Saltpeter Wines in Woodbridge opens bar

OK, so the weather probably has a lot to do with it, but there’s also that ambiance. That casual, relaxed, no airs and graces vibe that’s really hard to replicate outside of the side streets of Spain, Italy, Portugal and France’s family-run watering holes. 

You get a sense, in these places, that everyone is welcome. That you don’t need to dress up to the nines. Everyone is there to be sociable, and to share in the fruits of local producers’ labours – be it a bottle of red from a vineyard in the valley over the way, or a plate of nubbly cheese shards and cured meats. 

Enjoy a glass of natural wine at Saltpeter Wines (Image: Charlotte Bond)

David Jimenez Fernandez and his partner Maddie Bryet have yearned to bring this experience to their Suffolk shop, Saltpeter Wines, since opening during the height of Covid at the tail end of 2020. 

And now they’re pleased to be able to live out their dreams, bringing a small-scale, bodega-style experience to the premises in Woodbridge, where up to 12 people at a time can book their bar for a few hours from Thursday to Saturday, enjoying carefully chosen glasses of wine, alongside tapas and sharing plates. 

“We’ve always loved visiting these kinds of bars when we’re travelling around Europe, says David. “The wine bars are so simple. You go in, pick up a bottle from the shelf, and take it to the bar to drink. We really like that idea. Of enjoying wine with some really good charcuterie and cheeses...and music – we've got a record player here with music on all the time.” 

At Saltpeter, guests aren’t restricted to a bottle. David and Maddie, both natural wine fanatics (it’s what the shop specialises in) actively encourage everyone to sample a few by the glass, to appreciate the breadth of variety that exists in this ever-popular field of wine making. 

Inside Saltpeter Wines (Image: Charlotte Bond)

To soak up the booze, the couple offer a small, simple menu. Spanish-style croquetas or tortilla, little Spanish toasties of tuna and cheese, salads and pickled mussels. “I know a family in Spain, who make beautiful charcuterie in the Iberico region. It’s very different to anything around here, so we have that also. And a mix of cheeses. Local, from France and some from Spain as well. 

“It is a really nice experience we can offer here.” 

David worked in the wine industry in Spain, and in London wine bars for more than 20 years before settling in Suffolk with Ipswich-born Maddie, who worked with one of the biggest natural wine importers in the country “before it was even a fashionable thing”. 

“We both have a local of small production, low interaction, no-chemical wine, and when we came he it was not widely available in the county. We love these wines, and the wine makers’ approach to what they do. That’s why we decided to open here.” 

David says up to 300 chemicals can legally be added to wine to enhance its flavour – without being listed on labels. This is a process, he explains, that goes in mostly in big, mass productions where every bottle of wine has to taste the same for the consumer. 

David at Saltpeter Wines (Image: Charlotte Bond)

He eschews these, saying they have less personality and energy than naturally-made varieties, which are increasing in popularity around the world, with more and more new world producers getting back to basics. 

“People now are more open-minded about natural wine. I read an article the other day by Jancis Robinson, the wine god, and she was saying even in places like Bordeaux, that are known for their big wine houses, they are trying to do more varieties of natural and less conventional wine. It's more interesting. It’s spreading. And the wine industry is changing. 

“There’s a revolution at the moment. A lot of young wine makers in their 20s and 30s have been gaining fantastic knowledge in the wine industry, and coming back to their countries to try the new approach with natural wine. They are experimenting with the hundreds of varieties of grapes.” 

David says we can get caught up in a bit of snobbery when it comes to choosing younger wines –which natural varieties tend to be. 

“People seem to like more over-ripe or over-oaked wines or aged wines. But only 5% of wines get better when they age. In others, you lose the expression of the grapes. Young, natural wines give more depth of flavour for me and are much more interesting.” 

Natural wine is growing in popularity (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Choosing wine from small producers who care about their terroire really does translate into the tasting, says David, who explains that everything from the grape, to the unique weather, to the soil affects how every batch tastes – and that that those unique, magical properties can never be replicated oin a very large scale.” 

Some of his current favourites, available for bar-goers to try, include red and white wines made by a 30-year-old female wine maker in Italy’s Veneto region. “We went to a tasting of her wines and the concentrated flavours were astonishing. The red from Roccolo di Monticelli is “packed with a depth of red and black fruits with a little bit of white pepper. It is amazing. She doesn’t use any sulphur or chemicals. There’s a lot of expression in that wine. 

“We also have some nice wine from the Savoie – the Argile we have has a complex flavour. A lot of mineral with stone fruit, some acidity and freshness. It’s very very rounded with a subtle smokiness. The flavours keep coming as you drink through the bottle.” 

David also gives a shout out to some very fruity natural white wines made in Malaga. He and Maddie relish sharing their wine knowledge...and will be at the helm of the bar, ready to impart their wisdom. 

The shop is open 11am to 6pm. To book a spot in the bar (until 10pm Thursday to Saturday), call 01394 447983 or get in touch on social media via Facebook or Instagram.