5 minutes with...Enzo Russomanno of Luca Restaurant, London

Our first guest: Enzo Russomanno

Role: Head Sommelier, Luca Restaurant

Find our friend: @luca.restaurant @just_enzo__

Quickfire Questions:

1.      Aperitivo or pint? Aperitivo

2.      Eating out or cooking in? Cooking in

3.      Pasta or pastry? Pasta

4.      Sparkling or still? Sparkling

5.      Sweet or savoury? Sweet

6.      Lunch or dinner? Dinner

7.      Mars or Snickers? Snickers

5 Minutes with Enzo:

1.What's your favourite thing about working in hospitality and wine?

Working in a restaurant. It gives me the chance to meet wine producers, suppliers and the chance to open pretty rare and special wine bottles, thanks to the guests. I am very grateful for this and I consider myself a lucky and happy somm.

2. Is there someone you admire in the world of wine/food?

I love wine, a passion started since my Uni times but I am even more obsessed by food, as far as I can go with my memories since I was a little child. So my admiration and respect goes to all the chefs that work tirelessly everyday in all the kitchens of the world.

3. Where is somewhere you've eaten or drunk recently that blew your mind - what did you have?

Food: Kitchen W8 in South Kensington. Coming from Southern Italy, fish covers a main part of our diets and I enjoy to go out to eat it. Simply put, the chefs in this restaurant know how to cook it to perfection!

Wine: Fare Bar and Canteen in Clerkenwell. It is just round the corner from Luca, ideal for us to go and have a staff drink sometimes. Lovely selection of wines. Recently, I had a bottle there of Schioppettino Ronco del Gnemiz, served just right at cellar temperature. Red wines are too many times served at room temp which is way too hot to appreciate them at best. Anyway, delicious wine and grape variety. Somm prescription: give it a try, quite unique wine.

4. We love wines that come with stories - of their producers, yes, but also in terms of when and where you enjoyed them. Tell us one of your favourite wine memories and why it's stuck with you.

My first bottle of Le Pergole Torte from Montevertine. Hands down one of the best Sangiovese in Italy. I drunk a bottle in a wine bar many years ago, at the beginning of my somm career in London. Being a young professional at the time, I realised that our job can be very tough sometimes with long working hours and work-life balance not always great. So, I felt a bit discouraged. Drinking that bottle of Le Pergole Torte was an enlightening moment which gave me the strength to go on. Just for the love of wine.

5. What's coming in the world of food & wine? Trend/newcomers to watch in wine/spirits/food - what are people talking about?

At the moment I am focussing more on Italian wines, searching every day interesting wines for the Luca wine list. More and more guests ask me for Sicilian wines. I think they are great too, especially its small islands sweet wines. Well, if you like the wines of Sicily you should also try another Southern Italian region which is Campania. So many grape varieties, un-grafted vines, volcanic soils that make just pure and exciting wines.

Make sure you head to Luca Restaurant for some guaranteed food and wine memories - all in the name of celebrating the beauty of Italy in a British context. Reservations are a must.