Moët Hennessy Iconic Wine Dinner at The Dorchester Grill

Pass through the newly designed lobby, with its gallery of contemporary British art, into the equally grand surroundings of the legendary Dorchester Grill and head towards a door in the far corner and suddenly you are privy to a different side of the hotel, where the army of chefs, drinks specialists and other staff make the luxury happen. Descend an escalator (yes, an escalator in the kitchen!) and you find a much larger cookery space usually used for banquets.

On a few nights a year, however, head chef Tom Booton has this as a culinary playground, rustling up original dishes for the private dining room alongside. It’s actually two rooms; next door to the Chef’s Table is a wine-tasting room presided over by head sommelier Leonardo Barlondi. And that is where an evening begins at an Iconic Wine Dinner, with Barlondi pouring something sparkling and the enthusiastic Booton (who, in 2019, became the youngest head chef in the Grill’s history, at 26) turning waiter and offering canapés to the guests.

Both he and the head somm are genial hosts and clearly enjoy the change from their day-to-day duties. Barlondi invites his favourite winemakers to share insights and bottles, and Booton tries some new dishes inspired by the wines. The small groups tend to be true wine enthusiasts and the conversation gets into the granular detail of viticulture and vinifying.

‘I like the interaction between the winemakers or wine ambassador and the guests as they unveil the winery’s secrets,’ says Barlondi, ‘as well as the guests’ excitement to learn more about wines in general. It is also brilliant that they can see Tom cooking in front of them, preparing a menu created to pair perfectly with the wine selection.’

The winemakers get into the spirit, too, often bringing out some surprises. At the recent Weingut Klepper dinner, among expressions of riesling and eiswein came a red grauer burgunder (pinot grigio) and a gin.

The wine list for the next dinner will be even harder to predict. It will be introduced by an ambassador for Moët Hennessy. While champagne will almost certainly form part of the offering (LVMH owns Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot, Krug and Dom Pérignon, among others), the portfolio is more extensive than that – from Château d’Yquem and Cheval Blanc to Cloudy Bay and Terrazas de los Andes.

Barlondi says, ‘The fact is that this is the first wine dinner with simply the most prestige wines from the Moët portfolio, as the previous dinners have been focused on the entire range of a single winery. I’m really interested in the Termanthia 2016 from Bodega Numanthia in northwest Spain, as this is probably one of the lesser-known wines from Moët Hennessey, but it holds incredible potential.’

The Moët-Hennessy Iconic Wine Dinner will take place at 7pm on 26 May. The seven-course meal, including canapés and wines, costs £300pp.

dorchestercollection.com

Global Wine Series, Ekstedt at The Yard

Ekstedt at The Yard may sound like an ill-conceived mash-up of The Bridge and The Bill (PC Reg Hollis goes Scandi Noir). In fact, it is one of London’s most interesting dining experiences – an outpost of Niklas Ekstedt’s Stockholm restaurant, where everything is cooked by natural methods – smoking, wood-fired oven, charcoal grills.

The wine-pairing dinners at Ekstedt at The Yard are a little more casual than at The Dorchester. Guests have their own tables instead of gathering at a chef’s table. However, the open kitchen means there is just as much cooking theatre to enjoy. Although Ekstedt’s name is above the door, the head chef is actually Theres Andersson, who featured in last year’s MasterChef: The Professionals. She is a stickler for wine pairing – even changing one dish at the last minute at the last Global Wine Series dinner, because Tenuta Santa Maria’s version of Amarone is a lot more complex and elegant than the usual knock-your-socks-off expressions of Valpolicella. Which is appropriate, since the food at Ekstedt – for all the smoke and flame – is similarly unexpectedly subtle and delicate.

While these dinners are not as intense a forum for wine discussion, there is still the opportunity to get as nerdy as you like about winemaking. Sommelier Klearhos Kanellakis’s CV includes 67 Pall Mall and Trivet, so his credentials are impeccable. And, like Leonardo Barlondi at The Dorchester, he is interested in exploring wines from across the world, including here in the UK. He will go into as much detail as you like, as well as introduce the visiting winemaker after dinner.

These dinners have taken place once every two months in the past, but they are coming thick and fast this summer. On 25 May, you can dive into Santorini’s assyrtiko grape – from bone-dry mineralic to creamier barrel-aged examples – with Vassaltis Vineyards. On 14 June, it is a range of Yarra Valley varietals with Mac Forbes. And on 6 July, it’s English sparkling wine all the way with Henley-on-Thames’s Hundred Hills (previously recommended by Brummell Drinks).

A four-course meal with accompanying wines costs £135pp on the dates listed, with tables bookable between 6–8.30pm. Book via this link on Opentable.

ekstedtattheyard.com