BurgundyNick | Alternative Wine

Please enjoy an interview with my wine friend, Nick Fisher of BurgundyNick. We discuss his wine origin story, how he balances classic wines with alternative choices, the UK's access to exciting wines from around the globe, and his thoughts on the future of wine.

We've followed each other for a while. Could you tell me your origin story? How did your wine journey start? And, specifically, why did you choose BurgundyNick as your username?

My love, obsession, passion, or as my wife would say potential grounds for divorce, with Burgundy started relatively late in my wine journey. My fascination with wine began when I was a young lad, when I was less than 10 years old; I started helping my father make cheap wine from kits. The hearth often had a demijohn of fermenting juice bubbling away most months. The result of our labours was nothing more than plonk but my father was always happy with our efforts, however, as fast as we made the wine my mother would drink it. 

20 years later and I’d made my way through the student days of Thunderbird, Piesporter and most things, to earning money and dining out at restaurants, navigating wine lists and actually buying wine that would last longer than just a few days in a wine rack. I was a connoisseur, surely? I was around 30 and had moved back to Harrogate, from the dizzy heights of Leeds. I went out to dinner at Sous Le Table, sadly no longer with us. I took my brother and his wife out to pay for their hospitality for putting me up for a few days. So, we’re at the restaurant and I look at the wine list and there wasn’t a wine that I liked the look of. Being an aficionado, of course, I ask the waiter, who was quite old and was surely a man who knew his restaurant’s cellar, for a recommendation. He disappeared for a few minutes and returned presenting a bottle proclaiming, “I have a Gevrey-Chambertain.” Immediately, my sister-in-law declared, “I love Gevrey” so I gladly accepted his suggestion, and the wine was poured.

I vividly remember looking at the wine in the glass and thinking it looks quite pale, as I picked it up. Then, as those aromas of savoury earthiness and red fruits hit my senses, my brain started to ping. I took a sip and I wish I could recount my actual thoughts, but it went something like, “What on earth is this! This is unbelievable, this is some sort of ambrosia.” My mouth was in heaven, as the taste of strawberries, raspberries and cherries wrapped around my palate, intertwined with those earthy flavours, then this fresh acidity took over. I also encountered for the first time, an incredible finish that went from those initial delights giving way to subtle sweet red fruits that seemed to go on for an age. What was this?

The conversation turned to the variety, and I had no idea, although I know I would have declared, with some confidence, that it was something or other, only for my sister-in-law to say, rather condescendingly, “It’s Pinot Noir! even I know that Gevrey is Pinot Noir!”

I went back again to the restaurant a few months later and the same waiter was there again so I asked for another recommendation. This time it was a Morey Saint Denis. The waiter said that it was from the next village, a mile or so, down the road from Gevrey. The wine was poured, and those heavenly earthy fruity aromas emanated from the glass and that taste sensation was repeated, this was equally as good. I was now hooked! 

We tackled the WSET Diploma at roughly the same timme. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't taste beyond the classics (recommended tasting list of examinable wines). Did you have the same WSET Diploma tasting expectations and experience? Were there any grapes that you tasted in class that were new to you?

I did think that there would be more wines, I did it online so I had to source all the wines myself, luckily I had/have an extensive cellar to fall back on. I think there were a few wines I’d never had, Aglianico and Bonarda spring to mind, that I had to purchase. WSET is very classic focused and one country that I always thought was under represented is South Africa. Given the rich history and regions you would have thought that there would be a little more on SA’s drops of gold!

During your wine studies - and perhaps also now - how do you balance traditional/conventional wines while still exploring new grapes/styles/regions ?

I love classics, but sometimes you are more disappointed than surprised/fulfilled. So I am always on the look out for something new. When visiting a new shop I always like to ask what have you got that is unusual, or a new style – even if it is a classic area but a new style. There are plenty of new producers that are pushing the boundaries some work, some don’t quite pull it off, but they are worth a try.

For as long as I've known you, you've used the hashtag #giveanewwineago . How did this sentiment/hashtag start? What does #giveanewwineago mean to you? And do you think #AlternativeApril embraces the same direct instructional message as giveanewwineago?

My hashtag started, maybe, 15 years ago when hosting small wine tastings for friends and colleagues, it became apparent that lots of people were just drinking the same thing week in week out. I needed a simple message to get them to step out of their comfort zones and just try something new. It means to me to try anything, a new variety, a new region, a new style, it can be familiar variety but with a different slant on its production. You have to be objective too, be prepared to not like it, but to try and understand what the maker has done/is doing. I think Alternative April embraces the same ethos and message, just bloody try something new, you might like it!

"just bloody try something new, you might like it!”

Perhaps because of WSET...but I've always thought of the UK as being the hub for wine trade. Yes, England/Ireland/Wales etc now make their own wine, but it's their long history of importing wine from all corners of the globe that has cemented the idea that they are the global hub for fine wine. Do you think this is still true? And...

I think you have a very valid point, there are plenty of companies, brokers and importers based in the UK and some with hundreds of years of history. I think it is slowly being eroded, though. If you think of Berry Brothers Rudd, they have downsized their organisation in 2025 by nearly 10%. I think this is inevitable due to globalisation and the internet.

Do you think the UK's history has developed an inherently 'better' understanding of wine from a global context? E.g. SA has an incredible winemaking history...and then apartheid isolated us from engaging with and learning about the rest of the world...we then overcame this and rejoined the world...but we're still playing catch-up. 

[CoGW: The WSET experience makes me ponder this - seeing what is available to UK students, experiencing a wine study programme developed around English wine appreciation - perhaps a few raised eyebrows over quality assessments about the potential of autochthonous varieties based on historical English understanding/dispersions of regions that may only now be celebrating and understanding their native grapes; as well as acceptance of different expressions of classic grapes]

Interesting question, I suppose it depends on what you mean better? If this was asked 20 years ago then the answer to this would be an undeniable yes, however, in today’s world “new order” the classics are better understood, especially long-established wines and varieties, I’m not overly convinced when it comes to emerging regions, varieties and techniques, especially amongst the establishment. Although, the general population are happy with whatever goes as long as it is keenly priced, which has been driven by supermarkets, especially discounters like Lidl and Aldi, rather than the wide trade itself. Look at the rise of Prosecco, as long as it’s cheap, cheerful and fizzy the populous are mad for it, same goes for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (obviously not fizzy). 

On the subject of 'alternative', is it fair to assess them at the same level or with the same grape expression as in its traditional region? 

[CoGW: E.g. a safe and fun example is what Beaujolais Nouveau versus cru Beaujolais has done for Gamay; or ripe oaked South African Chenin Blanc. Should Australian Fiano and Italian varieties be assessed in the same way as Italian examples.]

Without a doubt yes. We get into the realms of “wine snobbery” if this isn’t the case. Beaujolais is a great example. 10 years ago I was at a tasting and there was a Beaujolais on show and someone said “Oh, I don’t drink that stuff!” I wine should always be drunk on its merits. That’s why when all of the wine groups I belong to drink our wines blind. That way any preconceptions are minimised. Wine evolves and adapts, producers look took to innovate. Look at Super Tuscans, Argentinian Malbec. The answer is if the end product is tasty, delicious and drinkable then it’s good enough, right? They old guard needs to get with it. Look at the decline in Bordeaux, there is a reason why that is happening, too much mundane insipis wine, or over inflated prices. Customers just go elsewhere!

What's been your favourite'give a new wine a go' recommendation? Top 3 if you're struggling to pick only one ?

This is tough I will answer it this way. We all should be drinking Madeira, Crémant de Bourgogne, Falanghina and Pinot from Sancerre

Is there an 'alternative/give a new wine a go wines' wine that you still covet and would love to get your hands on?

This is like Bob Dylan’s Never-ending tour! There are countless wines I’d love to get my hands on.

What are your feelings about wine and its future (future explorations of uncommon grape growing/winemaking/PIWIs) in terms of the wine industry's fear of reduced alcohol consumption, wine's position within the alcohol category, embracing wines that don't meet regional regulations, and wine's 'reverence' (something I think is its greatest asset and greatest detriment)?

I always tell people wine is a journey. You can get on the Tour Bus and get off whenever you want, but once you have the bug, you’re on it forever. I find the more I know the less I know. I am beguiled by how many different facets there are. The more you go down one avenue, it’s like a fractal, it seems infinite. Global consumption is down due to several factors: younger people not drinking wine; the WHO banging the drum that alcohol is bad for you. For thousands of years, we have drunk alcohol and wine, trends will change and don’t forget about global warming and what that will bring, changes in varieties grown in particular regions, or new techniques . The future is in our hands, to be honest. The wine world needs to adapt, as stated above, look at how Bordeaux has rested on its laurels and paid the price. The consumers buy and drink the wine, if the wine is too expensive or garbage, then it wont sell. The global economic situation doesn’t help, but that will change and when there is more money, people will want to spend it, if the wine is good enough it will be bought and all of us in the world of wine and influence that, even now, with the current backdrop. The future is bright and it’s not just ruby red, pale pink or yellow.

---

Nick is active on Instagram - if it's not already clear, he is one of my absolute favourites! So do follow him - burgundynick on Insta.

See more interviews from inspiring winelovers