It was back in 2017 at the inaugural ‘Out The Box’ tasting that I first met David Knott, who was at the time running The Knotted Vine, a small independent wine importer based in London offering a treasure trove of wines to the trade.
Knott organised the Out The Box event, which brought together seven importers of a similar size to show off their wares and stick it to the big importers who were beginning to take a strangle hold on the industry via mergers, acquisitions and the like. Like the Dirty Dozen tastings around the same time, it was an important event for the industry, and what left a mark was the sheer number of interesting and consistently good wines in the room.
In my report at the time I wrote: “There were no holds barred in terms of variety, provenance or style [and] that made for a wildly exciting tasting.”
Graft portfolio tasting, London, September 2026
Fast forward almost a decade and I’m catching up with David Knott in the edgy and cool surroundings of Wild by Tart in Victoria for the Graft Autumn Portfolio Tasting. Graft came about when two of the original Out The Box importers - The Knotted Vine and Red Squirrel - came together to create a portfolio that merged the best wines from each.
This was in 2019 and since then Graft has gone from strength-to-strength, offering an enviable list of classic and esoteric wines from right across the board, with a firm focus on the London on-trade. Two years ago co-founder Nick Darlington (who was behind Red Squirrel) left the company to pursue a career in teaching but it’s clear from the wines on show at the tasting (and there are almost 180) that the footprints of both original companies remain throughout the portfolio.
It’s always refreshing chatting to David Knott; he approaches everything with an optimistic attitude, is clinical with his assessment of the market and clearly as passionate as ever about sourcing good wines and getting them into customer’s glasses.
“Good wine can come from anywhere,” he says. “I grew up with the Majestic approach that wine is all about inclusivity. At a time when everything was French-led and a bit stuffy, a lot of my generation was about ‘how do we make it more inclusive?’”
That’s what he wants Graft to be all about, this idea that as long as the fruit is good and the winemaking is good, good wine can come from everywhere. “We want to embrace that, and we want our customers to obviously embrace that as well,” he says.
“The thing that we are really working on at Graft is how do we promote the fact that we love diversity within the portfolio. We're not a specialist, we're not a country specialist, we're not a natural wine specialist, but we do have a focus on the ‘small vineyard, low intervention’ producers. That's really the core of it and that means that good wine can come from anywhere.”
Last month Graft won the IWC Small Agent of the Year award for the second year in a row
Knott says that business is good for Graft at the moment, sales are tracking over 20% up on last year, and there are lots of new wines as well as new customers on the books. “We had a really nice summer. We’ve found that the on-trade is doing really well, and since COVID there are lots of restaurants that are pushing the alfresco dining thing, so we’ve seen a lot of customers pivot towards that which has done really well for us.”
He adds that off trade's been a little bit tougher, but Graft has continued to focus on the mid-premium end of the market which has helped, and he finds that the Graft portfolio is the perfect foil to the more mainstream wines being sold by the larger importers.
“We've always found that we're here to add value alongside other suppliers that people are working with, and we're finding more and more that customers only want to work with one big supplier,” he explains. “So they might only work with Liberty, or Enotria, or Hallgarten, rather than a mix of a few of them, and that leaves a nice gap for us because we're the other supplier that does all the interesting bits around the edges.”
The tasting is jam-packed with those ‘interesting bits around the edges’, including a handful of new wines from regions including Burgenland, Stellenbosch, Oregon and Beaujolais, as well as eight new producers. The quality throughout the room is exceptional, with value not far behind, it was hard not to taste all 177 wines. Below is a snapshot of some of the finds of the day.
Champagne A. Levasseur, Rue du Sorbier Brut, NV
An outstanding old-vine Champagne, comprising 80% Pinot Meunier, 15% Pinot Noir and 5% Chardonnay. Delicate and chewy with rich tea biscuit and crusty bread notes, tree fruit and a lemon-sherbet acidity. Not overly effervescent too, which made it feel even more vinous and intense. Way better than the Pol Roger next to it on the table.
Murdoch Hill, Chardonnay, 2024
A lovely and not-too-lean Chardonnay from Adelaide Hills, with grapes taken from Murdoch Hill’s premium vineyards in Lobethal, Oakbank and Piccadilly Valley. The danger with many Aussie Chardonnays of late is that they’ve dialled back the oak so much that they are almost too skinny. This sits perfectly; there’s lime freshness and a steely backbone but also ripe guava and pineapple fruit and a weighty mouthfeel. Just lovely.
Au Pied du Mont Chauve, Chassagne-Montrachet En Pimont, 2022
A stylish Chassagne-Montrachet made from 50-year-old vines planted 250 MASL. This is creamy and poised with beautiful deep fruit; lychees, tinned pear, and a smidge of woodsmoke. There’s real depth here with a sweetness on the mid-palate and a flush of racy acidity on the finish to pin back all that fruit.
Weingut Frey, Pinot Blanc, 2025
A super-clean Pinot Blanc from the village of Ober-Flörsheim in the south-west of the Rheinhessen region. Notes of almond, dried apricot and lemon zest grab hold before a pithy creaminess envelopes the palate. Delicious.
Noelia Ricci, Bro’ Bianco, 2024
This lees-aged Trebbiano from Emilia-Romagna is golden in colour (thanks in part to partial skin contact during fermentation) but it’s far from an orange wine. It’s bold and bright with white peach and lime notes and a salty/stony line running through it. Really delicious and elegant.
Holder, Dorper Chenin Blanc, 2023
Fruit from two vineyards sites in the Bottelary Hills, Stellenbosch make up this concentrated and punchy Chenin which brims with bruised apple and orange peel flavours as well as herbs and butterscotch. Extended lees aging probably accounts for the latter. Well balanced.
Eschenhof Holzer, Invader Orange, 2025
Nice to see a 100% Muller-Thurgau on the table, and this skin-contact wine didn’t disappoint. Perfumed and pretty with orange blossom and golden delicious apple notes, lively acidity and a furry mouthfeel. Pitch perfect.
Matic, Postopoma Orange, 2025
A simple but lovely orange wine; a gateway for the category as there are no rough edges here or hints of anything too developed or oxidative. Just fresh peachy fruit and soft bruised tannins. A blend of Kerner and Riesling with - and I quote - “the exact proportions being unknown”. This level of honesty is very refreshing, just like the wine.
Ministry of Clouds, Silk & Stone Grenache, 2024
Old vine, high-altitude (230 MASL) Grenache from vines planted in 1922. This is just beautiful, pale but punchy, it’s shot through with cherry and bubblebum notes, a crunchy texture and a dash of vanilla ice cream on the finish. Lovely, focussed acidity. Fun and approachable, but deeply serious.
Domaine des Carlines, Poulsard, 2024
An unexpected find. Poulsard is often used in red blends in the Jura, but here it’s out on its own. Pale, floral and light-footed but with guts and body, this brims with raspberry and cherry fruit, cola, herbs and black tea. Seriously sappy and utterly more-ish.
Domaine Coursodon, Saint-Joseph La Sensonne, 2023
This is why we love Syrah! La Sensonne is a vibrant, fresh and perfectly put-together Syrah from its Rhône heartland, with bold ripe black fruit, a delicious lick of herbs and brooding earthiness. There’s a slightly feral note too, which adds meat to the bones and brings a certain charm. This goes on and on.
Luis Anxo Rodríguez, A Torna dos Pasás Escolma, 2021
Escolma translates as ‘selection’ and this field blend is only made in exceptional vintages such as 2021. It’s got it all going on, shimmering with bright, tangy blackcurrant, earthy black olive and bold tannins that dance across the tongue. It feels wild and is hard to pin down entirely, teetering on the edge of fruity, savoury and herby all at the same time.
Macrobert & Canals, La Nave, 2024
South African Bryan MacRobert has been living in Rioja now for over a decade and continues to impress his fresher, brighter takes on the region’s wines. La Nave comes from old bush vine fruit grown across the Rioja Alta, Alvesa and Baja sub-regions. It’s 50% Grenache, 40% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano and is soft and subtle with plum and pomegranate notes, plush tannins and black pepper spice. Dangerously drinkable.
Granville Wine Co, Holstein Pinot Noir, 2024
The world needs more lean and crunchy Oregon Pinot Noir like this. Single vineyard fruit from the Dundee Hills AVA in the Willamette Valley was fermented with 25% whole bunches then aged for 11 months in predominantly old French oak. The result is a floral and violet-flecked Pinot with raspberry and cherry lozenge notes, brisk, fresh acidity and hints of spice on the finish. It’s long, pretty and joyful.
