Little Ole Wine Drinker Me: The Sampler

So don't tell me you haven't ever been to The Sampler?! It's one of my favourite places to take both locals and out of towners for a bit of a different evening. My dad and I (and once my brother too!) have also enjoyed a few Saturday afternoons sharing the delights of the shop.

There are 2 of them in London - South Kensington and Islington. My favourite is on Upper Street in Islington, mainly because it's much nearer my home!

Gorgeous fridges full of lovely whites...

The Sampler are primarily wine shops that also let you sample up to 80 white, red and rose wines at any one time. You pay for what you try based on a sample size of 25ml, 50ml or 75ml. The price of your sample depends on the price of the bottle, so a £60 bottle of wine would cost £2, £4 or £6 depending on the size of your sample. They use inert gas to keep the wine fresh and use the Enomatic system (fancy fancy fridges!).

They have a really wide variety with wines from across the world divided up by grape. This is particularly fascinating as you can try Riesling from 3 different countries one after the other, and really get a sense of how different climates and earth affect the grapes and ultimately the wine.

So of course this means that you can try before you buy, but more importantly for me, you can try things you wouldn't normally, including some rather old/expensive/fine wines. The most expensive I have seen on display is £200!

Guess who snagged the large glass for red...

So next time you are in either area, go in, greet the friendly staff, get a sample card, pop £20 on it and go wild in the aisles! Then you can buy a bottle or a couple of bottles to take home with you.