Our award winning wine list has been carefully selected to highlight the best of the modern wine world.

+ Read more - A welcome from james

Welcome to the Black Bull Inn’s wine list. Since our first wine list in the Three Hares there has been a massive journey to our latest edition. I have spent a considerable amount of time on this wine list balancing the different styles, seeking the perfect list which is nigh-on-impossible.

All the wines from top to bottom are all good in their own way and have their place at the right time. Wine like food however is very subjective so hopefully this selection provides something for everyone too. Our wine list is not meant to be pretentious, intentionally different for the sake of it or try to catch people out. The list is first and foremost based on taste and flavour. Wine for me is something to be enjoyed not something to study.

You may see wines, grapes and countries which are not the usual suspects on a wine list but trust me they are equally as good and often better. Some of these countries and grapes are new to me and I have to say how ecstatic I was to find such quality. I implore you to try them. One thing that has started to change on this list is the extension of our philosophy on farming. We consciously seek independant, sustainable & seasonal producers using good farming techniques so why should we not with the wine list? Sometimes we forget that wine making is farming, and that the way it is produced has an impact on our health and environment.

Intense wine making can rely heavily on pesticides, herbicides, added sulphur, sugar and colouring, damage to the soil, land and surrounding environment as well as wildlife too. I’ve tried to bring this wine list away from such practices and is a work in progress, as with anything to do with food production and the environment it’s a very complicated subject.

What I hope we have here is a collection of wines made from a selection of people who are passionate about their wine, and the way they produce them. From generation old estates, to new young producers that want to try something less conventional.

For me this balance is exciting and I hope you find something that suits and even delights you.

James Ratcliffe