Drinks interview: Sonal Clare, general manager at Birmingham’s the Wilderness restaurant

Sonal Clare talks about building an exciting offering for customers, how he has hacked his wine, and the future of sommelier service.

What was the vision for the look of the wine list at the Wilderness?

When I joined the team the idea was to revamp the wine and drinks list, to come up with cool and quirky ideas to make the wine list engaging and exciting but accessible too – I mean, I’m a council estate guy who’s been lucky enough to specialise in this.

The list is almost like a magazine, showing we can we have fun with our guests but still maintain serious content. Alex [Claridge, chef-owner] is a bit of a fashionista and has quite a quirky personality.

When it came to the menu we thought about how to make our drinks programme more exciting. We had a photographer on our books, so we thought, why don’t we do some pictures. Alex said, “What would be really cool, Sonal, is to pour wine all over your head.” Some people might say you’re crucifying wine, but I think it should be fun.

Your personal approach to wine is a bold way of presenting your offering. Why did you choose that way of marketing your list?

When you go to McDonald’s you look for Ronald McDonald, right? People see photos of me on the menu and in the restaurant and ask if I own the restaurant – it’s just a good way of them being able to relate to the person behind the mask.

Social media is also a nice way to keep a captive audience, but it’s hard to reach new people.

What drives the wine choices on the menu?

What the guests like and where value for money is. I have good contacts with Champagne and wine suppliers, which I’ve integrated into the restaurant. We have both natural and minimal intervention as well as some more conventional choices.

We wanted to cover all of our bases, so we have different flights available, including a 0% ABV flight. We try to give as many options as possible and ask what is value for money for our guests and what they would be happy to pay for it. People appreciate the experience of being taken out of their comfort zone but not in a patronising way.

Tell me about your Hacked Wine concept?

Me and Rob [Wood, the bar director] started discussing it in May 2021. We were thinking about how we could give wines a different flavour and experience using our own drinks knowledge. We made a dessert wine using cocktail ingredients [Sauternes 2007], a sparkling Riesling that normally doesn’t exist, and our Chardonnay 2.0, where we added diacetyl to change the flavour of the wine. We just wanted to make it more theatrical, break down those barriers.

What do you think is the future of wine service?

It should be cool and accessible. When I’m walking around the restaurant, I don’t walk around like I know everything. In the past few years people have become more aware of good quality and even know a little bit about wine. There are still some people who are apprehensive, but I’ll still deliver the same experience for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that I do for a flight. I’ve seen other people in service that when a guest orders something their reaction is like they shouldn’t be ordering that. At the end of the day, they’re the ones paying our wages.

Seasonal food & drink pairing: Côteaux de Bassenon 2018 and game

A blend of Syrah and Viognier, this bold, organic wine from revered Côte-Rôtie winemaker Jean-Michel Stephan is an ideal match for pretty much any game dish you might have on your menu. Heady in blackcurrant, smoky and herbal, its bravado-esque character stands up against strong and powerful flavours.

Photo: Thom Bartley