Pictured above: Dan Keeling of Noble Rot, Keeling Andrew, and Shrine to the Vine

Previously Head of A&R at Parlophone Records and Managing Director at Island Records, Dan Keeling was once responsible for discovering the UK’s emerging artists, including the likes of Coldplay and Lily Allen. He moved from music to wine in 2013 upon launching the Noble Rot magazine with his business partner and Master of Wine, Mark Andrew, and has since become one of the industry's most influential voices. Alongside Noble Rot, which Dan describes as a "genre-disrupting ode to gastronomic pleasure", Dan and Mark have opened three London restaurants under the Noble Rot banner, launched a fine wine importer, Keeling Andrew, and a wine shop, Shrine to the Vine, and somehow found time to publish a book, 'Wine from Another Galaxy'.

Dan shares his guide to re-emerging wine regions and talks us through the inspiration behind the upcoming launch of his new book, 'Who's Afraid of Romanée-Conti? A Shortcut to Drinking Great Wines'.

Wine Lister: Tell us about your current "house wine"?

Dan Keeling: As a perennial student of wine I rarely drink the same thing twice at home – there’s so many interesting places and producers to explore. Recent highlights include several single vineyard Cellier Saint Benoit Ploussards from Arbois, which display just as much terroir definition as their Cote d’Or colleagues; Suertes Del Marques’ smoky Listan Blancos from volcanic soils on the north coast of Tenerife; and Benoit Moreau’s 2022 Chassagne-Montrachets, which have a depth and definition far beyond what anyone might expect for such a young domaine.

WL: What do you drink when you're not drinking wine?

DK: Gallons of water. If I have one tip, it’s to drink a large glass of water as soon as you get out of bed. It starts the brain. Chatledon, Vichy, Evian, Badoit – I love them all, bar Thames Water’s chemical-infused tap variety.

WL: What does fine wine mean to you?

DK: It’s a distinctive, high quality wine that’s an authentic representation of the place where it’s grown, and that, with rare exceptions such as Condrieu, can improve with age. A bit like a ‘fine human’.

WL: The best restaurant wine list in London (besides your own)?

DK: Chez Bruce in Wandsworth. Bruce Poole and Nigel Platts-Martin really know and care about great wine. There seems to be an endless supply of mature Raveneau Chablis Premier Crus appearing on their list like precious bounty at benevolent margins. And there are many interesting choices at lower prices. Elsewhere, Planque in east London have a beautiful selection of regional European artisanal wines, thoughtfully assembled by owner Jonathon Alphandery.

WL: What emerging region are you most excited about?

DK: There’s so many, but some of the most exciting ‘emerging’ wine regions are really ‘re-emerging’ wine regions. These include places like the Gredos Mountains and Tenerife in Spain, which centuries used to export millions of litres of wine to Britain, and where British ships would dock to load up on supplies on their way around the globe. Or Sherry, where producers like Willy Pérez and Muchada-Leclapart are taking inspiration from a bygone era when the region’s wines were not fortified, making gorgeous, chalky-mineral table wines.

WL: What is your standing on natural wine?

DK: If by ‘natural wine’ you mean those that are bottled without sulphur dioxide, I am in awe of the few masters who make it work. Compared to conventional winemaking – where processes such as using commercial yeasts, filtration and sulphur mitigates risks – it requires incredible skill and meticulousness, which 99% of people do not have. I can sympathise with anyone who’s had any of the oceans of faulty, brett, and mouse-riven bottles inflicted on them in the name of ‘natural wine’. But, when you drink the real deal, from domaines like Overnoy-Houillon, Richard Leroy, and Il Paradiso di Manfredi, there’s no question ‘natural wine’ can be among the best in the world.

WL: Your go-to wine shop in London (besides your own)?

DK: I love The Winery in Maida Vale, an atmospheric former Victorian pharmacy that has many of the original fittings and a working fire. David Motion, the owner, has an unparalleled range of dry German Rieslings, which, like everything in the shop he imports directly, and a nice line in Burgundies. I bought my first bottle of Freddie Mugnier Musigny here at the beginning of my vinous infatuation. Hedonism in Mayfair is also impressive, where, aside from iconic Grand Crus they have an interesting range of more humble choices.

WL: If you could share a glass of wine with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you drink?

DK: 1847 Château d’Yquem with my late father.

WL: If you weren't working in wine, what would you be doing?

DK: I’d continue as a restaurateur and find another fascinating subject to start a magazine about. Water Weekly has a nice ring to it.

WL: Can you share with our readers one producer to watch?

DK: Philine Isabelle Dienger in Piedmont is one of the most exciting younger growers I’ve met. Her debut 2020 Barolo, ‘Preda’, stopped me in my tracks, exploding out of the glass with aromas of undergrowth and roses. Like all great wines, I couldn’t quite believe what I was tasting.

WL: Your new book, 'Who's Afraid of Romanée-Conti? A Shortcut to Drinking Great Wines', arrives on the shelves on Thursday 7th November. What inspired you to write this book?

DK: Wine can be daunting without an engaging guide. ‘Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti?’ is a no-holds barred voyage of discovery from sourcing good cheap vino for Noble Rot restaurants to drinking its most unattainable and holiest of grails – Romanée-Conti – and the universe of interstellar wines that lie in between. From new school Burgundy, Barolo, and Bordeaux to Corsica, Jura, and Switzerland, it’s full of my personal recommendations of exceptional, lesser-known wines to buy now, and the stories behind them. I also hope the book helps people to understand that it’s okay to take pleasure from what can be one of life’s most beautiful experiences without always having to find facts to try and measure and explain it – what the poet Keats called ‘negative capability’. Ultimately, reveling in the unknowable mystery of a great wine – rather than chasing that cliché of trying to ‘de-mystify’ it – can be far more gratifying.