Eataly's Liverpool Street megastore is turning its floors into a walk-around Italian wine festival for two days, and it's one of the easiest ways to taste your way through Italy's wine regions without leaving the City of London.
The format is simple: guests move around Eataly's food halls, sampling wines from different Italian producers at stands, with the store's usual offerings — fresh pasta, cheese counters, cured meats — woven into the experience. Walk-around tastings like this suit the venue well, since the Bishopsgate site doubles as a market, restaurant complex and specialist food shop all at once. You can try a handful of wines, note down the bottles you rate, and buy them on the way out.
The appeal for anyone who finds wine tastings a bit stuffy is the casual setup. There's no seated schedule to follow; you arrive, get your glass, and wander. Producers and staff are on hand to talk through what you're drinking, which makes it a decent crash course if you want to get past ordering the same Pinot Grigio every time. Expect a range of styles from across Italy — crisp whites from the north, reds from Tuscany and Piedmont, and a few more unusual regional grapes that rarely make it onto high-street shelves.
Worth bearing in mind: these events usually sell tickets in advance and sessions can be time-limited, so it's worth checking Eataly London's listings and booking ahead rather than turning up on spec. And plan your evening around the tastings — with a couple of hours of pouring, most people do well to have eaten beforehand or booked a table afterwards in the store's restaurants to line the stomach.
If Italian wine is your thing, it's a rare chance to try dozens of producers in one afternoon, in a building that's already one of the better free-to-wander food destinations in London. For everyone else, it's a good excuse to finally work out the difference between a Barbaresco and a Barbera.
