WINE: WINE AND DINE The Wine Pinnacle Awards and The Great Wine & Dine Festival show the best of the industries

Featuring 400 wines and sakes curated by top wine experts, the first Wine Pinnacle Awards and The Great Wine & Dine Festival 2019 were delightful events to close the year

Coming in a dazzling range of tastes, colours, and bouquets, wines and sakes aren’t just companions with which to celebrate the most special moments in life but can also the star of the most important occasions. These are just some of the reasons why the acclaimed Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), as Asia’s premium travel destination, was the perfect setting to host The Great Wine and Dine Festival 2019, held over three days in October, as well as the inaugural Wine Pinnacle Awards.

The Wine Pinnacle Awards is the first-ever wine-nomination system in which any wine in the world can be registered and assessed by the world’s leading professionals and connoisseurs.

With well-trained palates and vast experience, more than 54 members, including 33 Masters of Wine and nine Master Sommeliers, took on special roles in judging the wines at this year’s event.

“Wine is a best friend for food or even cocktails; it is a musthave on every occasion, which is why wine has become part of our lifestyles and much loved around the world,” said Jeannie Cho Lee M., the chairperson of the Wine Pinnacle Awards Committee and the first Asian to hold the Master of Wine accreditation.

A sanctuary for oenophiles, visitors to the event were treated to more than 400 wine and sake labels available to be enjoyed together with top-class cuisine in the Lion City. Last year’s festival theme was wine and beer, while the most-recent iteration showcased the exquisite charm of Japanese sakes, which brought with them the unique tastes of each prefecture in Japan. All of the sake collections showed qualities that were beyond praise, from the soft sourness and deep flavour of Organic Junmaishu Tentaka to the rich and soft Hakushika Kaori Junmaiginjo Premium. It seems that sake can do no wrong when it comes to satisfying tastes for heavenly liquors.

As wine and sake are the perfect companions for any dish, The Great Wine and Dine 2019 also featured exclusive cuisines from RWS’S renowned restaurants, such as Fratelli Trattoria, table65, and TEPPAN by Chef Yonemura, along with the first-in-singapore pop-up dining concept, the satisfying Lobsterdamus, which is known for its grilled, wild-caught Maine lobsters, with some favourites including Half-grilled Lobster, Lobster Nest, and Lobster Truffle Fries.

At the peak of the event, more than 300 guests from the food and beverage industry attended a luxurious black-tie gala dinner. Held inside the opulent Resorts World Ballroom, wine lovers and luminaries witnessed the wine-awarding event helmed by Nicolas Masse of the two Michelin-starred La Grand’vigne and feasted on a delicious six-course menu paired with Château Smithhaut-lafitte: one of the nominees in the Wine Pinnacle Awards.

During this special event, the aficionados also had the chance to further hone their knowledge by joining limited masterclasses. One of these was “Uncovering The Jewels of

Tuscany”, which was expertly delivered by Andreas Larsson, who held the title “Best Sommelier of the World” in 2007. During this lively and bubbly masterclass, he took the guests through a journey of tasting Tuscany’s finest wines and taking in their fresh and lively aromas, from the 2016 Tenuta Argentiera Bolgheri Superiore to the 2018 Fattoria Le Pupille, Morellino di Scansano Docg—truly a perfect prelude to the next festival’s line-up.