Review: SugarBird, Aberdeen

Grant Dickie tries out SugarBird’s Sparkling Saturdays.

For those familiar with Aberdeen’s wine scene, you are probably already aware of SugarBird’s first location on Union Grove.

But their new location along the outskirts of Union Terrace Gardens in one of the quaint tram-car-esque buildings which opened in the tail-end of 2023. 

Every Saturday afternoon, SugarBird hosts its Sparking Saturdays, inviting wine lovers to join them for a guided tasting of three sparkling wines.

Upon arriving at the trendy city centre venue, we were directed downstairs to the second bar space – a beautifully decorated room like upstairs, but with darker colours and a cosier vibe. 

Here we were met by Essi, one of SugarBird’s tasting guides, who showed us to our table which was all set up perfectly for the tasting.

In front of each of us was a large paper sheet that was marked with three places for your three glasses, as well as space to write your interpretation on the colour, any tasting notes in the nose or palate of the wine, where the wine was from and your guess price. There are also three flavoured macarons, specially picked to accompany each of the wines.

To start us off, we were introduced to a lovely Villa Sandi Brut Gold Prosecco NV. Produced in Italy, the light and refreshing citrus notes of the prosecco were the perfect start to whet our palate. The flavours of the prosecco also paired beautifully with the lemon macaron.

Next up, we were poured a glass of Boschendal Brut Rosé. The delicate blush colour is reflected in the flavours of this one with notes of stone fruits like apricot, while the bubbles feel like they are dancing across your tongue. These flavours also complimented those of the raspberry macaron.

Last and, by all means, certainly not least, we were poured a glass of Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut NV Champagne. The golden champagne has a hint of rich fruits to the nose, while on the palate you can get pear with some spice while the bubbles tingle on the tongue. Sip this along with the vanilla macaron and you’re in for a treat.

As it was also around lunchtime, we opted for the mixed platter to accompany our tasting. The platter came complete with cheeses, charcuterie meat, olives and focaccia. The quality of the items was great, especially the focaccia.

After the tasting we ordered a bottle of orange wine, a new experience for me and one I highly recommend trying.

To find out more about SugarBird and their Sparkling Saturdays visit www.sugarbirdwines.com

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