Between 2000 BC and 300 BC, at the height of the Phoenician trading empire, the culture of wine was spread to the then known world.
“We only make 10 million bottles a year, which is a microscopic amount compared to the giants of Spain, Italy and France. We like that. We think small is beautiful.”
Lebanon’s Francophone tradition was established after the country was handed over to French control by the Allied victors after World War I.
“The 50,000 civil servants and soldiers who stayed until Lebanon became independent in 1943 created unprecedented demand for wine,” notes Karam.
“Our altitude is our ace card,” he adds. “It’s what gives our wines their competitive edge.”
Diversity plays out in how Bordeaux and Rhône varieties comprise “the first team” in red varieties, he adds, with indigenous varieties including Merwah and Obaideh becoming more prevalent in whites. Ksara co-owner George Sara adds “identity” to Karam’s list of Lebanon’s USPs. He describes the French varieties imported from Algeria by Jesuit winemakers in the 19th century as the country’s “adoptive children” which, together with Lebanon’s indigenous varieties, make up a palate of “heritage grapes”.
Ksara has taken inspiration from further afield. “I don’t think people were interested in Greek wine until Assyrtiko came out,” says Sara. “People could say the name and it was an international style that people wanted. That inspired us to dig into our archives and give ourselves an identity through our indigenous grapes.”
First up in the tasting is Blanc de l’Observatorie 2020 (RRP £11£12), a blend of 40% Obaideh, with Sauvignon Blanc, Clairette, and Muscat.
“Muscat gives the freshness in the wine and Clairette and Obaideh present the heart and body,” says export director Elie Maamari.
The second white was the single varietal Merwah 2020 (RRP £13-£15), made with organically-grown grapes from 60-year-old vines at a height of 1,650 metres.
“Merwah is always the last variety harvested because it is grown at such high altitude,” says Maamari. “It has a lot of mineral character because the soil has a lot of stones.
“We used to think Mehwah was related to Sémillon or Sauvignon Blanc but it has been DNA-tested and we found there is no connection. It’s native to Lebanon and gives the best expression of Lebanese terroir.” Sara adds: “After many years of experimenting we decided Obaideh was more of a blender. We decided to make 100% Merwah because they are old bush vines with a very low yield. We can extract a lot of freshness but it also gives a nice fatty, oily structure that allows us to express it better as a single variety.”
Jim Dawson, of The Jolly Vintner Too in Bournemouth, says: “I have not tried the Merwah before and think it is superb – different aromas and flavours.”
Ashley Clarke, of The Secret Cellar in Kent, was also new to Merwah and found it to have “a lovely freshness”. Next up are two pinks: Gris de Gris 2020 (RRP £12-£15), a blend of 60% oldvine Grenache Gris and 40% Carignan; and Sunset Rosé 2020 (RRP £12-£13), a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Syrah. Most of the 20,000-bottle production
run of the very pale pink Gris de Gris is drunk overseas. “It’s appreciated on the export market,” says Maamari. “We drink it a lot with fried fish as the acidity cuts through the fat and gives a very interesting marriage.” Of the Sunset Rosé, he adds: “Every year we produce 300,000 bottles and every year we run out of stock. The colour is darker than the Gris de Gris but the body is lighter.
“It’s got red fruits, blackberries and a touch of spice from the Syrah. It’s very easy drinking.”
Dawson at Jolly Vintner Too “enjoyed them both” but thought the “Sunset has more bite”.
The unoaked red wine Le Prieuré 2018 (RRP £11-£12) is a blend of 40% each Carignan and Mourvèdre, with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.
“The Mourvèdre gives an impression of leather and black pepper; there’s very nice fruit from the Carignan and a slightly greenish side that comes from the Cabernet,” Maamari says.
The single varietal Carignan 2020 (RRP £12-£15) comes from the same old, low-yield Carignan vines used to provide grapes for the Gris de Gris. Again it is unoaked, which leads, says Maamari, to “velvety tannins, red and black fruits and a liquorice character”.
“It is delicious,” says Dawson. “Lovely earthy black fruits and a soft ripe palate.”
George Sara
Feature produced in partnership with Chateau Ksara Wines are imported by Berkmann Wine Cellars Find out more at berkmann.co.uk or chateauksara.com
