Popina by Lynrace

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Popina by Lynrace

Teaming up with independent suppliers of rare wines and authentic Italian meats and cheeses, Popina delivers a wine list unlike any other.

Popina by Lynrace is a wine & charcuterie bar inspired by the popinae of Ancient Rome, which served wine and simple food to slaves, freedmen, foreigners, and those of the ‘lower classes’. Red, white, rosé, amber, and sparkling wine, as well as meats, cheeses, and plant-based options will be on offer.

08/06/2026

WINE OF THE WEEK

This week we’ve got South Africa’s answer to Champagne in the form of Vergelegen’s Cap Classique. An absolutely stunning example of why we should be drinking more wines from South Africa.

The Vergelegen Wine Estate is the third oldest in South Africa and was founded in 1700 by Willem Adriaan - it has since turned into a really iconic Stellenbosch estate. The estate is deeply committed to sustainability, with conservation programs and the use organic methods across all 258ha, ensuring the land’s health for generations to come. They also boast a state of the art winery which has gravity flow systems to minimise intervention.

This is 100% chardonnay, which gets barrel-aged before spending 45 months on the lees. Chock-full of brioche, baked apple and citrus - it’s basically a danish pastry in a glass. Run, don’t walk to try this.

Cheers for pointing us in the right direction!

On by the glass until it’s not.

07/06/2026

Our Art wall welcomes Influenced by surrealism, psychedelia and aestheticism, Chase Marsden’s work
covers many classical categorisations. Despite his drawings prioritising aesthetics
over concept, they still evoke intense psychological involvement from the viewer.
Unlike many psychedelically influenced artists, his work is done entirely by hand
making their depth and detail even more impressive.

Original work, priced £375

Artist : Chase Marsden

Presented by

05/06/2026

REDIGAFFI 2021

We wanted to take the time to put a spotlight on something really special ahead of our Tua Rita tasting on the 10th of June: The Redigaffi 2021

In 1984 Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti acquired a small property in the medieval town of Suvereto, located in the south of Tuscany, with the dream of a quiet life and dipping their toes into the winemaking business. This escalated relatively quickly, and after merging domains with their son-in-law in 1996 their cumulative skills and passion soon gave rise to their current fame and recognition in the world of wine.

Their flagship Redigaffi we’re looking at today was first released in 1994, and within a few years, it had people clamouring. The wine owes its name to a small local stream that flows near the property. Rather than conforming to traditional DOC/DOCG regulations and using historic grapes like Sangiovese, Tua Rita started working with grapes that were usually associated with French winemaking, such as Merlot. By making a pure Merlot, Tua Rita fell outside of Tuscany’s official classification system entirely, and ended up bottling it as a humble IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) which isn’t far off a table wine classification.

Ironically, the wine was widely considered to be absolutely exceptional, and went on to command a higher price and greater prestige than many of the traditionally classified wines that it was supposed to be beneath. This deservedly earned it the title of ‘Super Tuscan’, and the 2000 vintage was the first Italian wine ever to receive Robert Parker’s coveted 100 points out of 100.

Tua Rita is still making exceptional wine to this day, with Redigaffi garnering a cult following that shows no signs of slowing. Tua Rita has received the most 100 point scores of any Italian winery, and Redigaffi consistently scores in the high 90s amongst the world’s leading critics vintage after vintage, remaining one of Italy’s most sought after bottles.

Fancy trying it? Grab a ticket, just a few remaining: https://www.simpletix.com/e/wine-tasting-tua-rita-tuscan-icon-10th-jun-tickets-271857

03/06/2026

We are so pleased to have Dan Belmont come and evangelise about all things Austrian wine.

Austrian wine delivers exceptional quality, diversity, and value, yet remain under-appreciated by many consumers. Dan works with the some of the best and coolest wine producers - along with making regular trips out to discover new hidden gems.

A seasoned wine educator, he launched Good Wine Good People (GWGP for short) in 2020, and set out to bring personalisation and quality storytelling to the UK e-commerce wine scene that invites everyone to fall in love with wine regardless of experience.

Tickets are limited for this one, and has already had high levels of interest.

Date & Time : 24th June 2026 | 7-9pm

01/06/2026

WINE OF THE WEEK

Probably a first for many people to try this, we’ve got hold of a cool Txakoli Red wine this week which is produced in pretty small quantities.

Bodegas HIKA are based in the Getariko Txakolina in the easternmost wine region of the Basque Country - just inland from the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by oak and pine forests.

They work with a minimum intervention approach to their land and winemaking, working only with the indigenous yeasts of the grapes and trying to have the best environmental impact. They farm organically, only using natural fertilisers, working without pesticides and promoting biodiversity, with their own sheep running free amongst the vines. They also use a carbon capture system in the winery which helps manage CO2 obtained from fermentation which is reused throughout all other stages, reducing the winery’s emissions.

Now this is made with 100% Hondarrabi Beltza (try saying that after a glass!), undergoing 3 days maceration, then fermentation with indigenous yeasts and finally 15 months in French oak.

This is all about red plum, spice and balsamic along a bit of toast. Nice medium body with a lovely acidity to boot. Served chilled. T**a!

On by the glass, until it’s not.

28/05/2026

PORTO TÓNICO

It’s about time we drank some more fortified wine, sticking to Popina’s unofficial challenge to get more people onto Sherry, Port and Madeira. Porto Tónico is a staple of Portuguese aperitif culture - it’s super simple, refreshing, low-abv and absolutely delicious.

Churchills is a family run port house founded in 1981 (one of the youngest port houses!) by Johnny Graham, aiming to bring a fresh outlook and drier styles to the table. Johnny still makes the wine today and produces all sorts of port styles, alongside a range of brilliant still wines.

Malvasia Fina, Rabigato, Côdega and Viosinho are the grapes here and it undergoes the same production as their red port:
- Foot treading the hand-picked grapes in traditional stone lagares
- Fermentation with native yeasts
- Fortification by adding a load of brandy to stop the fermentation

It’s then aged for a whopping 10 years in barrel too. Think orange blossom, honey, caramel and a bit of oak spice on the end. All topped off with tonic water and a big wedge of orange.

On all summer. Saúde!

25/05/2026

WINE OF THE WEEK

It’s apparently hotter than Barbados today, and we think we’ve found a way to help. This is our Loureiro 2024 from very cool winemaker/friend of Lynrace, Constantino Ramos. Constantino is determined to make wines that showcase a variety of terroirs and a whole host of indigenous grapes - judging by the huge amount of awards he’s amassed over the last few years, he’s pretty good at it.

Loureiro is one of the key grapes in the region, although Alvarinho tends to get more of the plaudits as a solo variety. The grapes spend 4 hours on the skins for a bit of extraction and then a further 9 months in stainless steel. Think bright citrus fruit, orange blossom, white rose and bay leaf. Absolutely lush.

By the glass until it’s not.

18/05/2026

WINE OF THE WEEK

We’re finally giving some airtime to a bottle that we’ve been selling a fair amount of behind the scenes - it’s one of the best cool-climate Syrahs we’ve had and the value for money is quite frankly, ludicrous.

This is legendary winery Thelema’s Sutherland Syrah, from South Africa’s cooler Elgin region on the far SW coast. After establishing Thelema Mountain Vineyards winemaker Gyles Webb sought to develop a range of small-scale, cool-climate wines. Sutherland Vineyards is situated just 9 km off the Atlantic Ocean, where ideal cool climate conditions are created. The resulting wines are more balanced with great depth and complexity of flavour.

The grapes are hand-sorted, then spend fermentation in stainless steel, before malolactic and 18 months in barrel - including 10% new French oak.
Think ripe blackberries and plums with touches of violet, black pepper, and smoked charcuterie along with a brilliant acidity. It *really* is very good Syrah.  
On by the glass until it’s not.

11/05/2026

SAKE PAIRING OF THE WEEK

And here it is, our very first pairing by the glass. Certainly not one to sleep on. We’ve combined our love of sake and love of delicious Italian cheese to bring you an absolute belter of a pairing.

Now this is Shirayuki Junmai Classic from Konishi Shuzo brewery in Hyogo prefecture, Japan. Konishi Shuzo is the oldest family-run sake brewery in Japan, and actually the very first brewery to make clear sake, when some ash was dropped into a fresh batch by accident.

Helpfully, the name beautifully sums up the liquid inside - it is entirely a classic Junmai style of sake. Junmai meaning pure sake (no alcohol added), with a rice polishing ratio of 70%. Expect a fuller body, flavours of umami, banana and cream - it’s such a brilliant all-rounder.

Paired with our 10 month-aged Asiago d’Allevo Vecchio cheese (cow’s milk) from Veneto, it works so well because of a shared, high concentration of umami and the presence of lactic acid in both products - creating an umami explosion on the palate. The nuttiness and salinity of aged Asiago are particularly balanced by the subtle sweetness and savory, earthy notes found in the sake too. In English - they’re absolutely bloody delicious together.

Fancy learning more about sake? We’ll be showing more sake specials in the coming months and will certainly be hosting more sake evenings - especially after our recent sold out Sake and Comfort Food evening with Sarah !

On by the glass until it’s not! Kanpai!

06/05/2026

We are delighted to welcome Giovanni Frascolla from iconic Italian winery Tua Rita for an evening tasting some of Italy’s most lauded wines - demand for its high 90+ point Super Tuscan wines increases every year. Situated in the charming medieval town of Suvereto, Tua Rita started just 40 years ago but has since cemented its position as one of the most important wineries in the region, if not the country. Expect a mix of local and international grape varieties, all crafted with an unrivalled attention to detail.

This is certainly a tasting to remember - tickets are very limited for this event, so book quickly!

Date & Tine : 10th June 2026 | 7 - 9pm

Address

67 Walton Street
Oxford
OX26AG

Website

http://lynrace.com/popina

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