You don’t need to fly to Bordeaux to taste brilliant wine. London is one of the world’s great wine cities: for centuries it has been one of the biggest wine markets on the planet, and today you can taste bottles from almost every wine region in a single evening, often in rooms that are hundreds of years old.
I’m a former café owner who added a wine licence to my own café, and I spent years training my palate in coffee cuppings (which turn out to be remarkably similar to wine tasting). Here’s how I’d go wine tasting in London.
1. Look for wine flights
A flight is a set of small pours, usually three, served side by side so you can compare them. It’s the easiest way to taste properly without committing to a whole bottle. Many London wine bars put together flights by grape, region or style, and some will build one around what you like if you ask.
2. Choose bars with a big by-the-glass list
Lots of London wine bars use preservation systems that let them open premium bottles and sell them by the glass. That means you can try something special, like an aged Rioja or a grower Champagne, for the price of a single glass. Ask what’s open that day; the list often changes.
3. Go underground
Some of London’s most atmospheric places to taste wine are in old cellars, vaults and warehouses, a legacy of the city’s long history as a wine-trading port. Cool, dark and quiet, they’re exactly where wine was meant to be kept, and they make every glass feel like an occasion. (We’ve rounded up a few historic ones in London’s oldest wine bars.)
4. Taste like a pro (without being a snob)
- Look: tilt the glass against something white. Colour hints at age and grape.
- Swirl and sniff: swirling releases aromas. Take a short sniff, then a longer one.
- Sip and hold: let the wine coat your mouth. Notice acidity (does it make you salivate?), tannin (does it dry your gums?) and how long the flavour lasts.
- Compare: the magic of a flight is noticing differences between glasses, not naming every fruit.
- Eat something: cheese, charcuterie or bread changes how wine tastes, and keeps you upright.
5. Plan a route, not just a bar
The best wine evenings in London move. Start somewhere with a view while it’s still light, head underground as it gets dark, and finish somewhere cosy with a final glass. Stick to one neighbourhood, such as the City, Fleet Street or the West End, and you can walk between stops in minutes.
Practical tips
- Most wine bars get busy from 5:30 PM on weekdays when offices empty. Arrive early or book.
- Expect around £8–£15 for a good glass in central London, more for premium pours.
- Many City of London bars are quieter, or closed, at weekends.
- Drink water between glasses, and pace yourself if you’re visiting several bars.
Let a local plan your wine tasting
Our Secret Wine Bars of London evening does all of this for you: skyline views over the Thames and St Paul’s, cheese in London’s oldest wine bar where Churchill and Kipling drank, a tasting in a former Victorian water tunnel, and sommelier-chosen wine flights in an elegant townhouse bar. It’s around three hours, starts at 6 PM, and groups are capped at six (18+). Wine and food are paid as you go, so you choose how much you drink.
Ready to taste your way around London? Book the Secret Wine Bars of London tour.
