It’s been one month since I was lucky enough to take charge of Norfolk Local Wine School. Not that anything needed changing, the school was curated with knowledge and passion by Jeremy as well as being supported by a fantastic national network of independent small businesses.
This first month has been less about grand strategy and more about listening. To customers. To suppliers. To the region. And, occasionally, to my own instincts.
Here’s what I’ve learned so far.
The Untapped Potential of Local Pairings
I came into this role knowing that Norfolk has extraordinary produce. I have surrounded myself with local brewers, restauranteurs, publicans, chefs and occasionally wine-makers over the last decade. What I hadn’t fully appreciated was how much depth there is when you start placing local cheese alongside thoughtful wine selections.
When you serve a cheese made just down the road with a carefully chosen wine – particularly a local one, the conversation changes. It stops being a theoretical discussion about tannin and acidity and becomes something tangible. People connect differently when there’s a sense of place involved — when they can imagine the farm, the dairy, the hands that made it.
I am therefore working on a Norfolk Wine & Norfolk Cheese Pairing tasting event to be run regularly at the wine school. We have known for a long time that our region is growing in not just vineyards, but national and international standing and there is enough delicious end product to serve at multiple wine-tastings, not just one. What I didn’t know myself until recently was that it’s similar in the world of Norfolk cheeses.
Thanks as well to Paula / The Cheeseman on Norwich Market for some of the cheese for our most recent tasting (29 people in January!) and for some inspiration.
Window-shopping at some Local Wholesalers
Buying wine through established routes is a great way to market. You are often still dealing with local people and we’ve learned guests at the tasting events appreciate leaving with some practical wine buys – be it a surprisingly quality wine from a supermarket or a special occasion purchase.
However, I’ve started popping my head into the local wine ecosystem. There is always a balance of wines showcased at Norfolk Local Wine School events and using some of the local stockists will add balance, allow the wines to be tried prior to ordering, help build personal relationships and offset the footprint just a tiny bit.
Take Substrata on Dove Street in Norwich for example, they offer some incredibly unique wines that are sustainably sourced. Their wines will be real conversation starters and appeal to a new and varied audience. Check out their website where they offer 4 different wines by the glass every Friday 5-9 and Saturday 1-5 and look out for some wines at Norfolk Local Wine School events coming up soon.
I Tried Something I’d Never Heard of – And now it’s a Future Tasting in the Making.
I ordered a wine off a list that I had never heard of before. It was the Jim Barry Assyrtiko (Australian wine, grape of Greek origin) whilst dining at The Wildebeest at Stoke Holy Cross in Norfolk. It was absolutely delicious.
I learned at a Norfolk Local Wine School event (prior to me running the tastings) about an exciting new trend of Australian wine-makers playing around with higher acidity levels in their wines, so perhaps you could call ordering this wine an educated guess. One thing for sure is these young and ambitious vineyards are something to keep any eye on.
It has made such an impression on me that I’m exploring Greek grapes further and will look to publish a Wine & Dine event later in the calendar year to showcase the best (Ok, ok.. it was an Australian wine but we did that in January!). I’m delighted I took a punt based off some more generalised knowledge I picked up about a particular wine region, I will be doing it again.
A Humbling Lesson in Taste
One evening recently, I tried to gently convince someone who claimed they “don’t like red wine” that perhaps they just hadn’t found the right style yet (I obviously loved the fact they came to a Posh vs Plonk blind wine tasting anyway).
My plan was simple: serve a lightly chilled Pinot Noir. Fresh, bright, elegant. Low tannin. Approachable. Surely this would be the gateway. However, they preferred the bold & smokey Rioja Reserva that was to finish the tasting with panache.
A structured, oak-aged, more traditional expression. The very style I might have assumed would reinforce their hesitation. It was a useful reminder that taste is deeply personal. We can guide, suggest, and share knowledge — but ultimately, wine isn’t about proving a point. It’s about pleasure and as a wine school that offers a wide range of food and drink pairings and dining events, it was a useful early lesson that the rules aren’t necessarily the same for everybody.
