Meet Our Local Winemaker, Alex Hurley from London Cru

When did your love for wine begin?

My personal journey to wine was not exactly direct. I started out working as an Exploration Geologist, with wine always being an important part of my holidays and family dinners. What started out as a hobby and a passion, grew into travelling wine regions, and exploring the beautiful winemaking styles from around the world. At this stage, I took the full plunge, I went back to University – in Montpellier, France and Turin, Italy to complete my Master of Enology and Viticulture. 

What brought you on your journey to opening London’s first urban winery? 

Cliff Roberson the founder of London Cru had been importing and selling wine to Londoners for more than 60 year, and as part of this portfolio there were some inspirational Urban wineries from California. Built in 2012,  London Cru Winery was the first urban winery in the UK and we are now celebrating our 10 year anniversary this year!  

We know you only source the highest quality grapes - where do you pick the fruits for your wines?

As an urban winery one of our key advantages is that we are not tied to a single location or vineyard. Every year we can source from the regions which have the best quality. Over the last few years we have been working with growers from West Sussex, Essex, & Canterbury. Our fruit is normally sourced from around 60 minutes drive from London. 

You produce the most incredibly moreish wines, which would you say is your favourite and why?

There are two wines in my range right now that I absolutely love – my traditional method sparkling wine is absolutely singing right now. This actually just won a gold medal in the 2021 WineGB awards – which places us amongst the best in the UK a great achievement for any boutique winey. The Pinot Noir Précoce also a particular favourite of mine as it is a style difficult to make in the UK, but also one of my favourite to share with friends. Light in extraction, very delicate, fruit forward, cherries and cranberries. A style that speaks of cool climate – but also ripe red fruits.

We love that you are all about supporting your local community and being kinder to our environment, as are we! Tell us more about the forest you’ve planted in Kent to increase biodiversity?

While making wine and selling wine is a hedonistic profession, our owner Cliff wanted to balance the environmental impact by planting a woodland. In 2019 his 40 acre site was planted with young trees and is now a 30 acres baby woodland. 

Curious, how long do you recommend you should keep wine open?

One a bottle of wine is open it will start to interact with the air and oxygen and start to change in aromas and taste. Different wines are impacted differently, but as a rule, white aromatic wines like my Bacchus are best consumed on the first day. Reds with tannins and more structure may actually improve over a day or two being open. Sadly there is no perfect time for all wines

If you could only drink one wine for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I love great Pinot noir. From cool climate examples like what we have in England which are crisp, cranberry and cherries through to the more broody smoky, mushroom, and violet aromas from warmer regions. Pinot noir is particularly complex and enticing! 

Which cliches would you like to banish from the wine world forever?

I’d be happy to remove the elitism – in my opinion wine should be enjoyed at all price points and styles. From Prosecco, the currently out of fashion Sauvignon Blanc, through to the uber premium First growths from Bordeaux, or Grand Crus from Burgundy there is a place and a time that makes sense to me. Most importantly - enjoy the styles that you like

Most overrated as well as underrated wine on the market right now?

I’m simply in love German Riesling – it has amazing quality-to-value ratio. Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc from Loire Valley are also incredibly interesting and great value.

Overrated wines – this is really to my palate really, but very hot climate regions which hit high alcohol very easily are my least favourite. If I see 15% or 16% on a bottle there is a good chance I will not like the wine regardless of price, history, or winemaking methods. 

Is there an unusual pairing you think really works that we might not have tried?

Précoce and pheasant – as an early ripening variety my Pinot Noir is a delicious target to the pheasants during September and October. As means of revenge, and because it works so well as a paring, I recommend pheasant and Précoce. 

Finally, aside from purchasing your beautiful wine online, is there anywhere we can enjoy it at a bar?

As you mentioned our wines are available through Londoncru.co.uk, but they are also available in many amazing restaurants throughout London and beyond including: Allain Ducasse at the Dorchester, The Pig, Sat Bains, 10 Cases, The Mulray, Café Murano, Kerridge’s, Claridge’s, Hawksmoor, Fiend, The Beaumont.