A lot can change in a week. The world around us today feels fairly different to the one we inhabited last week when shining a light on the darkest depths of our store cupboards and the sublime majesty of Sessions Arts Club.
As many of us face up to disrupted Christmases and dismantled plans, we’re going to change tact this week and double down on what Table Talk is all about - celebrating togetherness, good, old fashioned dinner table yarns (even if there are a few less guests than expected) and giving you an insight into what you can expect next year.
Christmas Crackers
If I were to ask you to take one thing from these weekly circulars, it would be an understanding of what Wednesday’s Domaine stands for - a world in which friends and family can meet, eat and drink inclusively any night of the week. If I’m asking that of you, feel free to share the below with those same friends and family and pass them off as your own, or save them for when hiding upstairs during a much-needed festive T-for-timeout.
- Opening proceedings is this beautiful Murray Lachlan Young poem, Now Is A Good Time, that was so brilliantly brought to life in this 2013 Mangers advert (yes, really).
- Lunch with the FT has long interwoven its subjects with their food and this 2017 knees-under with Eric Cantona is no exception, with Manchester’s favourite Frenchman managing a 32 second uninterrupted whistle mid-interview.
The man, the legend, the flying Frenchman in Lunch with the FT
- Try as I might, I can’t help but jump on the bandwagon and fall head over heels for Stanley Tucci’s Taste: My Life Through Food. Having adopted the UK as his home, his take on American vs. English film catering is sure to surface a wry smile.
- With Sibusile Xaba (#1) and Bongeziwe Mabandla (#3) having been so well received in previous editions, shake it up this Christmas by bringing some Akofa Akoussah into your lives and your living rooms.
Festive Thanks for 2021
Table Talk came into being as a way to begin sharing more about Wednesday’s Domaine and to say thank you to all those who have supported, encouraged and challenged me along the way.
Having begun work on the business in early mornings and late nights over a year ago, 2021 saw me gradually pull back from my previous job and eventually go full time in October. Setting out to create a great tasting, beautifully branded alcohol free wine and to meet the needs of those who fancy a glass but are all too aware of the small impacts it can have, this year has seen some amazing highs and challenging lows, and the product isn’t even in people’s hands yet..!
If this year was all about shaping an idea, developing a product and bringing a brand to life, next year is about lighting a fire under all of that and getting Wednesday’s Domaine into your hands and your homes.
What’s Coming Next?
Being mindful of the best laid plans often going to waste, the ambition is to launch with two wines early next year - a fresh, zingy Chablis-inspired white and a wonderfully rounded, medium-bodied red - delivered directly to your door and available in some of your favourite midweek spots.
We’ll be launching supper clubs, curating playlists and teaming up with some of your favourite chefs to bring Wednesday’s Domaine to life and celebrate all of the joys of drinking wine, without any of the drawbacks.
Thank you so much for all of the love, feedback and energy to date - it’s been a pleasure and I can’t wait to share more next year.
Have a lovely festive break, we’ll see you again on 5 January,
Luke
PS. Don’t want to wait a whole fortnight for our next edition? Check us out on Instagram (@wednesdaysdomaine) for your daily tipple.
