We chat to Amanda Selby – known to many as Drink With Me on Instagram – to get her thoughts on what “fine wine” really means, the bottles she treasures, and how we can all drink a little better.
For Amanda, fine wine isn’t about price tags or prestige. “Fine wine is a wine that you remember and talk about,” she says. It’s about those bottles that stay with you – the ones that become part of a story.
She laughs as she admits she’s something of a “collector’s courtesan,” with bottles she loves to look at more than open. “I used to have loads of Tokaji… and then we drank them,” she says. “Now I’ve got bottles I just want to touch and never drink – but at some point you realise, what’s the point?”
One of her most memorable wine moments came early in her career: a dinner hosted by Albert Roux, where she was invited to a vertical tasting of Grands Échezeaux. “It was such an incredible experience – that’s when I really fell in love with wine.”
When it comes to favourite regions, Amanda points to Alsace for its elegance and refinement. “I’m all about elegance,” she says, but she’s also excited by emerging regions like Bulgaria, where she recently attended a masterclass that blew her away.
So how can we make fine wine more accessible? Amanda says it’s all about what Tiny Wine is doing. “You’re giving people the chance to try great wines in small formats without the big spend – that’s amazing. But there’s still a long way to go; fine wine is only getting more expensive.”
Her top tip for drinking better? “If you want a really excellent bottle, you can find something incredible between £20 and £25,” she says. “You don’t have to spend hundreds.”
Stay tuned for more Tiny Tastings as we keep asking the UK’s most passionate wine lovers what fine wine means to them.