Raising a glass to the front house sommeliers
WINE Universe by Little Somms kicked off a concept in 2018 whereby the focus is all on a “sommeliers’ work in the front house.”
Wine industry professionals and avid vino lovers have gathered regularly at the bistro since it first opened. The team saw the brand’s market potential and quickly expanded the scale by opening a few more bistros in different cities.
In Shanghai, the team spotted an ideal location on Panyu Road and opened up another concept — OXO by Little Somms. OXO represents oxidization and oxygen, indicating the wine bistro’s direction on the introduction of oxidative wines.
Oxidation has moved far beyond bad corks and flaws to become a sophisticated tool that can be used to impart differences in a wine umami, nuttiness or unique characteristics.
“Oxidative” is a term denoting a white wine that has been deliberately exposed to oxygen, which leads to extra richness, complexity and umami-driven aromas and flavors. The most famous wines known for their oxidative winemaking use includes sherry, port wine and
1. Crispy pork intestines
3. A Coravin is used to serve some of the premium wines a glass at a time. — All photos by Yang Di
Madeira, which are prominently featured at OXO.
Though the concept is driven by fortified-, oxidative-style wines, OXO also picks premium, boutique wines from any grape and from anywhere around the world in order to respect every customer’s taste and need. Their premium wine by the glass program allows wine lovers to try high-level wines as opposed
to traditionally offering a higher price of wine by the bottle only. A Coravin is used by the team to serve some of the premium wines a glass at a time without the oxidation of the remaining wine in the bottle. Meanwhile, a selection of Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino and Riojas are also available to try for around 150 yuan a glass.
The Cantonese food here is designed to go with the premium wine tasting, as well as the expressive sherries and port wines. The cuisine’s diverse texture and flavor also helps to enhance the experience when matching with their wine selection. A group of friends can easily pick several tasty dishes from poached squid, crispy pork intestines, to steamed shrimp with garlic over a mouthwatering selection of wines.
“MALCOLM & Marie,” at least, looks the part.
Shot in slinky black-andwhite, with John David Washington and Zendaya playing a sharply dressed couple just back to their stunning, modernist Los Angeles home, “Malcolm & Marie” has the stylized appearance of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” as well as the cocktails and shouting matches.
But if Edward Albee’s scathing play and Mike Nichols’ scalding screen adaptation used the anger and pain of a boozing couple to burrow brutally into marriage, the domestic fury of writer-director Sam Levinson’s millennial melodrama is glossier and sexier but of far less substance. In self-indulgent dialogue reverberating around ego, art and filmmaking, “Malcolm & Marie” more reflects a Twitter argument brought to life, with film-theory sparring between
Malcolm (Washington), a director, and Marie (Zendaya), the young woman who inspired his just-premiered film. For such a well-heeled film, it’s strikingly, frustratingly hollow.
Conceived and shot stealthily during the pandemic, “Malcolm & Marie” has the benefit of feeling fresh at a time when little else does.
At first, Levinson’s camera glides back and forth outside the house, peering through the windows, as Malcolm and Marie return home. It’s 1am in Malibu and Malcolm is amped from the triumphant premiere of his film. “Did you see the audience? I said did you see in the audience?” But Marie is less enthused. In Malcolm’s long list of thank yous, he omitted her name, even though the film — she claims, he disagrees — is about her life as a recovering drug addict.
Credit is only one of the points of contention, as the two exchange body blows in
between bouts of romance, bath tubs and mac ‘n cheese. She calls him a fraud.
He needles her stalled career as an actor. But the dominant thread is Malcolm’s ongoing criticism and debate about how his work is received “through a political lens.”
As a black man, he resents critics comparing him to Barry
Jenkins when he considers William Wyler a more fitting comparison. “Not everything I do is political just because I’m black,” he says.
Either way, it’s not an especially rewarding game. It comes out self-absorbed, regardless.
As cinematography, “Malcolm & Marie” (shot by Marcell Rév) is great. As cinema, not so much.