GREEN AND BLUE

Gorgeous little neighborhood enoteche (wine shops where you can taste the wine and enjoy a snack) are everywhere in Italy. But not in East Dulwich, or even in London, which is why Green & Blue is such a precious gem.

The bright idea of South African sommelier Kate Thal, this bar-deli-store is a place to explore, enjoy and discover wine. It’s welcoming and sublimely relaxed, without any pretension or air of exclusivity, and with lots of sensibly priced wines.

Green & Blue seeks out wines that have been made with minimal chemical intervention, and many are grown organically or biodynamically. In their words, it’s a ‘place where you can buy wine that tastes of its own grapes’. The selection is superb, and, with wines mainly from small producers, you can feel that merely by sipping you’re rooting for the little guy.

But wine and philosophy aside, it’s also where to head for a laid-back, wine-oiled chat. With muffled Motown providing a funky backdrop, soft lighting, and tables a mix of wooden and teal-painted wrought iron, it’s just made for catching up, a good gossip, or a first date.

The accompanying snacks are also divine. Choose from tantalizing morsels such as big fat olives or delectable grilled fennel with gravadlax, or a fresh and lightly dressed green salad. There’s even a children’s menu, an indication of just how inclusive this enoteca is.

On Tuesday evenings you can buy bottles of wine at shop prices (applies to bottles over £10) and drink them in the bar with no mark up, while on Wednesday the same policy applies to champagne. This is the kind of economizing we like. There are regular wine tastings (see the website for details) and you can also explore your inner oenophile through the Green & Blue ‘School of Wine’ course.