Convivium Wine

What you see from the street is only a small percentage of the experience within the four walls of this quaint wine merchants. The full experience includes getting yourself inside and discovering a mouth watering flush of what they are all about.
I ventured in after a nearby business meeting and was surprised to be told it had been open around two years, the folks there have added informal, delicious, sociable things like sensory wine taste evenings for a small fee, and bites from Bön Vivant to help you choose combos of food & drink. Seemingly this happens on last Thursday’s of each month; exception Feb and Dec.
Goodness, I learned things here and eventually bought a large stout (a meal in itself) only because they didn’t stock bottled beers and the new festive orange Edinburgh Gin, maybe next time.
To ensure that you find exactly what your looking for be it for Sunday lunch, Xmas dinner or New Year or simply to enjoy shared or on your own. I can then very definitely agree that this is one place with staff that can inspire you, and answer many questions.
Five stars to them or full marks when I find my favourite tipples on sale, and you never know you might even cross paths with other Unilocalers.

The fantastic Bön Vivant’s Companion, hosts Convivium Wines, usually on the last Thursday of the month. Nikki from Convivium has developed a wine tube map, mapping out different wines, so from the photo for Convivium Wine you can see there are red lines, white lines and fizz lines. The premise is simple. There may be names of wine you recognise, e.g. Merlot but when you work along the wine tube map, you may discover other lines (different varieties of grape) that you would never consider trying.
The tasting is informal and for me this is where the gold stars are. None of this, ‘take a glass whilst I spend 10 – 15 minutes telling you a story before you even get to try it.’ Nope you take two glasses at a time, start at the station you want and work your way along the tube line — last night’s was reds. Last night’s map included Merlot’s, Malbec’s, Zinfandel, Syrah, Ribero del Duoro and Carmenere and there were nibbles along the way, paired with certain wines, such as manchego cheese, sticky ribs and spicy popcorn. By taking two glasses you can compare what can be the same grape variety but made in different countries e.g. Chile vs. France.
I love the informal style. Working along the tube, Nikki comes along and has a chat and any questions, you just fire away. It is also a great chance to meet new people as once the wine starts flowing as you go along those different stations, the noise level rises substantially and new friends are made over debating your favourite wines. I also love finding a wine that I would usually never consider or finding out what wines work best with spicy food — last night that was a revelation as I would normally stick to white or beer, thinking red wouldn’t work as well.
So, last night was a trial for how the wine tube map will run going forward and we got tickets at a reduced price. I’m already plotting my tickets (full price) for the next one as it is a great experience and a really great night. Cheers Nikki and TBVC and see you v soon :-)