Borough Markets – mulled wine, eco-friendly wine and mouth-watering goodness – London
Being a female, I have that tendency to like pushing through the crowds to browse stall after stall at the local markets. Friday it was Camden markets browsing the 50’s pinup girl inspired clothes; Sunday it was the local farmers market to gather ingredients for a Sunday roast and Saturday it was the famous and not to mention the oldest marketplace in London – Borough Market near London Bridge.
We timed our visit perfectly, it was about 3pm in the afternoon and it was still busy yet not uncomfortably squashed (ugh… horrible La Tomatina memories!). Our first mission was to find a tasty treat to munch on as we browsed. The first thing that caught my eye was Mountain’s Boston Sausage, which funnily enough was setup right beside a vegan stand! I ordered a ‘traditional Lincolnshire hotdog’; locally sourced shoulder of pork with sage and seasonings on an organic white roll topped with caramelized onions and tasty mustard. Not exactly the easiest thing to walk around eating as it was packed to the brim but my-oh-my was it good.
We then wandered up and down the stalls tempting our taste buds even further with arrays of cheeses, meats and delectable goodies like beef and Guinness stew, ostrich meat and endless varieties of olives and nibbly bits and pieces. In order to ‘mull’ over what we should buy we decided to stop off at ‘Borough Wines’ and grab a unique 14 blend of herbs and spices mulled wine. Now speaking from an experienced Christmas market mulled wine drinker I know a thing or two about glögg/glödgat vin/Glühwein/greyano vino/vin chaud or vin brulé as they call it in Italy. This mulled wine wasn’t too bad actually, it was served at a good temperature (didn’t burn the tongue) and it gave you that nice warming glow without feeling like you’re drinking straight liquor.
After chatting with the guys in the Borough Wines stall we decided to do the good thing and help the environment by buying a refillable bottle of their red on tap from Luberon, a Grenache and Syrah 2010 blend. Which I have to admit wasn’t too bad for £5 for 750ml – easy drinking, uncomplicated red that went with our olives, cheese, salami nibbles later that evening.
It was a fantastic afternoon out and I must admit for oenophiles and foodies alike it’s a great place to explore with a mulled wine or prosecco in hand. Not to mention there is various wine bars and tasting options around Borough Markets, including the Wine Pantry (English wine tasting room, read my blog post here!), Vinopolis, Bedales Wines and the Bombay Sapphire Experience for those of you who are gin drinkers.
