Back in the old days when wine bars offered a choice between Bordeaux and Burgundy and possibly a dusty bottle of Chianti or two, there was a company called Les Caves de Pyrenes doing their best to change it all. Their head buyer/spirit animal Eric Narioo was traversing the forgotten regions of France buying wines made by the same people who tended the vines and more often than not the wines were made with minimal intervention. They tasted thrillingly different. Redolent of earth and herbs, occasionally cloudy and always exciting, Eric and Les Caves de Pyrenes fired the starting shot that introduced natural wine and the increasingly informal wine bar culture of the new wave. Eric opened his own bistro and wine bar, Terroirs, just round the corner from Charing Cross station. It has a gloriously French food menu, so expect earthy boudin noir, lots of cheese and charcuterie and an enormous wine list that runs from everyday vin de soif up to the modern classics of the natural wine world.

Since opening Terroirs, the Les Caves stable has grown to include Soif in Battersea, Brawn on Columbia Road (now separated from the mother ship but still excellent) and ToastED in East Dulwich. All will furnish you with superb wine. Terroirs, 5 William IV Street, WC2N 4DW Michael Sager and Charlotte Wilde took over a site on the Old Street roundabout, opening a few bottles and toasting a few cheese sandwiches. Their pop up soon morphed into Sager + Wilde on Hackney Road and suddenly there was a wine bar as cool as anything the cocktail world could concoct. A wine-by-the-glass list that was as equally happy covering forgotten classics as it was with European avant garde was matched by a cellar packed full of older vintages and the kind of bottles that are catnip to those with a wine habit. Sager + Wilde soon grew again to include their larger site on Paradise Row in Bethnal Green where the food menu is larger and more serious. Sager + Wilde, Arch 250 Paradise Row, E2 9LE and 193 Hackney Rd E2 8JL

It was surely only a matter of time before the big boys of the restaurant world took notice. Restaurant giants D&D opened New Street Wine Shop as part of their sprawling Old Bengal Warehouse site. It’s an almost unmanageably huge selection of wines that covers nearly the entire globe, from the posher ends of Bordeaux and Burgundy through funky small growers in Australia. Despite being right in the heart of the city, it’s incredibly reasonably priced. New Street Wine Shop, 16 New Street, EC2M 4TR Deliveroo now from The City Noble Rot (Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew) first shook up the London wine scene by creating a wine magazine that people actually wanted to both read and be seen reading. They built on their reputation for being on the pulse of international wine fashion by nabbing the chef from The Sportsman in Whitstable (also about as cool as restaurants get at the moment) to refurb one of the old guards of the London wine bar scene. Expect a who’s who of London glitterati and wine trade to be mingling over bottles of recherché grape varieties from the Jura and Northern Italy and bleedingly cool grower Champagne.

They then descend downstairs to tuck into slip sole with oxidised Burgundy sauce. Noble Rot, 51 Lamb's Conduit St, WC1N 3NB Smaller and more informal than Noble Rot, the Remedy has established Great Portland Street as a food and drink destination (something we didn’t think was possible). An ever-changing menu of food and wine, brilliant staff and a bafflingly good selection of vermouths have ensured that we’ve found ourselves in this part of London often.best wines to drink with italian food The Remedy, 124 Cleveland Street, W1T 6PQbest dry red wine under 30 Think of the winemakers club as the record shop that always had the coolest white labels. best wine to drink with chocolate

It’s not the swishest of venues, indeed it can be occasionally a bit chilly and dark, but if you’re looking to stay in the know, John Baum and the rest of the team are usually several steps ahead of anyone else. As an aside, Winemakers Club also has some of the best value old Bordeaux in London. The Winemakers Club, 41a Farringdon Street, EC4A 4ANbest wine club forum Sometimes we don’t want to go all the way into central London for a glass of wine, and thankfully there is a small but growing number of excellent wine bars just a little bit further out.best white wine for asian food Alex at 161 Kirkdale, formerly of Toast in East Dulwich, struck out on his own deeply philanthropic mission to bring excellent natural wine to the formerly ignored folk of Sydenham Hill and Forest Hill. good wine to drink with cheese

They hold regular tastings and also have really good cake. Hop on the Central line going west and stay on until it doesn’t go any further and you will find Vindinista. Yep, old school west London has finally joined the fun. Paola Tich of Park and Bridge wine shop opened Vindinista as a fun place to drink in Acton. With a wine list that’s as good as anywhere else in town, and picking up obscure Greek and Hungarian beauties along with a decent selection of natural and orange wines, it’s a place we really love. Vindinista, 74 Churchfield Road, W3 6DHA leading South African wine estate is teaming up with one of London’s top restaurateurs to open a new restaurant on the banks of the River Thames. High Timber is the brainchild of Gary and Kathy Jordan, of Jordan Wine Estate, and the co-founder of City of London restaurant Vivat Bacchus, Neleen Strauss and the first time a South African winery has ventured into the London restaurant scene. “This is a natural progression for us – we make wines that should be enjoyed with great food and what better place is there to do this than in our own London restaurant, where Jordan wines will be showcased alongside the very best in the world.” said Gary Jordan.

Kathy added: “There’s a real synergy here. Neleen understands what is required to own and run a top London restaurant and we understand the importance of matching fabulous wines with the right cuisine.” Called High Timber because that’s the ancient London street on which it is sited, the restaurant is 50 yards from the St Paul’s Cathedral side of the Millennium Bridge (the famous “wobbly bridge”). High Timber will seat 70 people and include temperature and humidity controlled red and white cellars, wine maturation storage, a private dining room, the largest speciality cheese room in the UK, and a holding bar. The property will hold around 40,000 bottles on site. “We will have the best South African collection in Europe, rare vintages and names not available anywhere else.” said Gary Jordan. “Our cellars will also contain a spectacular range of European wines, across all budgets; our partner Neleen has used her last seven years living in England well, and explored many wineries throughout France, Spain and Italy.”

“Kathy and I also have some formidable US contacts, as we originally studied there, and friends in many of the Australian and New Zealand wineries, so we will be well represented across the globe.” High Timber will also stock a range of British wines, including a selection of established names and new discoveries. “The focus is on meat; the best meat available in the world,” said Neleen Strauss. “This will be fine dining, but where people can relax in the South African way, have a good time, be spoilt by fantastic service and drink the best wines.” “After all, it’s what we like to do ourselves.” High Timber will also have the UK’s widest range of cheeses available in a bespoke cheese room, including selections of chutneys, honeys and jams. Born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Neleen moved to the UK in 2001 and opened successful city restaurant Vivat Bacchus. With responsibility for more than 25,000 bottles of wine at the restaurant Neleen is an expert in wines from the greatest wine growing regions of the world and specialises in South African wines.