Guilty Pleasures: Bastien Ferreri, Frenchie

*Côtes du Rhône Wines is running the Guilty Pleasures festival all October – for more information click here

Bastien Ferreri, head sommelier of Covent Garden bistro Frenchie, first stepped into the wine trade in 2007, when he started training as a somm in the Languedoc after a three-year stint at catering college. He was thrown in at the deep end with an apprenticeship at two Michelin-starred Chez Bru in Provence during his education, but persevered and earned his diploma two years later, before moving to London to take up an assistant sommelier and manager role at Murano in Mayfair, where management demanded a strong focus on wines from Italy and the South of France. He left the post in February 2012 to join Hibiscus as the Michelin-starred haunt’s head sommelier, specialising in sourcing boutique and artisanal products. When Hibiscus closed down in 2016, Ferreri teamed up with Greg Márchand, the owner of Paris-based bistro Frenchie, who wanted to bring his dining concept over to the UK. With a career that’s taken him across Britain and France’s most decadent destinations, Ferreri knows a thing or two about guilty pleasures…

1: What is your definition of a guilty pleasure?

For me, it’s all about wine. I have almost always put a section called “Guilty Pleasures” on the wine list of the restaurant I worked at or consulted at. It is a showcase of special wines either by their vintages, limited production or uniqueness in terms of style; that we showcase by the glass, carafe and bottle at a reduced margin to showcase affordable exiting wines.

2: What is your guilty pleasure wine from the Côtes du Rhône?

Côtes du Rhône Lieu dit Clavin, for the amazing pleasure they bring. They’re always delicious.

3: What’s your guilty pleasure when you’re not working?

One of them is music for sure, it takes up a lot of my time, going to gigs, listening to music and digging through boxes of CDs LPs, even K7 sometimes.

Even with the massive rebirth of vinyl, I really like to buy CDs, put them on and listen to them track after track as if I was reading a book, and read the inside leaflet, the dedications and accolades on the inside have interested me since I was a kid.

I have lot of CDs that nobody buys and which are annoying to carry, but still love them.

4: And finally, what’s your guilty pleasure food?

Ice cream! For any season, any time.

Côtes du Rhône Wines is running the Guilty Pleasures festival all October – for more information click here