Gerard Basset came through from the busy bistro to welcome us. Gerard Basset, one of England's finest Sommeliers and his partner Robin Hutson established the 19 room hotel and bistro in the centre of Winchester in 1994 with the ingenious idea of persuading famous wine houses to sponsor the rooms. For a more detailed review of the Hotel please click here.
"We've put you in Pol Roger," we were informed by the front of house manager who seemed pretty switched on. Visions of a room with the dimensions of a nebuchadnezzar flashed before my eyes, but no - we were led up the stairs to a comfortable room overlooking the walled garden. My partner who is a fussy sleeper was quick to check out the mattress and duvet, both of which passed muster. The room wasn't sumptuous but it was bright and spotlessly clean with Egyptian cotton on the bed and thick towels in the bathroom. It is important to remember that this is a town house with town traffic. In our room to the side of the house, we were party to the nocturnal carousing of the local youth.
Winchester is a very attractive English town, packed with historical buildings. After visiting the Cathedral, my partner went to earth behind The Times while I met Gerard in the bar for a glass of Champagne. Hotel Du Vin is about as close in atmosphere to a private house as a hotel can be - not a place for those who stand on ceremony. We were not over serviced - no room service, shoe cleaning, shirt ironing, moustache trimming.... This is fine for the English who tend to feel comfortable being left to their own devices - blessed is the hostess who says 'feel free to do your own thing'. American tourists however may find this an unusual concept.
Less service equals lower prices. The double rooms range from Stg69-Stg99. During the week the guests include many business people. The price of B&B used to be higher, but to accommodate the busy executive rising early, the hotel took away the second B and lowered the price. Now they leave fresh milk, ground coffee and a cafetiere in the room to lubricate the executive's mortal motor en route to the early appointment.
The philosophy behind the hotel and bistro is simplicity. A comfortable, elegant town house with no frills serving good food and wine at sensible prices. It all began with a conversation on a train. Both owners were working at the time but were ready for a change and a challenge. The wine sponsorship helped raise capital. Naturally the brands are represented on the wine list, but by no means exclusively. Having a wide ranging list gives them credibility. It's not just the big fry who have a room named after them. Austrian wine maker Willi Opitz has put his name to a room. It is always a pleasure to find his wines on a list - from the crisp fruity Welschriesling to the gloriously botrytised Shilftmandel which is made from grapes dried to a concentrated sweetness on beds of reeds.
Gerard had the idea of having two lists - a cellar list and a daily list which is ideal for people in a hurry. If asked to recommend, Gerard errs on the side of caution "I would rather customers were surprised by the good value than horrified by the expense. The main objective is that they enjoy it."
If you have the time you really should follow Gerard down to his cellar. I love cellars. There is always a sense of adventure. We entered through an iron gate. It has been thoughtfully converted from a junk room to a 'boutique' sized cellar which is rather charming with its vaulted roof and brick floor. Bottles line the walls and the Champagne resides in a miniature pupitre. An upturned barrel is an open invitation to try some wine.
At the weekend the hotel attracts guests who have heard about its reputation for good food and wine. This is not the place to pamper yourself though - don't celebrate your anniversary here or plan a grand seduction - go there to have a good meal with friends.
Such is its reputation that locals complain they have to book five weeks in advance for dinner at the weekend. But, for these fortunate to have the time to lunch, can usually drop in and be reassured by the absence of silver service that this gastronomic exercise will not cost a fortune. A couple of starters at Stg 3.50-6.50 and a glass of wine will only bump up the shopping bill by about twelve pounds a head.
To take you on a tour of the hotel: the drawing room is elegant but comfortable with magazines and books to hand and there is a private dinning room which seats 30. In the evening you would probably whet your appetite in the bar with an aperitif - perhaps a glass of champagne and some pistachios and olives -while you pore over the menu. It's a convivial room, with walls artfully aged and pretty painted panels. There is a snug for those who don't intend to move. We studied our menu here, then gravitated through to the dining room.
The dining room is decorated in a rustic style with a touch of elegance. The painted panels echo eighteenth century lines and the pine floors are sympathetic to the period. Beyond this, it becomes fun and fanciful with swags of hops around the windows, the walls crowded with an eclectic collection of wine pictures. The furniture is more a pleasing mixed auction lot than an interior design parcel.
I am probably quite spoilt, but it was rather refreshing to exchange acres of starched white linen for good solid wood and homely clutter. There were olives on the table, the bread came in a warm unbroken baguette on a board and the candle threatened pyrotechnics. We warmed to this rustic simplicity.
And now to the food. The menu is modern bistro with a Mediterranean accent. It is redolent with rocket, tomatoes, parmesan and basil and is uncomplicated (deliberately so as they don't have a big kitchen). The general impression is robust food, rather than dishes to titillate the senses.
I kicked off with chargrilled smoked salmon with rocket and parmesan at Stg 6.95. The salmon, seared with rough stripes and mounted on a bed of well dressed rocket was a pretty gutsy dish, smoky and tinged with pepperyness from the rocket. It was showered with generous shavings of parmesan. This is a full-bodied dish, not for the faint hearted. Quite enough on its own for a lunch with a glass of southern French wine - perhaps from Roussillon.
Talking about wine, we had an up front fruity Rhone - Gigondas. Swirl the wine and the spicy flavours of the Mediterranean waft from the glass. It's almost herbal - rosemary and thyme. This is an accessible wine, smooth textured, not high in tannins with plenty of ripe fruit. Rhone fruit can sometimes seem a bit burnt, but this was ripe and accompanied the flavours of the Mediterranean food extremely well.
My partner started with one of those envy dishes. No matter how good yours was, you wish you has chosen theirs. It was roasted buffalo mozzarella wrapped in spec bacon with plum chutney and toasted sesame seeds at Stg 5.25. If the menu had described how the mozzarella melted into a soft, chewy centre enveloped in a bacon jacket (the crunchy exterior contrasting with the creamy textured cheese, and offset with a densely fruity chutney) nestling in a bed of crunchy salad leaves peppered with bitter, nutty sesame seeds, I suppose nobody would order anything else. Ah well, I fought with my partner for a morsel. Do you notice how some people become quite possessive when their gastronomic juices are up?
We moved on a little too quickly. A minor criticism might be that despite the low key service philosophy, the staff were a little too anxious to clear our plates and serve the wine.
My partner chose honey roast confit of duck with rocket and mango, chilli and coriander salsa at Stg 12.50. It was a full flavoured dish. The duck was very meaty and concentrated, a little dry perhaps, but well balanced with the sweet fruity salsa. We both agreed the salsa was delicious. The honey richness of the mango was spiced with coriander and it has a just discernible edge of sweet peppery chilli.
My pan fried red snapper with tomato, olive, onion and thyme confit at Stg 11.25 was another blast of the Mediterranean. The thyme was overt and the olive oil liberal, but the juicy, robust fish seemed very happy with this treatment. I should mention that the vegetable and side dishes we ordered were particularly fresh and delicious.
As you may appreciate by this stage we were as full as the fat ripe tomatoes we had been enjoying. But, not to disappoint the reader we loosened our belts and asked for the menu. I can fully recommend bitter chocolate tart with creme Anglaise at Stg 3.95, which was dense and luscious studded with whole hazelnuts and cased in rich pastry. The creme Anglais was delicate and our spoons did battle for the spoils. Yum, yum!
Perhaps the thing that most impressed us about the Hotel Du Vin was the people. Nobody could have been more friendly, helpful and genuine. If you intend to visit, I suggest you book soon before everybody else does.
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