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A Thoughtful Wine List at Nectar: Built for Food, Not Competition
- chrisarazim
- Feb 9
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 8
At Nectar, the wine list follows the same rule as the food and the cocktails. Nothing gets to exist in isolation. Every bottle has to earn its place, and earning its place means it has to be able to pair with something, tell a story worth telling, and give a guest a reason to choose it over everything else on the page.
We have written about that philosophy properly in how pairing actually works at Nectar, and about the Edinburgh wine merchant, the Great Grog, who has helped us build and refine this list since before we opened. This article is the other half of that story: a proper introduction to every wine currently on the list, and where to go if you want the full depth behind any single bottle.
Red wines
The reds on the current list span a genuinely wide range of style and origin, and each one earns its place for a different reason.
The Wide River Shiraz from Robertson in South Africa is the wine that most consistently surprises people. It smells heavier and darker than it actually tastes, oak and black fruit on the nose, considerably lighter and more approachable once it reaches the palate. It is currently paired on the menu with the Old Beanut, and its full regional story, from the Breede River Valley to the specific winemaking family behind the label, is worth reading in full.
The Montepulciano Castelvecchio is the wine that anchors the red side of the list, and it carries the most personal story of any bottle we serve. It comes from the same trips through Italy that shaped Chris's own family holidays, and it has become our traditional meat wine, though it works in far more places than that description suggests. It is currently paired with the halloumi on the menu, which is the pairing our guests talk about most, precisely because it should not work on paper and does.
The Chants du Closeau Malbec is French rather than Argentinian, lighter than most people expect from the grape, with enough structure to feel serious without ever becoming heavy. It is currently paired with the Florist. This one does not yet have its own standalone article, which is the next piece we intend to write.
The Xinomavro Syrah Merlot is Greece's most serious red grape, structured and aromatic in a way that genuinely surprises people who assume Greek reds will be light. It belongs to the same Greek tradition as the lamb chops it sits alongside.
The Benières Grande Réserve Pinot Noir is the lightest and most delicate of the reds, and the one with the most personal weight behind it: a bottle Chris is holding onto for a specific occasion with his father. It is currently paired with the Bees Essence on the menu.
And the Primitivo Vallone Versante rounds out the reds with a rich, intensely fruited Italian character, currently paired with the Gangster. Both are indulgent, both carry real weight, and the pairing matches richness with richness rather than looking for contrast.
White wines
The whites on the list run from bone dry and mineral to buttery and rich, and the range exists deliberately so there is a genuinely different answer depending on what a guest is after.
The Vermentino Zagare is bright, citrus-driven, and named after the blossom of the lemon tree. It is the answer we reach for most often when someone asks whether we have a dry white, and it is currently paired with the Laterna.
The Viña Salort Albariño joined the list after we opened, once we identified the exact gap we needed filled among the by-the-glass whites, and it has become the bestselling wine on the entire list. It comes from Uruguay rather than Spain, which surprises almost everyone who tries it. It is currently paired with the Warmth Within and with the prawns on the food side of the menu.
The Assyrtiko Sauvignon Blanc is the flagship white grape of Greece, volcanic, mineral, and bone dry. It is currently paired with the Tzatziki Martini and the chicken skewer, a pairing that carries genuine tradition behind it: tzatziki has always been served alongside grilled meat in Greece, and this pairing is simply that same tradition translated into a glass alongside the wine.
The Icare Chardonnay is our flagship white and the wine Eirini asks for whenever an evening calls for opening a bottle. Buttery, rich, and long, it was chosen on an afternoon at the Great Grog and first tasted properly on a walk along the Water of Leith a few weeks before we opened. It is currently paired with the Local Connection and with the sea bass on the food side.
Rosé and sparkling
The rosé and sparkling wines are chosen with the same intent as everything else on the list. Rosé offers freshness and versatility across small plates and shared dishes. Sparkling brings lift, and works well as the wine that opens a meal rather than accompanies a specific dish. Neither exists to fill space on the page. Both have earned their place the same way every other wine on the list has: tasted, discussed, and kept because they genuinely work.
Why the list looks the way it does
What makes the Nectar wine list different from a conventional restaurant list is not the number of bottles on it. It is the reasoning behind each one.
We have never wanted a list where several wines compete for the same guest and the same moment. Instead, every wine is chosen to occupy its own space: its own pairing, its own story, its own reason to be the right choice on a given evening rather than a generic alternative to something else on the page. That is why every wine we have written about on this blog gets a proper article rather than a line in a spec sheet. The stories are not decoration. They are the reason the list works the way it does.
If you are unsure where to start, our team will always be happy to guide you toward the right bottle for what you have ordered, or simply for the mood you are in. Sometimes the best pairing is the one you had not planned.
Book a table at Nectar Bar and work your way through the list one story at a time.
Opening hours Tuesday to Thursday: 5pm to 11pm Friday: 5pm to 1am Saturday: 12pm to 1am Sunday: 12pm to 11pm Monday: Closed
