By Proprietor Jane Walker

Chile, South Africa and New Zealand are newcomers on our wine list this season as is Hungary, for that matter. Don’t get us wrong, we love our French and Italian wines and they continue to make up a major part of our wine list, but we felt that it was time to introduce you to the new top tipples available. Hopefully, we can tempt you to try something new!

I’ve wanted to learn more about New World wines for a while. This spring and summer, I’ve managed to make the time and have been lucky enough to meet some very knowledgeable people – right here in Edinburgh. Two of them are now supplying wine to the restaurant. Therefore, with a total of three wine suppliers, we can now offer greater variety and have access to wines not easily found on the shelves of your local off license.

It’s a common misconception that New World vineyards are, indeed, new. In reality, many have a proud history stretching several centuries of wine production, often started by immigrants from traditional European wine growing areas. Take South Africa, for example: one of our new reds was made on the Meerlust Estate, one of the country’s oldest family owned vineyards, which has been going since 1756. That’s longer than many French estates!

Talking about French and European wines, I must mention the Old World gems I’ve recently discovered. One of them is a Tokaji Dry Furmint from the Domaine Diznoko in Hungary – fresh and fruity with a long finish complemented by hints of green apple, pear, grapefruit and banana on the nose. If this wine is anything to go by, Eastern European wines may well become firm favourites with Scottish wine lovers soon.

We have also extended our selection of French wines to include two exquisite whites from Alsace in the north east of France. The aromatic Fleur d’Alsace and the Domaine Zind Humbrecht’s Gewurztraminer with its scent of roses are well worth a try. You may just find yourself a new favourite wine!