Meet Tom Surgey

We sat down with Tom Surgey to discuss his new book, How to Drink Wine, published by Seven Dials at the end of August. Tom, a well-known wine expert in the Sussex hospitality and wine industry, is a communicator, educator, TV presenter, and perhaps even an influencer. His book promises to be an essential guide for both novice and seasoned wine enthusiasts, blending expertise with a passion for wine. Available in hardback, eBook, and audio formats for £14.99, we can’t wait to get our hands on a copy!

Your first book. What’s it all about and what makes it different from other books about wine?

I’m super excited about How to Drink Wine being out there and available. My aim from the start was to write a modern 101 guide to wine. Everything I think you need to know to really enjoy it and get the most out of it. It covers every aspect from the culture of wine, its history, how to make it, how to grow it, what grape varieties contribute, the tips and tricks and ‘hacks’ for how to store, open, serve this stuff. How to navigate a wine list, wine shop shelves. Everything.

Crucially, it’s written in a down-to-earth, practical way, in a bright, bubbly style that follows my general style of presentation when I talk live. I hope it’s fun, funny and functional.

Please share a whistle-stop tour of your career to date.

I grew up working in hospitality in Sussex pubs, from a really young age, alongside education up to A Levels. Then, in my late teens to mid-twenties, instead of going to uni, I worked my way up through some amazing hospitality venues – most significantly, the original The Ivy in Covent Garden. Through that, I was introduced to wine and fell madly in love. In my mid twenties, having done over a decade on restaurant floors, I jumped out of working at venues and started selling wine to venues – I was Sales Director at Ridgeview in Sussex for about six years. I co-founded a drinks agency called Glass Half Full, and a charity that provides food education for children (Table Talk Foundation).

Around the same time as I left restaurants ‘proper’, I started talking about wine at events like Three Wine Men and began to do some minor presenting work on BBC Sussex radio. That’s grown a lot since then and is now the vast majority of what I do. I am a regular presenter on ITV’s Love Your Weekend and have paired wines with chefs on This Morning. I do lots of live presenting and hosting at food festivals and events. I also write about wine – did I mention I have a book coming out?

Alongside the media work, I still do some consultancy with drinks brands and write wine lists for hospitality venues. It’s something I’ve done for a long time, and I never want to cease being actively involved with the hospitality trade. I have a lot of friends built over decades and huge respect for the industry. It keeps me grounded in ‘proper wine stuff’ rather than just me waiving my arms about on telly. Which I think is important.

You’ve worked in hospitality since you were 14, now you’re a communicator, an educator, a television presenter, dare we suggest an ‘influencer’. How does it feel to add ‘published author’ to that list?

Haha – it feels really cool. I’m not very good at stopping and taking in my achievements – Olivia, my amazing wife, always finds it infuriating. I think that’s a classic personality trait of a hospitality professional though – optimistic, always moving, always looking at what’s next… Getting the job done, raising a glass, finishing the bottle, then cracking on with the next thing!
That said, I’m really proud of the book and I genuinely feel so grateful to everyone who has supported me in writing it, designing it and getting it out there.

It’s a huge team effort – George and the team at Seven Dials have been extraordinary and made it a total joy.

You work with plenty of restaurants in the local area. Tell us about that.

I have been knocking about the Brighton on-trade in one way or another for over a decade, since coming back from the stint in London. I just love the Brighton restaurant scene, the characters that make up our brilliant community, the quality and diversity of hospitality experience on offer. I feel very lucky to be part of that.

There is no city in the world that I would rather be so closely associated with.

Which part of what you do makes you feel most at home?

Writing the book was an enormous privilege and felt really natural and comfortable, but live presenting, in busy rooms of people, or on telly is the ‘main thing’ I do. It’s something I’ve done more and more of over the last decade, simply because it feels like home
I am quite a fidgety, noisy, high-energy character (you don’t want to sit next to me in an office), and oddly, the second I walk on stage or the camera clicks on, I get a sensation of calm and clear-headedness that is rare in my day-to-day, so I’ve leaned into that!

It’s a nice feeling, rather than the nerves most people experience at those moments – I live with those at all other times haha.

You’re Sussex born and raised. Tell us about your involvement with the burgeoning Sussex wine industry.

It’s like being born in Burgundy in about 900AD, just with fewer monks knocking about. In the decade I’ve been ‘back home’ in Sussex, the vineyards, the businesses producing the wine, the industry buying it and pouring it to customers has totally transformed.
We’re right in the centre of the most exciting wine region on the planet – nowhere else is moving so fast and achieving the consistency of quality – particularly in sparkling wines, that England is. But, the still wines are developing well too.
The next decade will establish the still wines, as being as good as the sparkling. We’ll never make big, rich Malbec styled reds, we’re too cool – it’s lean, fresh, bright wines in all colours that we do well.

I think we’ll see a gentle reduction in price of the still wines, to meet the increased quantity available – we’re already seeing that. The sparkling will remain premium, as it should be. With this, we’ll find more and more English wine on wine lists both here and abroad.
We’ll see further international investment and attention for the wineries themselves, we’re already seeing that and it’ll grow further. Few wine regions are moving in to ‘more positive’ climatic conditions, in the same way England is. That said, no producer is ‘pro climate change’ and we’ll see even more positive sustainable practices in action from the best producers.

Environmental impact is and needs to be a key pillar by which we choose our wines – this is going to become more and more important.

What is the most exciting wine release in Sussex this year?

Argh. There are so many – Artelium’s 2023 wines are exceptional, particularly the Pinot Gris and red Pinot Noir. I love Hoffman & Rathbone’s Classic Cuvee (and whole sparkling range tbh!) and their neighbours Mountfield’s too. I love that Dermot Sugrue has finally got his own winery, and the Sugrue wines continue to be epic. I really liked Albourne’s stills on current release too.

The restaurant scene in Sussex is also booming. Does this go hand-in-hand with the success in the vineyards?

Yes, it’s all part of the same culture, for sure. I think the restaurants inspire the wineries and visa-versa. It’s also a shared audience customer-wise!

Every great wine region needs a great local food scene…

You live in wonderful Lewes with your family. Where do you like to go out to eat and drink in and around Lewes?

I do! I love Lewes. While I work a lot in Brighton, Lewes is home. Squisito and Dill are favourites, both are awesome. A family favourite, and the place I frequent most is Caccia & Tails, at their various venues – but mostly the original on Station Street in Lewes.

The incredible Elisa and Jessica just know how to do great hospitality and the focaccia is world-class.

And when you’re in Brighton, where do you like to go out?

I go to Chilli Pickle a lot. It’s my ‘go to’. Dawn and Alun are just amazing people and the whole team smash it – again, properly warm, welcoming, relaxed front-of-house hospitality backed up with consistently awesome, great value food.

Other top favourites are Wild Flor and 64 Degrees. But there are so many great venues – I feel awful not mentioning them all, but that would be ridiculous.

Which Brighton and Sussex suppliers do you rate highly?

Gun (Chiddingly) for beer. Super consistent, really good range – plus my little brother Will is the Head Brewer. Plus, I drink a lot of Mark’s amazing beers at Burning Sky (Firle), Harvey’s (Lewes, of course!) and Beak (Lewes) too. We are so lucky to have these guys doing their thing here – between those four, you have four of the world’s best brewers in every conceivable style…

I love Shrub as a supplier of veg to the trade – they have been hugely supportive of Table Talk, and their range and passion is amazing.
Spirits wise – again, the scene is BOOMING. Brighton Gin are local heroes and we love them. I LOVE Madame Jennifer’s range of gins and vodka – I have been drinking lots of those over Summer and heartily recommend. Also, Generation 11.

Goldstone rum are awesome and such kind, passionate people.

Apart from Sussex, what is your favourite wine region?

I do a lot with Portuguese wines. I think the value is extraordinary – wines are every price point over deliver. I love Porto as a city and the surrounding wine regions – I was in Dao recently, which was mind blowing. Indigenous grapes like Encruzado (white) and Touriga Nacional (red) make epic wines.

I recommend a few days in Porto and then some visits to Vinho Verde, Douro or Dao / Bairrada to anyone wanting a food and drink adventure.

Who has been your greatest influence?

I am very lucky to work closely with Oz Clarke, he’s been a huge champion and support for years. He is an enormous influence and hero to me.
Also, Sancho Rocha, the Assistant GM at The Ivy while I was there.

Without Sancho, I may not have discovered wine in the first place. He is an exceptional hospitality professional and the best team leader I have worked with.

What is the biggest adventure your work has taken you on so far?

I make it my mission to say ‘yes’ to all new experiences that wine throws at me. I’ve been lucky and have gone all over the world with it. Filming a series for social media in the Douro last year with my pal Roarke was amazing – it was harvest and hot, so the Super Bock beers were in hand for all straight after breakfast and the Portuguese hospitality as always was incredible…We got some incredible footage and Roarke said he’s keen for another trip together, but perhaps with slightly more ‘downtime from the drinking’… I didn’t think it was that heavy! Haha

How would you suggest someone pursues an interest in wine?

There is a very good series of qualifications called the WSET – Wine & Spirit Education Trust. I highly recommend these. If you’re Sussex based, you can take them at Plumpton College.
I’d also suggest looking at Plumpton College’s courses – they do Wine Business and Wine Making degrees, as well as shorter courses with more specific subjects for those wanting to just focus on particular elements of wine. It is the centre of wine education in the UK and up there with the best wine schools in the world.

Most importantly though, display an interest to your employer. When I decided I was in to wine, just telling the management began to present opportunities for me – doing the Christmas wine selections at Annabel’s members club, going on my first trade trips to wine regions, that sort of thing.

Like anything, if you want to do it, tell people around you and make some moves – opportunities will come to you surprisingly fast.

Which wine trends and releases should we be looking out for in the coming year?

Darker rosé – more flavour, more texture, more character. I think we’ll be seeing some richer, fuller styles, sometimes oaked paired with dishes on restaurant menus as Autumn rolls in and sticking around.
The 2023 wines from England are appearing – many are very good.

Time to consider English still wines, if you haven’t before.

Publishing a book is a big moment. What else are you excited about happening this year?

I am hosting a series of wine dinners and events in Sussex and London to celebrate the book – these will run through to the end of the year. The idea was to put on some nice one-off evenings with restaurants I love, creating generous moments of great hospitality – at a range of price points and styles – in the spirit of the book.

The first is at Tern in Worthing on 5th September – it’s a super boujie, English wine-paired five course dinner in Johnny’s inimitable style. The final few tables are still available at time of writing, if you wanted to join! Email hello@ternrestaurant.co.uk to enquire about it.
Keep an eye on my Instagram @tomsurgey for details of upcoming events!