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I have always enjoyed a glass of wine but I will be the first to admit that I know very little about it. This is why you will rarely see anything wine related on the Cambridge Foodies blog.

Gary, the owner of EJM wines, also noticed this and decided to reach out and show me this exciting world through one of his wine tasting evenings, with store manager Chris.

You may also remember reading about EJM from our very own Cambridge Foodies, Kate, and her visit when it first opened earlier this year.

The shop is located opposite the St Ives Morrisons and next door to The Filling Station, at the Abbey Retail Park. It is a small shop but they have done well with the space. You are greeted by a barrel that leads to the main desk with two walls full of carefully selected wine on each side. There are no fillers here, each one a specific wine for a particular type of wine drinker or a specific occasion. The selections available are constantly evolving to match trends and keep up with new wine areas and grape varieties. Sourcing is everything here.

EJM prides itself on being an accessible wine shop with its “informal and informative” casual feel that caters to the newbies all the way up to the pros. If you are thinking of dipping your toe into wine then this is the perfect place to start.

We were greeted with a cheese board with a gorgeous Italian blue cheese to pair with our wine. This came with bread, olives and ham. As there were only two of us, we were given a more modest selection but expect significantly more if you are to book an event yourself.

1. Jaffelin – Cremant De Bourgogne blanc de blancs Brut 🇫🇷

We started with a lovely French sparkling wine from Burgundy. This was a light, smooth and citrusy wine (maybe, lemon?) made from Chardonnay. This is great value when compared to Champagne. My first lesson of this evening is that you don’t need to fork out for Champagne to get quality. When you learn what to buy this will save you a few quid too!

2. Calusari – Pino Grigio 🇷🇴

Gary surprised us with a shot straight out of left field (or should I say, East field? 🤣).

This is a Romanian Pino Grigio, a country I never thought I would be drinking wine from. Named after a dance in Romania, this dry white wine is crisp, fresh, and vibrant. We all know that wine is made from grapes but this is the first time I have tried that taste so…grapey. It was incredible and refreshing.

Romania is a real up and coming country in wine and as a result you can get some great finds for a lot less. The more you know!

3. Gavi – La Battistina (12.5%) 🇮🇹

Next was this striking Italian white wine. I found this to be one of the most refreshing wines of the evening, with a light yet still complex flavour with hints of apples. It is the perfect summer evening drink.

4. Montesquieu l’estela (13.5%) 🇫🇷

From a small family-run vineyard on the outskirts of Pau in the south west of France, this estate has been handed down from father to son since the 18th century. This has resulted in a carefully nurtured grape that produces a fresh and zingy dry white wine with hints of apple and pear. Ideal for something like fish or chicken but I also found it worked well with the Italian blue cheese. My natural reaction is to always buy red wine to pair with this sort of cheese but now I know this is indeed a myth.

5. Williams – Solaris (12%) 🇬🇧

This is a particularly exciting wine for anyone who loves to champion their local community, like I do. Williams Solaris is an award winning wine from Cambridgeshire that really took me by surprise with its cheeky character.  This was one of the tangiest white wines I have ever had that makes me want to smack my lips with every sip. It was dry with a pop off sweetness at the end that also makes it easy going and fun in a feisty way.

6. Bardos – Romantica (14.5%)  🇪🇸

Spanish reds are one of my favourites and this only cemented my love even further. This full bodied wine had an impossible deep ruby red colour with a great level of depth that felt almost wasted on my pallet. It was complex and unapologetically bold with a smooth finish. Stunning.

7. Passimiento – Baglio Gibellina (13.5%)

This Sicilian wine had an intense nose of red berries with an almost peaty flavour. It paired perfectly with the Italian blue cheese with a deep flavour, similar to port.

8. Les Coteaux, Cotes du Rhone Villages (14%) 🇫🇷

My personal highlight of the evening was a beautiful red wine from the Rhone region of France. This is a wine that is vibrant and easy to drink from the moment you start but has a surprising level of complexity to it too. This is everything my idea of  wine should be and it would compliment any meat, especially grilled/barbeque. I particularly enjoyed the hints of vanilla that I am quite partial too.

Conclusion

Gary and Chris both know what they are talking about and truly understand the importance of making wine accessible. I have lost count at the number of people who shun wine because of its associations with the snobbery and elitism of its drinkers. In fact, their “informal yet informative” attitude to wine reminds me of exactly what I envisioned with the Cambridge Foodies with the foodie scene.

I have learned a lot this evening at the EJM wine tasting event. I look to these events not just to sample great wine but you come back with tangible knowledge that will enrich my life. Tonight I  picked up several tips and tricks to not only get the most out of my wine but ways that will save me a pretty penny too. These are exactly the skills I had in mind and I recommend anyone, expert or novice, to pop by and give them a go.

Thanks for reading!