Picking Grapes is a Scout series that asks wine professionals to map out their complex relationships with British Columbian wines by citing the ignition point of their interest and some of their favourite wineries.

Today, we throw our wine-related questions at Dylan Jones, Co-founder and Bar Manager of Pizza Coming Soon. The hip Chinatown spot’s playful and always-on-point approach to food, decor, and branding – hell, pretty much every aspect of the “Japanese Snack Bar with a confusing name” – also extends to behind the bar, including its rotating selection of natural wines. Hold on to yer horses, readers… things are about to get a little weird…

What was the BC wine that you first fell in love with? Do you remember where you were? What were the circumstances?

I got into wine quite late in life, by way of Champagne. We had a Krug tasting at the Hotel Gerogia… And I was like, “Holy smokes! Wine can taste like a sparkling old fashioned donut? I’M INTERESTED!” I think the Lock & Worth Semillon was probably the first BC wine that I actively tracked down and bought regularly. Who knows where I first tried it – probably a patio in Gastown?

What was the last pour of wine that inspired you to search it out and purchase it for personal consumption, and what were the circumstances?

Anna at Gary’s always has nice wines; wines that are off my radar…because she is a professional, and I like the bottles that have fun drawings and pretty colours on them. I definitely ordered Domaine de L’ecu “Love and Grapes” Cab Sauv Rosé for Pizza Coming Soon after trying it at Gary’s. It’s high acid picnic juice! Thanks, Anna!

You can cash in all your ‘cool dude points’ for one insane bottle of wine; what would it be?

Maybe a Champagne from my birth year. I’ve never tried Champagne from the 80s… I wonder what that would taste like? Maybe a bit freaky, like a fizzy cognac filtered through a loaf of sourdough bread? With a squeeze of lemon? A lemon loaf? A fizzy lemon loaf aged in a haunted library? A spooky sip? I would settle for a Champagne De Venoge Blanc de Blanc though! I like that one!

What wine myth – from production and practice to service – do you want to set the record straight on or do away with, and why?

I think wine service has gotten a lot more casual and personal, and that’s great! I’m a really easy sell. Tell me what you’re excited about, pour it in the glass, repeat. Shout out to Alexia and Jordan at Burdock & Co, Alex Wilson at Bar Tartare, Tadia at Bar Sodalite, and Anna at Gary’s for trusted, casual and personal pours! I guess what I’m trying to say is: loosen up, listen to the guest; and guests, you loosen up as well, trust the process. It’s just wine. It’s a drink – drink it.

If you could work in just one winery for just one harvest, which would it be and why?

Maybe Elios in Sicily? They make olive oil, they make honey, they make really approachable wines on a gorgeous biodynamic family farm. I feel like Elios is a great gateway for people that don’t like “natural wine”. A big “HELLO” to Rawan at Minimalism Wines.

Who are your three favourite musicians?

This is too hard. James Blake, Timbaland (Missy Elliot, Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Aaliyah, and even Magoo – this answer all counts as 1 ok?), and 21 Savage.

Now a follow-up wine-related question: these three musicians walk into Pizza Coming Soon and ask for one bottle to share between all three of them, without giving you any guidance; what are you plunking down in the middle of that table? Why?

G Block all we know is red wine? [Editor’s note: this is a pun on the 21 Savage lyric “G Block all we know is redrum”, from “redrum”. See below.] Probably a big bottle of Le Coste Litrozzo Rosso? There’s a lot of people at the table, and I think that would be a great bottle to share. I think Nelly Furtado would like it, probably – and that’s all I really care about! Who’s that guy? Oh, that’s Magoo… He came with Timbaland. He’s cool.

Lastly, what question did we not ask, that you’d like to answer? “What’s your top three favourite restaurants in Vancouver?” Answer: Sushi by Yuji, Magari by Oca, and Carp Sushi + Bowl. BONJOUR MY DOGZ!