WebMarApr2020

www.westendermagazine.com | 23
Another big plus for Cannavan is the easy
access to the motorway, and the airport:
he travels a lot, running masterclasses on
wine around the world, and organising his
hugely successful Festivals of Wine, which
get booked up months in advance. ‘They’re
consumer wine festivals, held across a day,
with more than 400 quality wines on offer for
tasting, and the chance to meet sommeliers
and producers,’ he explains. He runs three
festivals each year, in Glasgow, Edinburgh
and London; this year’s Glasgow event is
in June, with the others in November and
October respectively. As well as organising
the festivals and running masterclasses,
he writes on wine for Decanter magazine and
others, and regularly judges wine prizes.
So what are his top tips for Westender
readers when it comes to choosing wine?
‘When you’re eating out, I always say you
want to find a place where you can trust the
sommelier. And then you trust them: they
know their list, and they’re your best guide.’
When it comes to buying wine for home,
he cautions against buying wine that’s too
cheap, pointing out that the duty is the
same on a cheap as an expensive bottle.
‘The sweet spot is for wine that’s around
£8-12 in price,’ he says. That means you’re
spending enough to give you quality;
he’d rather have two bottles at £10 than
three at £7.
Wine experts, he tells me, generally come
to their trade by one of two routes: either
they’re journalists who like wine, or they’re
food and wine enthusiasts who start to write
about it. He’s the latter: and it was during his
early days in the West End that he developed
the passion that he would eventually turn
into a career. ‘I was studying at the Glasgow