It’s late on a Friday afternoon. It’s been a long week, but I am looking forward to this last call on my agenda: a call with Matilda Tsappis, head sommelier at Killiecrankie House in Perthshire. She was recently ranked number 20 in the fourth edition of the Taylor’s Port UK Top 100 Sommeliers List.
Matilda speaks with a disarming simplicity about how she found her way to this remote corner of Scotland, her hopes for this project, and what life is like for a multiracial, female sommelier in a profession that is rapidly evolving.
Scotland isn’t a wine-producing nation. What started you on this journey?
Being a sommelier is my second career; I worked in advertising in London, after getting my degree in Oxford. My dad has a vineyard in China, so while a love of wine did come from the family, it was a road trip around France that really got me started. I started taking sommelier courses and getting degrees in the field, initially, as a hobby.
My husband Tom was in finance, and he too, decided to follow his dream to become a chef. He opened up a supper club in our London home. Covid unfortunately put a stop to that. It made us reassess our lives, like so many other people. Working with food and wine was naturally on top of our list. I wanted to return to Scotland and started looking for property. We came across Killiecrankie House, in this beautiful nature reserve, and decided we had to have it. It was an hour and a half drive outside of Edinburgh with five bedrooms and space to have a restaurant. It was perfect.
You are a co-owner of Killiecrankie House. What is it like to work with your husband?
Luckily, we have similar tastes and a similar set of values. We are also very complementary: he is straightforward and a numbers person while I am more emotional and nuanced. The contrast helps keep the balance.
The only downside is that work sometimes takes over our lives. But we are doing something we enjoy, so it is easier to manage. We also wanted to bring in a feeling of a supper club: the restaurant is open plan and we receive people in our living room. It is chatty and down to earth, like having friends over for dinner. Our guests will often choose from our collection of vinyl records to play their favourite music, just as if they were at home with family.
Did being Scottish help or hinder you in an industry often associated with French and Italian vineyards?
I am half Yorkshire and half Japanese. I moved to Scotland when I was five. I haven’t met with any snobbery, and the Scottish wine trade is very supportive. If you are respectful, and people don’t feel like you are wasting their time, they are quite welcoming.
I have been in the profession now for five years and I am a bit of a geek and like to study. I think people appreciate that. I have only really had quite positive experiences.
What’s the biggest misconception people have about sommeliers?
Perhaps that they are intimidating? The old brigade may have been, but the job is really to help, guide, and share the passion.
Do you prefer reds or whites?
I love both but when we go to a good restaurant, we invariably choose a bottle of something sparkling. A sparkling wine is always a good fit irrespective of the flavours are in a tasting menu.
Have you ever recommended a less expensive bottle because it was simply the better wine?
I taste everything and list only what I like. I will happily recommend a less expensive bottle I like. Repeat guest business is important to me. If people feel you are recommending a wine specifically for them, they will return.
What advice would you give to amateur wine lovers to help them approach their choice of wine?
Don’t be afraid of asking the sommelier and don’t be afraid to express what you like to drink or
don’t like to drink. Or just try different things and don’t be scared to experiment. I like to balance my wine list between more classic wines and the more unusual ones such as those from Cyprus and Japan.
Whisky is woven into Scotland’s identity. Do Scots approach wine differently because of that heritage?
They are very different drinks. Scots usually drink whisky after dinner and not during a meal. Both drinks are mutually compatible.
Has climate change altered the wines you recommend today compared with a decade ago?
Winemakers are more aware of climate change now and are harvesting earlier to control their sugar content. This is the new reality, and vineyards are adapting to it.
I have also discovered English wines. They are excellent now and local. Farm to table works also for wine.
What’s the most extraordinary bottle you’ve ever tasted?
More than an extraordinary wine, I am intrigued by unusual pairings. At a tasting lunch, there was one particular pairing that I loved: a pork belly dish with a 2005 Yquem, which was both glorious and surprising.
More women are becoming leading sommeliers. Do you notice a difference in attitude from when you first started on your path to now?
Maria Boumpa is currently the UK’s number one sommelier. Yet, even if that is changing, sommelier events are still male dominated. I haven’t noticed any discrimination, but I operate in my own space and with a public that is open and adventurous.
Perhaps, the biggest challenge is that I am heavily pregnant and that is not easy. I was invited to Tuscany for a tasting and sadly had to spit the wine out.
What are the qualities of a great sommelier?
Having a good knowledge of the wines on your list, obviously. But the softer skill set that means understanding your guest is essential to being a great sommelier. A wine list can be quite daunting so the ability to accept that, to be generous with your time to understand what people really mean and to make them comfortable.
What is your greatest experience as a sommelier?
After my corporate life, doing what I’m passionate about is incredible. Sharing my love for wine with people has been the greatest experience.
What’s the strangest food-and-wine pairing you’ve discovered actually works?
I love serving the Co-op salt and vinegar crisps with sparkling wine.
If you could serve a bottle to someone, living or dead, who would it be?
It would be to my grandparents because they never got to see my second career.
Do you visit wine producers yourself to choose your wines?
I often go to producers and sometimes they come to me. The most recent one I went to was in the Rioja region. We had a delicious bottle of Contador rioja wine; it is still under the radar here.
What makes you different from other sommeliers?
Coming from a different background, perhaps? And the perspective of a business owner too?
Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?
Hard to know but I love what I do and hope to continue doing what I am doing now.
Keyword: sommelier
