Wine is for snobs?

That's what you think until you become a snob yourself. In Asia, wine sits halfway between green tea and a Porsche Cayenne.

It is seen as natural and good for health, but you have to buy the most expensive. And not only because it will help you cure your kidneys faster. 

The famous "you are what you buy" adage has never been truer than it is here. I mean - when you can afford it.

But when we come to people with less money, working in the hospitality industry, expected by their management to be able to explain to their clientele why they should order a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile to match their US imported Striploin, then it is a different story. 

And this is why I love my job. 

Teaching wine to people who start from scratch, have no idea about grapes, fermentation, Romanee Conti or Michel Rolland, is a challenge, for them and for us. Trying to put yourself in their shoes, understanding their codes, their taste, and making them understand why pouring Coke in a glass of Pomerol is not right, is an everyday adventure. 

The same kind of adventure that it is for us to eat fish heads, jump in a tuktuk in the middle of a busyroad, to get blessed by a monk in the street... 

It’s about perspective I guess. 

But at that point, you can’t be a snob anymore.