A pop-up worth repeating
Alexia’s industrial setting and off-beat location on a back street miles from the established local wine circuit means we have to do things a bit differently.
No one wanders past us by accident, which is why pop-ups are a key part of the Alexia experience. We’ve done everything from pies and Pinot, hot cheese and Grüner Veltliner, hotdogs and chilled red, to paninis and Lagrein.
While we are serious about making wine, we don’t take wine too seriously. There’s more than enough of that out there already, and it’s not really working for the industry anymore. We want great reviews, but we’re also happy to serve you a steak and cheese pie in a paper bag to go with that 5-star wine.
The pop-ups are constantly revolving, but there is one special wine we celebrate every year – the annual release of our Blanc de Blancs Méthode Traditionnelle.
It’s special because of the struggle. We make our fizz 100% in-house, and it’s a temperamental, technically demanding, time and labour-hungry process. It takes 1,460 days between picking and eventual release. That’s 4 years. Over those 4 years, we estimate we touch each bottle 100 times.
The Alexia 2022 Blanc de Blancs Méthode Traditionnelle will be our fifth - a solid half-decade of releases.
This year for our release event on 19 September, we’re channelling the legendary Pearl & Potato Tavern with oysters by “Salty Boz” Martin Bosley, pomme frites, and cheese rolls. We’d love to see you there, so please accept this as a personal invitation from us to drop in for a glass with some fries to celebrate.
In the meantime, here’s the full Pearl & Potato* backstory:
“Legend has it that the Pearl & Potato Tavern began on the docks of a small coastal town during the 1850s oyster boom. "Salty Baz" was an oyster monger famed for the saltiest language and freshest oysters on the waterfront. Next door was his biggest rival: “Felix Frites”, a Belgian fry-master known for his golden pommes frites and closely guarded dipping sauce recipes.
Every afternoon, the pair battled fiercely for the dockworkers' pennies. Baz would "borrow" Felix's salt, while Felix occasionally "misplaced" Baz's oyster knife. But despite their fierce competition, they shared one problem. Their customers were always thirsty. Then fate intervened…
One evening, a merchant vessel from Champagne ran aground just offshore. While the crew waited for repairs, the captain bartered crates of the finest Blanc de Blancs in exchange for Baz's oysters and Felix’s frites.
At a loss for what to do with the mysterious French fizz, Baz and Felix popped the corks and poured it for their customers. The combination was an accidental masterpiece - the crisp bubbles perfectly complemented the richness of the frites and the sweet brininess of the oysters!
For one glorious week, the roughest dockworkers in the district could be found perched on upturned barrels, slurping oysters, devouring pommes frites, and delicately sipping the finest Champagne.
When the ship was finally ready to sail, everyone threatened to riot if the Champagne ever stopped flowing…
So Baz and Felix did the only sensible thing. They put aside their rivalry, joined forces, and opened The Pearl & Potato, rumoured to be the world's first Champagne, oyster and frites tavern.”
*The Pearl & Potato may not exist…
