Sunny Hodge is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from UCL with a keen eye for detail, love of science and hospitality; finding the “Why?” behind food and wine is what he has specialised in since he began his career in Hospitality. Hodge is now spearheading the research in new ways of looking at wine education based on science and functionality.

His book “The Cynic’s Guide to Wine” delves into the science behind wine from soil upwards into our perception of taste and flavour to dispel wine myths using science as a platform. It aims to change the way we think and talk about wine, for both wine experts and beginners alike. Since writing the book Hodge has been welcomed into the internationally recognised Circle of Wine Writers and nominated as a finalist for the Be Inclusive Hospitality Awards 2025 for “Writer of the Year”.

He is an International wine judge for the prestigious IWSC awards and Decanter World Wine Awards, and serves as a mentor for the Drinklusive drink diversity initiative. He recently took two awards at the London Wine Fair Buyers Awards 2025 for both ‘On-Trade Multiple Venue Wine Buyer’ and ‘Overall Wine Buyer of the Year 2025’.

Hodge is a commentator and wine writer for the likes of Waitrose Food Magazine, Evening Standard, The Times, and The Guardian. His wine know-how and ability to present this to a wider audience has also gotten him centre stage on ITV for Alan Titchmarsh’s morning show Love Your Weekend, Made in Chelsea, Times Radio, Food FM and Monocle Radio.

Hodge is the sole founder/owner of Diogenes the Dog and aspen & meursault; two multi award-winning wine bars associated with challenging the status quo of wine. Both bars integrate science and education within their service model. They are extensions of his research and teachings and attract much global wine tourism.

Diogenes the Dog opened in late 2018 in Elephant & Castle. Inspired by the infamous Greek philosopher who was one of the key founders of the philosophy of Cynicism – a precursor to Stoicism. This new-wave wine bar and shop shares the same inquisitive nature of Diogenes, questioning what we know about wine, discarding common trends and bringing to the table lesser known and better drunk alternatives. Hodge brings in new territories of wine from as far afield as Taiwan, Texas, Poland, China, India and Japan, creating an environment of learning without pretentiousness. Today this neighbourhood wine bar is rated as one of London’s top wine bars from the likes of Time Out, Condé Nast Traveller, Eater London, The Spectator, and many more. It has, in addition garnered awards from the likes of Decanter and Winelist Confidential for the wine list and concept.

Sunny’s second venture, aspen & meursault, opened in 2021, in Battersea. Here the wine bar and shop sheds understanding on how our food and wine gets to our table, with a concept of “natural” and low intervention methods of wine production. It’s focus on education, sleek design and meaningful interpersonal connections have catapulted the neighbourhood wine bar into the realms of Gentleman’s Journal, GQ, The Times, and was awarded the top spot in Time Out’s “Best New Bars in the World 2021”.

Further to his wine bar concepts he also operates Diogenes the Dog Trade, a wholesale arm of his business that distributes wine to select venues across the UK and is set to develop a science of wine education program in 2026. Further to his path in wine education he delivers extracurricular tastings and lectures for the WSET with a focus on soil science.

His career in hospitality before founding the wine bars spans time at Gaucho Restaurants; where he was awarded ‘Host of the Year’, Hodge then went on to open and manage high end Italian restaurant; Margot (Tatler Award Winning – Best Front of House) in Covent Garden on behalf of the renowned Nicholas Jaouen and Paulo de Tarso, as well as assisting in the training and opening of The Fordwich Arms (1* Michelin) in Kent.

@sunnyhodgewine