Summer is fast approaching and we will soon see a host of fantastic pop-ups appear around the City. First off the mark is “La Petite Provence” at The Folly. The restaurant and bar have been incredibly popular with city workers since it opened a few years ago with its botanically inspired charms. It has a garden lounge, a flower shop and now for the summer until August, a pop-up bar, La Petite Provence. You have the idyllic charms of a beautifully dressed garden pergola, which is filled with rosemary leaves and lavender flowers.
This beautiful bar was built in conjunction with their wine suppliers, Justerini & Brooks to make sure Londoners can enjoy the gallic charms of the wineries in Southern France. Photos adorn the wall of the picturesque scenery from the beautiful towns and wineries in that region as well as tempting bottles of wine in quaint wine storage units.
The secret to successful pop-ups is offering a unique experience. Here, they have some wines that are not even available in the main bar. They offer rosé flights in which you can try all 4 offerings: Domaine Montrose rosé is light and elegant combining freshness with roundness, it is like summer in France in a bottle, whilst Chateau Unang rosé is stronger tasting and aromatic, It has a lively start given its natural acidity and has a touch of minerality to its finish.
They have petite plates matching to go with the rosé wines with a fine selection of the best produce from France including tapenade, cheese and saucisson. The cheese matched particularly well with the acidity and minerality from the Chateau Unang rosé.
If you want the full experience, then definitely book for their sensory wine tasting session, which can also be paired with food. It is a great experience whether you are taking a date or team-building with your work colleagues; you genuinely discover a lot more about wines when your eyes are covered and you have to focus with your other senses. You have to determine the type of wine it is, the fruits that you can smell and taste; along the way they will give you the actual fruits to taste and see if it is similar to what you can taste in the wines.
They have great books to assist in your learning, including one which has vials of different essences and I have not read a book that demystified wine tasting as comprehensively as the Wine Folly.
With fun pop-ups like La Petite Provence, who needs to go away on holiday in the summer? I would happily stay in London town.
baldwin@townfish.com