The CorkscrewA Hong Kong sommelier's guide to choosing wine, and etiquette

After a long hiatus, I'm back on the floor as a sommelier. Creating a wine list for a new restaurant was a terrific opportunity, especially when given a generous budget and only a few provisos (favourite wines, preferred clients). It was like being six years old again and a favourite auntie saying I could have anything I wanted at the sweet shop.

Of course, this task posed some big questions - aside from pricing, how to present the wine list? Does one follow the traditional route and organise it by country and region? Or by flavour profiles, such as light and fruity, and big and bold? Or by the grape? What would work best with the chef's menu?

After spending hours studying wine lists and distributors' portfolios, I put everything that caught my eye onto a spreadsheet. This is what I ended up with:

Champagne

Classic whites: sauvignon blanc, semillon, chenin blanc

Chardonnay: easily the world's most popular and widely grown white wine grape