Shanghai's sexiest sommeliers share their most orgasmic wines(1)
Who better to talk about the best wine to order on a date than the best looking wine experts in the city?
"I just came back from Vienna where I was invited by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. There I tasted some excellent Rieslings from a winery called Knoll," says Vivian Tian when asked about her more "orgasmic" wine. "Many white wines finish very quickly," she says, "but this one could last a long time in my mouth."
"I just came back from Vienna where I was invited by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. There I tasted some excellent Rieslings from a winery called Knoll," says Vivian Tian when asked about her more "orgasmic" wine. "Many white wines finish very quickly," she says, "but this one could last a long time in my mouth."
Jean-Marc Nolant
Hometown: Epernay, France
Restaurant: 100 Century Avenue, 91/F, Shanghai World Financial Center, 100 Century Avenue, near Yincheng Lu 上海环球金融中心, 世纪大道100号91楼和93楼近银城路, +86 21 6888 1234
How did you first get interested in wine?
My family on my mom’s side is from Champagne. The first time I had Champagne was when I got caught at around three or four years old stealing the Champagne from my parents glasses. When I was 16, I began work on the harvest in Épernay, considered the best vineyards in Champagne.
Later I worked as a sommelier at the historic Chateau de Saran with chef Bernard Dance and in London at the two Michelin-starred, The Square. After that I traveled all around the world for two and a half years tasting wines at small producers from South Africa to Australia to really understand the differences and the terroir.
What's your ideal date wine?
A wine I can afford so I don’t have to do the dishes at the end of the night!
Personally, I wouldn’t choose something too complex. I like wine from the Loire Valley. It’s refreshing. It’s a great place in terms of vins natures (natural wine making). The wines have almost no sulfides and you won’t get a headache the next day. These winemakers work in the fields with their horses, their wine has a freshly crushed grape flavor, you drink one glass and you want to drink the whole bottle.
What wine could give you an orgasm?
1959 Richebourg from Henri Jayer. This wine was just unbelievable; the hairs on my arms were sticking up for 20 minutes afterwards! The flavor profile is extremely complex; it’s pretty much 50 years old but still acting like a baby. Dark cherry, black raspberry, black truffle type of flavor, no oak, no vanilla, everything very well integrated. Black truffle is very strong. It’s very much a noble wine. A guest brought this in recently and I was lucky he offered me a taste.
Jayer is a legend in Burgundy. He was making wines in a very unusual way at the time -- organic, biodynamic. He had a very special touch with pinot noir that no one else ever had. I was really lucky to meet him three times.
