Dorber's expansion

Mark Dorber changed my life. OK, so I'm being a little dramatic but it was dining at his place that opened my eyes.

For those who don't know him, he's the in-dustry's best known beer-and-food ambassador, and his place is the White Horse on Parson's Green in leafy West London.

It was there, a few years ago, that he showed this once-sceptical wine writer that beer can be as exciting with food as wine. The beer list at the White Horse is unsurpassed, while the wine list is something any top restaurant would be proud of (oh yes, he knows his wines too).

Anyway, Dorber has spread his wings ­ don't panic, he isn't walking away from 23 years at the Sloaney Pony, as it is affectionately known. He's got even bigger plans for the place ­ which I'm sure you'll hear more of shortly. No, he's got himself another pub ­ the Anchor at Walberswick, in Suffolk.

The next place up along the coast from media luvvy-packed Aldeburgh, Walberswick has its fair share of celebrities, with Richard Curtis (he of Four Weddings) and various Freuds, who have taken up residence in the sleepy seaside village.

They'll be the ones, and others like them, who'll be coughing up £100 for 1985 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle, and £75.50 for 2000 Château de Beaucastel Roussanne Vielles Vignes ­ if Dorber has his way.

As with the White Horse, the deal at the Anchor is a tied lease, which doesn't allow much in the way of shopping around for his list. Not that he's complaining ­ much.

Adnams is his landlord this time and he has always championed the Suffolk brewer as a producer of world-class beer, and has the full line-up on tap and in bottle at the Anchor, alongside other manufacturers' bottled beers that Adnams sees fit to list. Same goes for the wines, which are exclusively Adnams.

But there's the rub. Here's this guy, with this incredible vision, and all this knowledge, which he can't pass on to his punters in Walberswick. Hopefully Adnams will see sense and give the man free reign, as Mitchells & Butlers has let him do at the White Horse.

So assuming (hoping) Adnams does give Dorber some freedom, what plans does he have for the list? And you just know that he's already thought about it.

First up, he's installing a Le Verre de Vin wine preservation system (wine at the White Horse now accounts for 16% of the business, up from 10% five years ago and he expects similar sales at the Anchor), which will enable him to offer a decent selection of wines by the glass ­ vital for any food-led operation, he believes.

At the moment, his wife, Sophie, is cooking up a comfort-food storm in the Anchor's kitchen, providing wine and beer-friendly nosh, such as cassoulet, bubble and squeak with local ham and eggs, oxtail soup and tajine of lamb, making the best of local producers, which the Dorbers intend to credit on the menu.

There are currently just 18 wines on the list (though all are offered by the glass) but Dorber admits he's been easing himself slowly into the place since he took up the lease at the beginning of November.

By the summer, he'll have 70 wines, he promises, and is already fantasising over an additional fine-wine list, which he'll call Anchor Exotica, with the likes of the aforementioned Jaboulet and a section called Out of Body Experiences, including legendary Lebanese red Château Musar and wines from cult Californian producer Paul Draper (Ridge). Wines so far include a prosecco (£3.50), Aussie bubbly Green Point (£4) and a Manzanilla from Pedro Romero (£3.25), plus a Godello (it's a Galician white ­ and no, I hadn't heard of it either) from Telmo Rodriguez (£3.75), plus Portuguese star red Quinto do Crasto (£4.25) and a Barossa Shiraz (Long Mile, £18.75). Good start. "We're small enough to take small parcels," he explains.

It's worth pointing out the stemware, too ­ Dorber has chosen the Schott Zwiesel Sensus range, with measures at 175ml. "Good glasses are important," he adds.

And you just know that he wants to increase his bottled and draught beer range, so come on Adnams, loosen up a bit, won't you?

So far, Dorber has trimmed the hedges and pollarded the limes ­ "I want to get it right first", but he is planning a new kitchen, an extension of the cellar, and an update throughout.

He's also planning a series of wine dinners (and beer dinners, of course) inviting brewers and winemakers from all over the world to come and speak in his pub. He's the man, I told you.