This week Tiny Wine dropped into Soho to visit Aulis, the Michelin-starred restaurant that forms part of the Simon Rogan group. We sat down with Charles Carron Brown to get his thoughts on fine wine, favourite regions, and how to make the whole experience more accessible.
When asked what fine wine means to him, Charles kept it simple: it’s all about opening a bottle and sharing it with the people you love. For him, the romance of wine isn’t just about what’s in the glass, but who you’re drinking it with.
Charles also let us peek into his cellar, where treasures like a 1929 Tinto Negro d'Oliveiras in Portugal's Madeira waits to be opened. When it comes to wine regions, he highlights the UK for its energy and growing diversity, but also shows love for the Loire Valley’s Chinon and Saumur regions for their deliciousness.
Looking forward, Charles sees Alsace as an exciting region on the rise. The food, the people, and the shift towards natural winemaking make it a place he thinks more drinkers should pay attention to.
So how do we break down the barriers around fine wine? Charles believes it’s the job of restaurants and sommeliers to make it more accessible: offer small tastes, demystify the language, and above all, make it fun.
His top tip for drinking better is to experiment — get outside your comfort zone and try something new. And his personal shout-out? Clos Rougeard 2011, a serious bottle of Cabernet Franc.
Stay tuned for more Tiny Tastings as we keep asking some of the UK’s most exciting voices in food and wine what “fine wine” really means to them.