Top 10 restaurants in London for organic wines

While still a niche segment of the wine market, demand for organic, biodynamic and natural wines has grown significantly over the past decade.

In February the Soil Association’s 2017 Organic Report found that organic BWS was the second fastest-growing organic category in the UK, with its share of the organic market growing by 14.3% to take 2.2% of the market.

Earlier this year Aldi announced it would be rolling out a range of organic wines as it looks to tap into growing demand from consumers.

Confirming the increasing demand for organic wines, both major international trade shows for wines and spirits this year have installed dedicated sections for the category.

In March, ProWein hosted its first ever Organic World, a showcase of 30 international organic wine producers in a designated area, while Vinexpo Bordeaux also launched its inaugural WOW!, standing for World of Organic Wines, with the participation of 200 growers.

At the same time interest in biodynamic and natural wines is also growing. Earlier this year the London-based natural and artisan wine show RAW Wine announced it would be expanding to the West Coast with a new show in Los Angeles.

London, perhaps more so than other cities, has whole-heartedly embraced the organic, natural and biodynamic wine movement, with a range of restaurants placing a special emphasis on these categories in their wine lists.

With this in mind, we have sifted through our Wine List Confidential database to bring you a selection of restaurants with a stellar line-up of natural, organic and biodynamic wines.

Wine List Confidential is a wine list ratings website and mobile app designed to be a transparent, straightforward way to connect wine lovers with the best wine-focused restaurants.

Using a numeric rating system, Wine List Confidential allows wine lovers to quickly compare the wine offer in restaurants, whatever the food or format. Using a simple 100-point scale, Wine List Confidential scores restaurants on the most important aspects of their wine offering – from pricing and service, to the range, size and originality of the selection. These individual ratings are then used to create an overall Wine List Confidential Score for every restaurant reviewed.

The free-to-use resource will initially focus on London’s top restaurant and wine venues, but is set to expand to cover other major cities around the world.

Here, we present some of the restaurants featured on Wine List Confidential that shine a brighter light than most on organic, natural and biodynamic wines.

40 Maltby Street

40 Maltby Street, SE1 3PA

Located inside the warehouse of wine merchant Gergovie Wines, which is also owned by Raef Hodgson, 40 Maltby Street sells wine produced by a handful of winemakers who “eschew the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in favour of letting the land and the grape speak”, in the restaurant’s own words.

Hodgson imports everything himself through his own business with an unerring and uncompromising focus on natural winemakers. One of the most interesting lists in London, alongside a joyful menu.

You can buy all wines to take home, or to drink by the glass or bottle at its bar.

Typing Room

Town Hall Hotel, Patriot Square, E2 9NF

The Typing Room is located in East London’s Town Hall Hotel and is named after the building’s original typing room, in which all communications from the mayoral, council and judicial system were put to ink.

Charming and knowledgeable head sommelier, Fred Marti, oversees a very sharp list indeed with a natural wine bent.

EXPERT PICKS

• Francinet-Remy, NV, Brut – Champagne – France – Sparkling – £89

• X-elis, 2012, Gitton Pere et Fils, Sancerre – France – White – £80

• Lion’s Tooth Chardonnay, 2012, Pyramid Valley Vineyards – New Zealand – White – £130

• Barbaresco, 2013, Olek Bondonio, Piedmonte – Italy – Red – £99

• Volnay, 2015, Domaine de Chassarney, Burgundy – France – Red – £118

Antidote Wine Bar

12A Newburgh Street, W1F 7RR

Predominantly reaped from France, the wine list at this characterful haven over two floors, rising close to Carnaby Street, brings together 18 pages of ecologically-friendly wines, including 20 sometimes provocative pours by the glass.

In the venue’s own words: “We only collaborate with small growers who work organically and biodynamically in the vineyard”.

A food menu guided by the hands of Mikael Jonsson, the Swedish chef founder of the acclaimed Hedone restaurant in Chiswick, is here realised by Michael Hazlewood. Dishes includes a starter of smoked eel with a herb broth and Piattone beans, then main course of Cornish pollock with apricot and, pretty in purple, sea aster. It culminates with, when in season, English strawberries, vanilla cream and a melon ‘consommé’. Be sure to include Hedone’s bread and butter at the start of your meal, too.

Particularly interesting picks include older expressions of Vermentino/Chenin Blanc from Domaine Alain Chabanon (Lagamas), including the 2007, 2008 and 2010 ‘Trélans’, as well as a bottle of legendary Clos de la Coulée de Serrant, Savennières (2008).

Note, most of the wines from the list are also available to take away close to retail price.

EXPERT PICKS

• Blanc de Noirs, NV, Brut, Fleury, Champagne – France – Sparkling – £70

• Auxey Duresse, 2015, Agnes Paquet, Burgundy – France – White – £68

• Rebula Riserva, 2008, JNK – Slovenia – White – £75

• Herrenweg, 2014, Domaine Josmeyer, Alsace – France – Red – £69

• Muscat de Rivesaltes, Les Enfants Sauvages, Roussillon – France – Sweet – £35

Toasted

36-38 Lordship Lane, SE22 8HJ

A treasure trove of wines with the ‘sustainable’, ‘natural’, and ‘biodynamic’ bit between its teeth. Its two-part concept comprises a bistro, serving 300 artisan wines, charcuterie and cheese, alongside a Cave shop-cum-bar. Bulk wine is also shipped in tank and offered by the glass and bottle, showing the good sense this makes when it comes to passing on value to the drinker.

Furthermore, all of its wines are available to take home at shop price. The premises holds four 300-litre tanks containing wine available to take away in re-fillable bottles, rotated throughout the year.

Its by-the-glass menu is small but well- formed, with esoteric gems to be discovered and an artisan cheese offer fit for a king. Expect plates of panzanella and feta salad, duck rillettes and fried aubergine, tahini and chilli. Cool, casual, hip and reasonably priced – Toasted is a fine place to sup, and the food is brilliant too.

EXPERT PICKS

• Gran Reserva, Brut Nature, Recaredo, Penedès – Spain – Sparkling – £57

• Weingut Brand, 2016, Müller Thurgau ,Pfälz – Germany – White – £52

• Semplicemente, Cascina Degli Ulivi, 2015, Cortese, Piemont – Italy – White – £35

• Cuvee du Chat, 2014, Chateau Cambon, Beaujolais – France – Red – £35

• Thirst, Radford Dale, 2015, Cinsault, Stellenbosch – South Africa – Red – £27

• RIU, L’Infernal, 2012, Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Priorat – Spain – Red – £55

The Laughing Heart

277 Hackney Road, E2 8NA

A natural wine-focused restaurant that’s destined to become a wine geek and on-trade hang-out – with margins you’ll find hard to match anywhere else in London.

The food is brilliant. Not cheap, but brilliant. They do what they want, but they do it with skill and understated flair. If they want to put Peking duck on the menu, they will. If they feel love for prawn fried rice that will be added too, and will be the best prawn fried rice you’ve tasted.

Its wine list offers some of the best natural, minimal-intervention wines in the world. Such wines don’t come cheap, yet Mellor has shown a bold commitment to making these wines more accessible by setting margins almost as low as 60% for the bulk of what’s on offer (London average is 70%), with a basic £30 cash margin for the most expensive stuff.

You’ll find a great section of wines by the glass, which changes frequently, as does the main list. This is a restaurant worth discovering, with wine prices that make its discovery all the more attractive.

EXPERT PICKS

• Crémant de Limoux, 2014, Etienne Fort, Bouriege – France – Sparkling – £38

• Domaine de la Tournelle, 2014, Fleur de Savagnin, Jura – France – White – £64

• J.H. Meyer, 2015, Chardonnay, Elgin – South Africa – White – £36

• Gabrio Bini, 2012, Serragghia Fanino, Pantelleria – Italy – Rosé – £90

• Montebuono 1990, Barbacarlo, Pavia, Lombardia – Italy – Red – £81

• Nerocapitano, 2015, Lamoresca, San Michele di Ganzaria, Sicily – Italy – Red – £43

The Remedy

124 Cleveland St, W1T 6PG

“Relaxed, friendly, a bit geeky” is how The Remedy describes itself. There’s a clear aim to show the great bounty of characterful wines being made by small-scale, artisanal producers around the world.

It’s done in an entertaining way too – on the list, rosés are described as ‘Reds cavorting as whites’ and are followed by orange wines, described as ‘Whites emulating reds’. Champagne comes with an explanatory subheading that says simply ‘Yes’.

Whites are headed under ‘Quench’, ‘Cleanse’ and ‘Nourish’; reds as ‘Quench’, ‘Whet’, ‘Entice’ and ‘Feed’.

Much sympathy with natural and low-intervention winemaking is evident throughout the list, which is updated every week or two.

There’s a superb range of Pereira D’Oliveiras Madeiras, magnums of Testalonga and one of the most impressive lists of orange wine in London.

EXPERT PICKS

• Lilbert et Fils, 2005, Cramant Blanc de Blancs, Côte de Blancs – France – Sparkling – £125

• Sepp Muster, 2012, Gräfin, Styria – Austria – Orange – £70

• Nicolas Carmarans, 2014, Chenin Blanc ‘Selves’, Aveyron – France – White – £49

• Craven, 2014, Syrah ‘Faure Vineyard’, Stellenbosch – South Africa – Red – £42

• Valentini, 2005, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo – Italy – White – £125

• François Cotat, 2010, Chavignol Rosé, Sancerre – France – Rosé – £52

Terroirs

5 William IV Street, WC2N 4DW

Food is consistently excellent – perfectly executed classic French bistro fare in the main – making this a fine spot to quaff interesting wine while shooting the breeze.

Staff are invariably committed to the natural wine cause and the longer serving ones will have an intimate knowledge of the wines on the list. The focus of the floppy leather-bound list is on France and Italy, but such is the exploratory zeal of Les Caves de Pyrene – the natural, organic and biodynamic wine specialist that majority-owns the restaurant and supplies the wine – that you’ll find great wines from natural and minimal-interventionist winemakers from around the world.

There are always five whites and five reds available by the glass, along with at least one rosé and one orange or skin-contact wine. You’ll find a long list of pet nats (pétillant naturel sparkling wines), great natural juice from the Jura, the Mediterranean islands and southern Italy, with Austria and Oregon also well represented.

EXPERT PICKS

• Demarne-Frison, Ville Sur Arce, NV, Blanc de Blancs, Champagne – France – Sparkling – £82

• Patrick Meyer, Nothalten, 2015, Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, Alsace – France – White – £42

• T’ Ara Rà, 2013, Cantina Giardino, Campania – Italy – Orange – £112

• La Clarine Farm, 2014, Hank Beckmeyer, Sierra Foothills – USA – Rosé – £43.50

• Emidio Pepe, 1997, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – Italy – Red – £180

Primeur

Barnes Motors, 116 Petherton Road, N5 2RT

Changing each day and chalked up on the board, this is one of the most dynamic lists in London. Low-intervention producers form the thrust of the menu, and speaking to the effervescent and wine savvy owner Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim will reward with nuggets of information to help you make your choices.

This feels like one of the wine lists in London which really has a life of its own, and the fact there is no printed list adds to the charm. There’s an emphasis on ‘natural’ wines, and everything is available by the glass and carafe.

The quirky setting (an old 1930s garage in a quiet, tree-lined street), the open kitchen, the chalkboard wine list – it’s all very endearing. Some cracking magnums are revealed regularly, too.

EXPERT PICKS

• Smiley V3, NV, Chenin Blanc, Swartland – South Africa – White – £42

• Vini Viti Vinci, 2015, Burgundy – France – White – £51

• Welschriesling blend, Theodora, 2015, Gut Oggau – Austria – Rosé – £51

• Raisins Gauloises, 2015, Gamay, Beaujolais – France – Red – £30

• Munjebel MC, 2014, Nerello Mascalese, Etna – Italy – Red – £75

Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels (CVS)

8-10 Neal’s Yard, WC2H 9DP

Part of the Experimental Cocktail Club, CVS opened its doors in a colourful nook of Covent Garden in 2014 under the stewardship of sommelier Julia Oudil, who was plucked from its sister site in Paris to steer the London site.

It has quickly become one of the best wine lists in London. Plush, homely and comforting in character, CVS is filled with velvet chaises longues and, happily, takes bookings.

The wine list is a labour of love. French wines make up the bulk of the list, with copious offerings from Burgundy and Champagne, where a light is shone on small growers, and the Rhône, although there is much else to please the most obsessive oenophiles. As its name suggests, there is a dedication to the natural wine movement, and a strong leaning towards the south of France in a hat tip to Biarritz-born Oudill’s homeland.

Notably, tasting notes and descriptors about the wines have been deliberately omitted from its list, leaving the sommelier free to tailor recommendations to a guest’s tastes. A seriously good list.

EXPERT PICKS

• Ulysse Collin, Les Maillons, Blanc de Blanc, Extra brut – France – Sparkling – £128

• J.F Ganevat, NV, Crémant du Jura – France – Sparkling – £53

• Thomas Pico, 2014, Chablis 1er Cru, Beauregard – France – White – £96

• J.H Meyer, 2015, Chardonnay, Elgin – South Africa – White – £58

• Black Sheep Finds, Holus Bolus, 2012, Syrah Santa Rita Hills – USA – Red – £80

• Château de Pibarnon, Bandol, Provence – France – Rosé – £55

Social Wine and Tapas

39 James Street, W1U 1DL
From the first listings of sparkling wines it’s clear that this list isn’t fumbling: Bride Valley from Steven Spurrier, Francis Boulard’s Brut Nature Champagne, and artisan Cava from Franck Massard. By-the-glass listings are particularly eclectic, taking in everything from Catalonia to Hungary, via the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. Tempting wine flights are assembled with themes including ‘Skin Contact’, ‘Madeira’ and ‘Different Styles of Jura’.

The Loire leaning reflects the sommelier’s background, which includes her own bottling of white and red Anjou, Clos de L’Elu. There is also a substantial list on Coravin – which allows Patry to serve DRC by the glass.

The list sashays through classic styles and appellations, while taking the zeitgeist of ‘natural’ and ‘funkier’ growers, ensuring you will find a partner to tasty tapas such as salted cod brandade, or larger plates including whole roast lemon sole with garlic.

EXPERT PICKS

• Cava Mas Sardana, Franck Massard, Terra Alta – Spain – Sparkling – £39

• La Justice, 2013, Domaine de Bellevue, Loire – France – White – £70

• Clones, 2014, Channing Daughters, Long Island – USA – White – £79

• Ferrer Bobet, 2012, Priorat DOCa – Spain – Red – £110

• Liger-Belair, 2008, Corton Grand Cru, Burgundy – France – Red – £165