Notes from Hong Kong

a chat and some wine with expat Danilo Nicoletti

Editor’s note: We’ll be featuring conversations with the wine wheelers, dealers, movers, makers and shakers both here in the US and abroad. Today, we’re lucky to have Josh Rubenstein from IWM HK sit in conversation with one of Hong Kong dining’s most influential Italians, Danilo Nicoletti.

Danilo Nicoletti, General Manager of 8 1/2 (Otto e Mezzo) photo courtesy of: otto-e-mezzo.com

Danilo Nicoletti is General Manager of 8 1/2 (Otto e Mezzo, one of Hong Kong’s premier Italian restaurants. Originally from Ventimiglia in Liguria, Italy, Danilo’s prior engagements at Domani and Ritz Carlton’s Toscana have made him an institution in Hong Kong fine dining. Moreover, Danilo has been instrumental in bringing wines from iconic Italian producers like Radikon, Gravner and Bea to his wine list. Danilo is without a doubt a leader in the HK Italian wine community.

What turned you on to a career in food and wine?

My father and uncle ran a small family restaurant in Ventimiglia, so it has always been a part of my life. I attended school for maitre d’ training and service management, which also helped me to learn English and French.

What do you love about your job?

I love the opportunity to “change the weather.” We can always manipulate our space and offerings so that every experience at 8 1/2 is a new and memorable experience. It can be a new dish, artisan wine or serve—or we may add new art to the décor. I love being on the scene every day

What to your thinking makes a wine program great?

It’s like making a great salad. You always need your greens and can add interesting varieties of tomatoes and unique surprises like papaya. Having the right selection in the best price points—for me it’s $600 – $1500 HKD ($75 – $200 USD)—will make the program most attractive.

How would you describe the Hong Kong wine scene to readers abroad?

Hong Kong is the door of Asia and it has taught me to have an open mind. We have food and wine choices without constraint. When I began in HK, my vision as a GM had to change from selling only food and wine. I see how we have to find other sources, like ambiance, service, furnishings and artwork to wow our guests. In HK it’s very important particularly, for many guests prefer to bring their own wines to restaurants.

What’s your ultimate food and wine pairing?

I have a French culinary background, so simple fresh bread, beef Bourgogne and Burgundy is best for me. I recently have been enjoying Domaine de la Vougeraie. If I go white, I will favor something Italian, like a Ribolla from Friuli’s Collio region. Radikon is a personal favorite.

What advice would you offer for someone considering a career similar to yours?

Do it with heart and common sense. You cannot learn passion. Be friendly to everyone, and on Sundays be sure you’re wearing tee shirt, shorts and sandals to relax

Wrapping Up VinExpo

Highlights, challenges and triumphs

VinExpo Hong Kong ended a couple of weeks ago, but it was such a fast-paced gathering with so many lingering reverberations that I’m still feeling its effects. Certainly, no description of the event is complete without detailing the highly anticipated visit of Monica Soldera of the legendary Case Basse di Soldera in Montalcino. When I first arrived in HK, I noticed that Soldera was relatively unknown among Hong Kong’s wine collectors. (The wines of Quintarelli, Gravner and Giacomo Conterno fall into this category as well.)

With no existing following in HK, my challenge became how to properly introduce an $1800 HKD wine like the 2002 Brunello Riserva. Furthermore, the Soldera Brunellos don’t look like other Brunellos. I was happy to discover the power of tastings, and HK has embraced the wines of Soldera. Monica’s first visit to Asia was a perfect opportunity for producer and wine-lovers to get to know one other properly, and over the past year, we’d built up enough intrigue and positive experiences that Monica’s visit to Hong Kong in May brought four consecutive sold-out events during VinExpo week.

The most notable aspect of Monica’s visit was her grace and her refreshing approach to introducing the wines of Case Basse. While she is an encyclopedia of wine facts, Monica was casual and disarming—a perfect demeanor for VinExpo, because the week had overwhelmed everyone with a deluge of wine facts and bold statements. The Soldera dinners centered on spending time with each wine individually so that we could see how nature guided the family’s winemaking and gave each wine its own personality. Monica was able to make each wine seem like a guest of honor, allowing us to refrain from feeling a need to make any immediate judgments about anything. She took the competitive nature out of the tasting experience and created a light atmosphere to simply enjoy each other’s company and to get to know one other better.

Monica’s Hong Kong visit was so exciting that each event deserves its own description, which I’ve provided below.

Tuesday 25 May – Otto e Mezzo

This event was a no-brainer, because it matched Monica with HK’s celebrated Italian Chef Bombana, esteemed GM Danilo Nicoletti, a gorgeous private room for twenty, and a wonderful group. The food and wine were out of this world. I hardly had to work. I simply gave Danilo and Bombana the wine list, and they agonized over the proper menu, updating it just days before the dinner in order to perfect it. Tajima Beef Tongue on Brunello and Mushroom Risotto paired with a 2003 Brunello Riserva Soldera thrilled us, but we still had the 2002 and 1983 Brunellos ahead of us. It was as if none of us could fathom better food or wine, yet we kept going. Before the night had ended, the restaurant asked Monica to sign two remaining magnums of 1983 Brunello for their own collection; they’re now proudly part of a very impressive large format collection. Overall, this evening was a perfect start to our week, and Monica knew where she could get incredible Italian food if she got homesick.

Wednesday 26 May – Crown Cellars

We held a small gathering in the Crown Library that was co-hosted by Hong Kong’s ultimate host, Greg De’eb. It was a far cry from last year’s event with Movia’s Ales Kristancic, “Marvelous Night for a Moon-dance,” which featured bottles opened under a full moon, ballroom dancing and swordplay. However different the events, our guests received the same experience in the end: an understanding of the wine through the personality of the producer. Each wine was tasted together, side-by-side, throughout the meal. This format allowed us to feel all the wines evolve simultaneously over the course of hours. By this point in VinExpo, most attendees had been to two wine dinners already in the week, and the casual atmosphere—a Monica Soldera staple—and Soldera’s wines of finesse put some life back into our group as we all prepared for the rest of the week’s events.

Thursday 27 May – The China Club

When we host our producers in HK, we like to throw at least one event where we pair Italian wines with Asian cuisine. I always rave about the quality of service at The China Club, and in my last post I’d noted that they’d hosted a staggering number of wine dinners during VinExpo. Sadly, and I mean sadly, I couldn’t attend this dinner, but the feedback from attendees was consistently great. Soldera’s wines paired surprisingly very well with a number of local dishes and showed great versatility. A number of guests reported that their bodies were wearing down from intense eating and drinking during the week, some reported that they should have taken a night off from the events, but those who were there said they couldn’t miss the Soldera night at The China Club. Monica was very pleased to have the opportunity to host a dinner with Chinese cuisine, and she was delighted to pass the Chinese cuisine test, a prerequisite for success in the new Hong Kong market.

Friday 28 May – Don Alfonso

My colleague Christina escorted Monica by helicopter to Macau to start the day. However, I, being more afraid of heights than any man should be, was happy to take the boat and sleep on the way to our last day of meetings and events. Our evening at the stunning Don Alfonso in Grand Lisboa began with a very pleasant surprise—Chef Alfonso himself would be attending the dinner as a guest. As with the staff of Otto e Mezzo, Chef Alfonso and his restaurant team hold Soldera wines with high regard and worked hard to create a truly special experience for all of us who were lucky enough to attend. Don Alfonso’s perfect pairing of 1983 Brunello from magnum with Wagyu beef tenderloin and puffed spaghetti (it’s beyond description) was almost a shame to consume. But we did anyway, and it was amazing.

To paraphrase Monica’s father, Gianfranco, a great wine is one that you miss immediately after you’ve finished it. I missed the Soldera dinners the moment we left Don Alfonso. After an exhausting week and non-stop events, I take that to be a testament to Soldera.

VinExpo was a crazy blast of too much food, so much wine and an avalanche of new friends. Two weeks later, I’m only just beginning to recover. Naturally, I look forward to doing it all again next year.