4 minute read
DAYGUSTATION
EXPECT TO FIND THE FINEST WINES AT DAYGUSTATION
THE PERFECT PAIRING
Why Matt Day’s passion for wine and Wanstead High Street have proved to be a marriage made in heaven
By MARK KEBBLE
QUALITY CHEESES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE
Q Pre-Daygustation, what were you involved in?
A I started my wine career at Majestic Wine in 1998 and, tired of stacking boxes, I moved to the Rheingau, Germany in 1999 to work as an apprentice winemaker. On my return, I landed a dream job as tastings manager for the world’s first ever wine website WineToday.com (The New York Times Group) working alongside industry legend Oz Clarke.
I started writing about wine in 2000 and in 2002 won the UK Young Wine Writer of the Year award. I have since contributed to titles including Esquire, Olive and jancisrobinson.com, and have presented wine segments on Sky One, Radio 2 and LBC London.
From 2002-2006 I worked as a wine specialist for the Michelin starred MARC group, with restaurants in London (Umu, Greenhouse) and New York with some of the most extensive wine lists in the world. Working with the sommeliers at each location gave me a detailed knowledge of fine wine, wine lists and fine dining.
In 2006 I moved into PR and have since worked with generic bodies (Champagne Information Bureau, Sherry Information Bureau, Wines of Germany) and companies including Rémy Martin, Laurent-Perrier, G.H. Mumm, Perrier-Jouët and Aldi. My specialist area is food and drink pairing and I have worked with many brands including Dark Horse (Gallo), Castello Cheese, Jacobs Crackers, Premier Foods, Peperami and Ferrero Rocher to develop thought-provoking pairings. My most memorable project was Café de Mort: a pop-up restaurant fronted by Gregg Wallace serving a menu of potentially lethal dishes including Japanese pu er fish. I have also worked as an ambassador for Castello Cheese, developing innovative recipes and drinks pairings, and demonstrating in the live theatres at shows including BBC Good Food and Ideal Home. And for four years I worked as part of the team developing Corkscrew, a wine app to help consumers find the perfect wine in UK and US supermarkets and wine retailers.
Q What inspired the launch of the shop?
A I opened Daygustation Wines in October 2020 after COVID terminated my ongoing contracts in PR, tech and events. I am based in Forest Gate, but my daughters go to school in Wanstead. I have spent the last ten years wondering why there isn’t an independent wine shop on the High Street. COVID has been pretty disastrous for many businesses, including my own, but on the bright side lockdown has given me the time to get my act together and open the shop. Wanstead has a great high street with an independent quality butcher, fishmonger, greengrocer and baker – a wine merchant was the missing link.
Q What did you initially o er?
A Daygustation is a wine shop for local people o ering a relaxed wine shopping experience with truthful, unpretentious service. We specialise in delicious wines from small, quality-driven producers at every price point. As well as wines, we also sell a small range of interesting beers, Japanese saké, small-batch spirits and grown up soft drinks. In the chiller you will find stinky cheese from La Fromagerie, charcuterie from Chefs Deli (Bombetta), olives and other nibbles from Brindisa.
Q How have you evolved since then?
A We started o with a small range of 100 wines and now have more than 400. We listened to our customers and have added wines that they wanted to see on the shelf. We are constantly evolving the wine list and changing the food o ering to see what works.
Q How do you decide on the wine producers you work with?
A We sell 'real' wines that taste of the grape and place they come from. We have tasted every wine we sell and selected it as we think it is the best, most delicious example of that grape from that place in the world. Too much choice isn’t necessarily a good thing – most supermarkets have 20+ Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs, we have one, the one we think o ers you the best taste at a reasonable price.
Q What was the thinking behind the wine counter out at the front of the shop?
A The counter is based on our experience of wine bars in Italy. A place where you can drink really good wine, and eat cheese, charcuterie and other snacks. The format means that people have to talk to each other and usually by the end of the evening everyone is sitting together sharing bottles of wine!
Q What kind of events do you hold in the tasting room?
A We o er a four-week Introduction to Wine Tasting Course, which starts on the first Wednesday of every month (priced at £200). Also, we run frequent Cheese and Wine Masterclasses with eight fine wines matched to eight di erent cheeses from La Fromagerie.
Q What are your plans for 2022?
A Have a holiday! We have just launched Essex-wide delivery with Click It Local.
