The wine trade has been a predominantly male occupation for, well, ever. Vineyards tend to pass from father to son, sommeliers and masters of wine are generally men, too. There are, though, a few brave women who have stepped into the oenological arena and one of them, Parisian restaurateur and wine expert Carole Byron, opened her first Lady of the Grapes in Covent Garden in 2018 and her second has been up and running in London Bridge since the middle of June.
On the ground floor is her Lady of the Grapes restaurant, an airy (and thankfully, these days, air-conditioned) space in the Grade II listed Victorian Menier Chocolate Factory, dating back to the 1870s. There’s a nice terrace outside while inside it’s a stylish open space, with plenty of nods to its industrial past (exposed brick, iron pillars and a beautiful wooden floor) and an open kitchen, almost the length of the whole ground floor. Downstairs is a 45-seat speakeasy-style vaulted wine bar, Forbidden Fruit, altogether moodier and more intimate.
The food from head chef Matyáš Plzák is excellent (more on that later) but, as you’ll have guessed by now, here it’s all about the wine. Carole’s unique idea is to feature only organic and natural wines from female growers including the likes of Marielle Cazaux, Chateau La Conseillante (France), Jeanne Vito, Springfontein (South Africa), Athenais Beru (France), Kristin Syltevik (UK), Elisabetta Foradori (Italy), Vanya Cullen (Australia), Jade Gros (Spain) and Michaela Reidmuller (Austria). And one of the most interesting and unusual factors at play here is that there are 25 different wines available by the glass in the restaurant, 45 in the wine bar and these include many older, interesting vintages.
For Carole, opening a wine bar was a dream that began as a teenager. “I started working in the industry,” she says, “and there just weren’t many women doing wine and, even if they were, their name wasn’t on the label. Even when I was selling wine, I was ignored in the shop, with the customers automatically going to my male colleagues. I think it’s something unconscious. When I opened my own place, I wanted things to change. I travel to wine fairs to meet producers and it’s important to me to like the growers as well as the wine itself.
“When I wanted a house wine, I asked Michaela Reidmuller to make me something cloudy, more interesting – when you filter the wine, you remove some of the flavours. People find it surprising but they seem to like it. One of my goals is to move people away from the usual Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc and try something they don’t know, whether it’s a region or the type of grape.”
Having dinner in the restaurant, we found our waiter, Alexander, very knowledgeable on the wines and happy to recommend pairings with the food. We started with a beautifully chilled Sherry Manzanilla Pasada – smoky, dry and elegant. For the food, we decided to start with a glass each of white – the Major went for the Lady of the Grapes house wine, cloudy, smooth, almost petillant – while I had a white Rioja, dry but surprisingly fruity.
The menu is short but inspired and based around sharing. So we went for one of the nibbles, courgette flower fritters (they look a bit tempura) with a spicy harissa dip and one of the starters. This was cured mackerel, Galia melon, cucumber and lime and these sound like a strange combo. They were, in fact, quite delicious with the sweetness of the melon cutting through the saltiness of the fish.
The two main courses (again to share) were poached trout with corn and mussels, and Wiltshire lamb rump with sweetbread, aubergine and a sweet rich sauce. For this, we decided on a refreshingly chilled Turkish red for the Major, Çal Karasi, while I had one of Jeanne Vito’s South African reds, Akua’ba, a 2017 Pinotage, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon that was a deep, fruity delight. I refrained (well, except for a spoonful just to taste) on the dessert – Crème a la Vanille with strawberries and a crisp almond bracelet – and the Major even had a glass of Tawny port to finish it off.
All quite delicious, modern French bistro-style dishes. The Lady of the Grapes, though, is really all about the wine and it’s Carole’s aim to open our minds to the undiscovered heroes (or should that be heroines) of the wine world. There are plans to start wine tastings at London Bridge – these are already up and running in the Covent Garden branch – and judging by the numbers of diners and drinkers on an early Tuesday evening, I’d say there will be plenty of interest. Just as it should be for, as Carole says, “The soul of our business is wine.”
The Lady of the Grapes, The Menier Chocolate Factory, 53 Southwark St, London SE1 1RU. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.ladyofthegrapes.com.
