Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.07.2019, Side 44

Animals & Funk
Tíu Sopar breathes new life into an old haunt
Words: John Rogers Photo: Art Bicnick
Wine Bar
Visit Vínstúkan Tíu Sopar at
Laugavegur 27. Happy hour runs
4-6pm, or until the wine runs out
It doesn’t take long to feel at home in
Vínstúkan Tíu Sopar. Five minutes
after arriving, I find myself perched
on a stool with three tasting glasses
on the go, snacking on crunchy as-
paragus stems with parsley sauce,
roaring with laughter with two of
the owners. “There’s nothing seri-
ous about this place,” says Ragnar
Eiríksson, the former chef of Dill,
as he casually torches some chilli
peppers for our next snack.
Ólafur Örn Ólafsson, Ragnar’s
bushily mustachioed colleague,
looks on. “I’m willing to say, on the
record, that 90% of the wine lists
in Reykjavík are the same,” he pro-
claims. “And that’s fine, but we want
to do things a little differently.” He
smiles, with a gleam in his eye. “We
want people to have a nice glass here
for the same price as they would
have a shitty glass somewhere else.”
Ten sips
“Tíu Sopar” translates as “Ten
Sips”—a play on the space’s former
life as popular café Tíu Dropar (“Ten
Drops”). The wine enthusiasts had
been scouting around for a space for
their bar, and were overjoyed when
this charming basement came up.
“We didn’t do much,” says Ólafur.
“New floors, painted the walls, and
these new benches. Bragi Skaftason,
our CEO, knows a little about build-
ing stuff.” It was all the place need-
ed. Tíu Sopar feels like it’s
been there forever, in the
best possible way.
The drinks menu, how-
ever, is completely up to
date. “We have an empha-
sis on natural wine, and
interesting wines from
smaller producers and
lesser-known regions,”
says Ólafur. “That’s our concept. If
you look at the wine list, you won’t
know many wines. We always have
at least 12 bottles open, and the se-
lection changes every day. Whatever
we feel like opening, we open it.”
No filter
Natural wine is a trend that has ar-
rived in force in Reykjavík over the
past two years. Eschewing indus-
trial processes meant to deliver a
smooth, familiar taste, natural wine
goes back to basics. It’s a much less
predictable proposition altogether,
and it’s been a divisive development
in the wine world.
“It’s not pressed, and not filtered,
and it only uses the yeast from the
grape,” says Ragnar. “Natural wines
aren’t a fad or a fashion—conven-
tional wines are. People have been
making natural wine for 10,000
years. And we’ve been doing wine
with chemical filtering and so on
for just 100.”
Ten year process
Natural wine has also brought about
a whole new vocabulary. “People talk
about animals and funk,” says Rag-
nar, pouring a glass of red with a
pungent, earthy taste. “And acid-
ity,” adds Ólafur. “People
would use balsamic vin-
egar as a comparison,
which they would never
say about a conventional
wine.”
“We introduced
wines like this when I
was at Dill ten years ago,
and nobody understood
what the hell it was,” Ólafur con-
tinues. “It’s taken these ten years,
and now there’s a moment for it. The
reason we opened this bar is because
we wanted a bar where we would
like to drink.” He smiles. “But we
didn’t think it through—because
now we’re always working.”
Despite their jocular demeanour,
the two are full of enthusiasm and
curiosity about all the developments
in the wine world. “In the whole of
Scandinavia, wine is not in our cul-
ture,” says Ólafur. “It’s only in the
last 25 years that we’ve started to
study wine. Nordic sommeliers are
good at their job because they have
a broad horizon. It’s so young to us
that we search the whole world.”
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“Natural
wines
aren’t
a fad or
fashion.”
Raggi and Óli hard at work: watch out for the red stains
FISH PANS
ICELANDIC "PLOKKFISKUR"
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REDFISH
Chili, celery root, sour cream,
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PLAICE
Tomatoes, capers, parsley,
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, ISK
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Parsnip, broccoli, cashews,
coconut oil, chili and lemon
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OUR FISH PANS ARE ALWAYS SERVED
WITH BUTTER–FRIED ICELANDIC
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LÆKJARGATA B,  RVK ·   · MESSINN@MESSINN.COM
What do you know about Ban Thai
Always been the best
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open : 18.00 - 22.00 every day, tel : 5522-444 / 692-0564 / banthai@banthai.is
Laugavegur 130, Reykjavík
B E S T T H A I F O O D 2 0 1 9
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food made fresh from scratch,
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Please prepare your time
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very reasonable prices