Interview With A Sommelier – Wilem Powell

The World of Wine is beautifully showcased by an army of talented Sommeliers, who help the consumer discover their next favourite bottle, understand the different regions and pair a delicious meal with the right Glass of Bubbly.

In this feature, we speak with Wilem Powell, the Head Sommelier at BiBi in London, who is currently helping many wonderful people to discover the vast world of Champagne and Sparkling Wines. Let’s find out about her incredible life in the world of wine.

Please Tell Us About Yourself & What Inspired You To Become a Sommelier?

I fell in love with working in restaurants while studying theatre at university, working as a part time waiter at a hotel in York. I liked the requirement for deep product knowledge on the restaurant floor, so from there I transitioned into wine, as I really enjoyed learning about everything on the list. I also love how good it feels to give guests memorable dining experiences. Often people will ask me whether I’d want to make a move into wine making or working in the import side of the wine industry and the answer is always no – I love restaurants and everything they represent. For me, being a sommelier is about serving wine in restaurants; it’s not just about the wine.

Do You Remember Your First Experience Of Tasting Sparkling Wine? Could You Tell Us More About It And What Kind Of Sparkling Wine It Was?

I’m not sure when my first taste of bubbles was; it will probably have been a ceremonious sip of champagne on New Year’s Eve at midnight in my childhood, so not a particularly memorable moment. That said, I do remember the first ‘oh wow’ moment with sparkling wine. It was during my first sommelier job when I was working the biggest race day of the year. One of the guests staying at the hotel would only drink Dom Pérignon, and he was indulging in the 2004 vintage at 10am before heading to the races. In the end, he didn’t have time to finish his bottle, so left the rest for me to enjoy. I threw a stopper in it and took it home to enjoy with mushrooms on toast for breakfast the next day. I remember being totally enthralled with the texture, mousse and complexity.

During Your Time As A Sommelier, What’s The Most Surprising And Interesting Thing You’ve Learnt?

I’m a big advocate of sommeliers seeking formal education (CMS, WSET etc.), so I’m always studying and therefore always learning. I like to be surprised every day. Recently, when visiting producers in Champagne, I found out that almost all producers use the sugar from beetroot for the tirage and/or dosage in their wines. This certainly took me by surprise!

What Sparkling Wine Producing Countries or Regions Hold A Special Place In Your Heart?

I lived and worked in Australia for two years, so I’m a big fan of Australian wine and think that so much of it gets massively overlooked. It’s definitely not the country that most people think of when discussing sparkling wine, but they make some amazing expressions.

Arras in Tasmania gets a lot of attention, but there are tons of other producers making exciting sparkling wines there too – DAOSA and Deviation Road in Adelaide Hills, Bellebonne in Tasmania and Nadeson Collis in Henty (a side project of Lethbridge) are my personal favourites. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of them export to the UK!

Can you tell us more about your plans on developing the BiBi Wine List?

We launched a brand-new list in September, which roughly quadrupled the number of wines on the list, and we’ve still got space for more expansion, so there’s some big things happening. Storage is small (as you can imagine, Mayfair restaurants don’t have the luxury of space), so we tend to keep a lot of single bottles and rotate the list, so it’s very frequently changing. We’re building a much bigger selection of classics, verticals of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne, but also investing in some other exciting, more new-wave regions too. We recently got in a load of new Italian listings as Italy was looking a little thin on the ground, and I’m keen to focus on the Rhône next.

What Advice Would You Give To Aspiring Sommeliers?

Don’t get too caught up in the hedonism of it all – take care of your health. I know it sounds boring and people want the advice to be ‘drink as much wine as possible’, but if you want to be a sommelier in the long term, if you still want to be opening amazing bottles of wine in twenty or thirty years’ time, you’ve got to look after yourself. Hospitality is rough on our bodies, so you’ve got to equip yourself as best you can for longevity.

Sleep well (it will absolutely help with studying), don’t indulge too much, exercise. I’m a big advocate of running, I do a lot of long distance running and I think it brings great mental clarity and stamina. My best services are done on days where I run to work, and my best study is done on days when I’ve slept well, it’s as simple as that.

Can You Share With Us One Of The Most Memorable Experiences You’ve Enjoyed With A Glass of Bubbly?

I drank a bottle of Ulysse Colin’s Les Maillons on my balcony as an apéritif before seeing Kendrick Lamar on his Mr Morale tour in Sydney. It was perfect. The bottle was showing incredibly well, but it was also that combination of a moment, the synergy between music and wine, that made it so special.

Asked on Behalf of Champagne Collectors – What’s The Oldest Vintage Champagne You’ve Tasted?

I’ve read a lot about some of the old Pol Roger cuvées from the 1920s, which go down as some of the greatest Champagnes in history, but never been lucky enough to try them. I think the oldest I’ve drunk was when I was served a 1973 while at the estate this year. It’s not typically regarded as a ‘great’ vintage, but it showed brilliantly.

 

Thank you, Wilem, for sharing your story and experiences with us. We at Glass of Bubbly wish you the very best for the future!

Photo Credit belongs to Anton Rodriguez and Glass of Bubbly was granted permission to use the image.