Originally published in 23 Magazine, physical copy only

Peckham: Making Wine Fun Again

London, dubbed the ‘world’s wine tasting capital’, has always had an appetite for wine. But much like the changing face of London, wine culture in the city is entering a new age. With words like ‘biodynamic’, ‘organic’, and ‘natural’ on the rise, traditional wine bars are losing their grip on the market. Instead, an unpretentious stream of wine bars selling ‘natural’ and other funky wines in places like Peckham are flourishing. These bars are creating communities of knowledgeable suppliers and consumers that drink a class chardonnay and throw a better party.

Peckham is quickly making a name as a gastro star of London, with some of the city’s best independent food and drink retailers on its doorstep. Among these is Queen’s Road resident Peckham Cellars, selling wines to go and by the glass in their airy, greenhouse-style bar and restaurant. ‘We’ve always wanted to make wine more fun,’ says co-owner Luke West-Whitely. ‘Love wine, hate pretention.’

You won’t, however, find the stuffy stereotype of elitist wine and gatekept knowledge here. Rooftop local Forza Wine, just opposite Peckham Rye station, is another beacon of delight in vino. Their award-winning rooftop views, careful minimalism, and walls of chic wine bottles are enough to certify them as one of the coolest bars in the world (28^th, according to Time Out) - let alone being presented with their all-natural wine list. ‘We make a concentrated effort to have something for everybody,’ says founder Sebastian Redford. Joined by head chef and co-owner Michael Lavery, they tell a story of a bar doing wine differently. ‘We just want people to feel welcome… One of the problems with the natural wine industry is that it’s pretentious. You get talked down to if you don’t understand.’

What is natural wine? While it’s not the only kind of wine attracting attention now, it has struck a chord with a younger generation of wine drinkers. Lacking an exact definition, ‘natural’ is usually associated with low-intervention, organic and biodynamic wines; no pesticides, extra yeast or sulphites, and an ethical farming approach both to the land and the people who work on it. Natural wines sometimes have a funkier or ‘natty’ taste that can be disarming. Grapes – especially the likes of a traditionally oaky Chardonnay – take on a flavour that is unlike any conventionally produced version of that grape. ‘Some people like it, some people are like, “This is disgusting”’, laughs Luke. ‘If you’ve been drinking conventionally produced wine for forty years, it is going to be quite challenging.’

Sebastian sees a shift in the way people popularly interpret wine. ‘The interpretation of the grape – that’s the bit we’re moving away from. ”I like Chablis, Pinot Noir”… that’s going to be completely different in the hands of a natural wine maker.’

‘It’s a bit more lead by flavour profile or experience profile. So it’s about, “it’s a hot day so I’d like a chilled red. It’s a hot day so I’d like a very clean, crisp white wine.” Crisp and clean is generally a by word for like, it doesn’t smell too natural, it doesn’t smell of feet.’

Luke attributes certain trends to ‘Vinfluencers’. ‘Instagram has had a weird effect on wine… flexing with your Domain De L’Octavin label, starting to slowly trickle down to your everyday consumer.’ While wine may not be a primarily visual product, the chic labels of natural wine appeal to the visual consumer. Over at Forza Wine, Sebastian says that ‘people fucking love labels’. Michael agrees – ‘They point at a label on a shelf and go “that one!”’

Claire Lancaster, a senior strategist in the food and drinks team at trend forecaster WGSN, told Refinery 29 that ‘Natural wine’s label art is really benefiting from this conflation of what's natural and what's authentic. The small producers, the independent wineries and unique artists – it's all tapping into that same exact interest’. The rebellious implications of doing wine differently, paired with beautiful bottles and funky taste has settled in well with Peckham’s independent restaurants. This is a young population (the average age of a Peckhamite being 32) that knows their wine. ‘People used to send it back all the time,’ says Sebastian, referring to a particularly farmy bottle of red on their menu (Alesandrino Rosso, Valli Unite). Now, they recommend it to people curious about natural wines.

But Luke believes the beauty of Peckham Cellars is in being hybrid – they stock both natural and traditionally produced wines. ‘The younger audience think we’re a natural wine bar when they turn up, and I’m like “Bro, I’ve got rioja made in ‘98 that has a tonne of sulphites, but it’s delicious.”

‘I don’t buy anything because it has a cool label and it’s natural. For us, it’s about how it tastes, and does it stand up as a wine.’ Stocking over 150 wines, Peckham Cellars train their staff to decipher exactly what that customer wants. ‘We have people coming in like, “I’m not even going to look at the menu, what’s good?”.

When is the perfect time to visit a wine bar? That depends on the experience one is looking for. Luke has noticed that for Peckham Cellars, their clientele shifts. ‘Earlier in the week, I’d say the age range might range between 30 and 50, and they’re coming in for sit down dinners, buying bottles, talking about the producers… Friday to Saturday we’re much more a bar. The average age drops slightly from 25 to 40, the venue’s slightly darker, the music’s slightly louder… we get DJ’s to curate playlists for us. You’re going to hear it and it’s going to bang.’

During the week, Forza Wine specialises in serving seasonal small plates and delicious natural wine. But take the elevator up to visit on the weekend, and the doors will open on a party, home to Ross From Friends, house cocktails, and a who’s who of Peckham. Assisted by their stunningly ‘grammable views, their weekend cast could fill a street fashion book. ‘It’s people who wear Ganni, with heat on their feet.’, laughs Bash.

Walk down Peckham high street and you’ll find a host of restaurants embracing the trend of interesting wines made by the new, young guard of wine making. Local favourite taqueria Taco Queen stocks Chin Chin Vino Verde, a white wine so popular it’s practically a symbol of the natural wine movement, as well as an English rosé. Modern European restaurant Levan offers an incredible selection of wines, carefully sourced by their in-house curator Ellen McDougal. Being served great wine with dinner is standard here, whether it’s with tacos or Peckham Cellar’s insane, Bib Gourmand winning sandwiches.

If nothing else good came out of 2020’s pandemic, the willingness of people to spend a little more on wine did. Both Peckham Cellars and Forza wine were selling bottles out of their closed restaurants over the course, and for Peckham Cellars, it’s had a positive, long term impact. ‘People had disposable income for the first time and were buying £20 instead of £10 bottles of wine.’ Luke explains. ‘People who had never tasted a retail £20 bottle of wine before… it’s double the price, 15 times the quality. For us, people are now drinking as standard bottle of retail wine, about £17. Pre-pandemic, it was closer to £13 or £14.’

In fact, a report by Nielson shows that online wine sales spiked by 234% in the first year of the pandemic. Peckham Cellars, along with all natural shops like Shop Cuvee and Natty Boy Wines, are just some of the London based online wine retailers enjoying the surge in orders. Sales have continued to grow throughout 2021, so it seems like Peckhamites aren’t the only ones enjoying their fancy new wine collections, as this is one pandemic trend around to stay.

‘We had this idea of what we wanted Cellars to do when we first opened,’ Luke explains. ‘Then there was a pandemic.’ Now in 2022, Peckham Cellars are finally beginning their Sunday Sessions, part of their ‘make wine more fun’ platform. ‘We clear all the furniture out and put a DJ booth in front of the wine shop. We’ve got some amazing DJ’s coming up, and then we give our kitchen team the night off so they can come to the party, so we outsource the kitchen to someone else.’ The first Sunday Session was the official opening party of new Mexican takeaway Taquiza, and the one after in collaboration with modern Vietnamese-Chinese restaurant Ling-Lings. Cellars have them planned throughout the summer, walk-in only, and finishing at midnight. Luke promises lots of dancing, very loose, and a real party.

Another victim of the pandemic was the original Forza Win, the Italian-seasonal, older sibling restaurant to Forza Wine. The restaurant – also serving all-natural wine since its opening in 2012 – was sorely missed by the local community when it closed in 2020. But fear not, as a new Forza Win is set to open in Camberwell later this year. Peckham Cellars, too, is working on a younger sibling for their Peckham residence. Despite the not unfounded fears of hospitality suffering from long-covid, there is a beacon of hope for people who enjoy a glass of weird and wonderful wine.