Leading food, wine matchmakers face off for China sommelier title(2)
"It is important to see vineyards and know how they grow the grapes, as well as the process of wine making," he explains. "I went to Australia because I wanted to see how they make wine in the New World and compare it to what I've read about the Old World."
Much has been made of the potential of the Chinese market, but appreciation is still in its infancy. "At the moment, just a few people know about wines and mostly Bordeaux wines - more expensive and high level."
Jin pays homage to his mentor, however, for introducing a wine program that educates paying guests and weans them onto other wines that offer a better tailored dining experience.
"I sometimes stand behind him and listen to him explain to people that the expensive wine is not always the quality wine. I would strongly suggest maybe start with a glass of easy-to-drink New World Riesling or New World sauvignon blanc, maybe a little sweet. After that, it would be easy to see what they want." Diego Zhang
Shanghai native Diego Zhang has about 10 years' experience in the business, starting first at the Grand Hyatt Shanghai, then the InterContinental Pudong, the award-winning Laris restaurant and the Park Hyatt Shanghai.
Now with the soon to be opened InterContinental Puxi (projected to open its doors at the end of September), Zhang is operations manager for the property's Western restaurants.
With all these years under his belt, the 28-year-old is clearly a front runner to bag the coveted award.
"This is the first year they have the competition here, and it's a great experience for me. The main purpose is to get as much experience as possible, and it's also recounting what I've learnt before."
Zhang himself expects to win, and believes his advantage stems from having tasted many wines over the years.
He also feels he is good at describing wines, using a lot of international terms. "Wines are very gloabalized, and if you want to be successful in this industry, you have to use the language. If you want to win this competition or even to move forward, you have to improve your English."
He also feels that local customers are getting more sophisticated when it comes to wine, although this also means they are less likely to put faith in sommeliers. "Local customers are very straightforward, like Germans, and are clear about what they like, so they sometimes don't like any opinions of yours. But as people get more experienced, they are more open to recommendations."
