First, let’s give flowers. The cat who designed the interior of the Wine Bar, Lavington, should have a beer on us. (“Us” being anybody who rejected the Finance Bill). I say this because there is a feeling you get when you walk in there, through all those shelves upon shelves of bottles of wine. It’s like walking through an aquarium of alcohol.
You feel giddy with anticipation even if you don’t care too much about wine. Maybe this feeling is further complemented by the usage of wood. And lighting. It’s all in the simplicity and the flow. Anyhow, whatever it is, a beer to the interior stylist.
I recently sat with a friend in one of those raised tables inside, the one facing the short bar and the back entrance. Cosy little corner, too cosy to be wasted discussing politics. My friend is a typical middle-class who has never teared up from teargas but complains about the state of our governance. She also feels like going to protest is too “dangerous.” That tear gas might get into her hair. (Great hair, I will admit).
This is a malady that has afflicted us and our parents; taking it on the chin, turning the other cheek. It was my first ever protest and after that, I was calling out all my friends who think protests are for “other people.” I realise that I was quite insufferable.
Anyway, Wine Bar (no fault of theirs) felt like the kind of place people who have never sniffed teargas would gather to talk about teargas and violence. It’s safe and cosy and gorgeous. The staff/sommeliers are friendly and helpful and if you love wine and you have the ambition to go to heaven then you will wonder if that’s not heaven already.
But there is also whisky for people like me. And gin. There is heaven for us, too. They host a private wine tasting where they take you through 6-glasses of premium or ultra-premium wines (depending on the package you choose) plus a complimentary glass of Sparkling on arrival. It’s not big, which means it remains cosy. Check it out.
