Turkish-born Isa Bal MS was for long the sommelier at The Fat Duck but has recently given that up in order to grow his hair and travel more.
We caught up with him at the Gastronomika festival in San Sebastián last October (where our Spanish specialist Ferran Centelles handed over an award to Nick). Isa had been invited to introduce the heavy contingent of sommeliers there to the delights of Turkish wine, and the challenges of the MS programme.
The assembled somms (some of them pictured above right with Isa's bottles of Turkish wine) were fascinated by the Master...