Opus One’s multilingual export manager for Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Southeast Asia describes the past two decades in hospitality and wine as a living dream
When two powerhouse wineries concur to create wines together, quantity becomes secondary to uncompromising quality. Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Bordeaux’s Château Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi of California’s Napa Valley agreed that only one wine would be released to the world annually.
Thanks to the generosity of Bordeaux Liquid Gold, T.Dining Malaysia was among the fortunate few to taste this year’s vintage before its official release. Opus One 2016 was specifically flown in from the winery and served at Yun House, Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur, to complement Chef Jimmy Wong's Cantonese-style cooking.
I have a little gift for you. It's a lapel pin of our logo. As you can see, the two heads represent our two very important founders, Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild. Some say two heads are better than one!
That's very sweet of you. Your decade-long anniversary with Opus One is just around the bend. How will you celebrate your ‘tin’ anniversary with the company?
I didn’t think I’d be with Opus One for so long, as I’d always been with hotels before this. I love that I’m constantly challenged to try new things and to explore new markets. Here I am today, but in three weeks' time I’ll be in Cambodia to host dinners in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Last Chinese New Year saw me in South Africa and I spent my summer in Tuscany before heading to Alba where I visited a very special winery that dips their grapes in the sea. In ancient times, people dipped their grapes in the sea to get rid of the wax.