Remy Osman has been working in our Singapore office for the last three years, and has seen the fine wine scene blossom again since the pandemic. Here, he tells us about the pleasure of working with such passionate wine-lovers across Southeast Asia, and why he believes we’re in a “golden age” of fine wine.  

I joined Berry Bros. & Rudd in May 2021. We were still in the dark days of Covid, limited to two people at a time in the office. Customer lunches or dinners were often impossible, due to intermittent restrictions on dining out. Since emerging from the pandemic, there has been so much enthusiasm here in Singapore and right across Southeast Asia, for tastings, education and discovery. It has been a pleasure to join our customers on their respective wine journeys and help customers in this part of the world build up fantastic collections. 

If I were to sum up the local market, it is one of true enthusiasts. Our customers in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and across ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] all have a genuine passion for wine and love the process of learning everything there is to know about it. People take pride in knowing and experiencing the differences between the terroirs of two neighbouring Burgundian vineyards; having encyclopaedic knowledge of the weather and quality of decades worth of Bordeaux vintages; and being the first to try to uncover the next big Champagne grower.  

It is a constant cycle of learning, discovery and sharing. One minute I will be humbled by realising just how much I do not know about wine, and then the next I will share an insight that excites and encourages a customer to try a new wine that they fall in love with.  

Like many customers, I first fell in love with fine wine thanks to Bordeaux. It has never failed to amaze me how incredibly well these wines can age. I enjoy thinking about what was happening in the world during the particular vintage year, and all world events while the wine patiently aged in bottle before I drank it. I joined Berry Bros. & Rudd just as the 2020 Bordeaux En Primeur was kicking off, so this “Covid vintage” will always have a special meaning to me.  

I feel we are truly in a golden age of fine wine: a warmer climate means that many grapes now achieve ripeness in places where it would historically have been hard to do so, and vastly improved viticultural and winemaking techniques mean that even an average vintage these days is far superior to all but the very best vintages of the 20th century.  

We’re enjoying the fruits of this golden age, but we’re also aware of the irony that if the climate continues warming, the wines we know and love might not be possible to make in hotter years. In the longer term, I see huge potential for English winemaking, and I’ve been encouraged that customers in this part of the world are already beginning to try – and enjoy – their first few vintages of still English Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, which have real structure and ageability. From my vantage point one degree north of the equator, I see such high-latitude wine regions as an exciting part of the future, so it is great that people are already starting to discover and enjoy them. 

Indeed, it is a generally positive trend that collectors in Southeast Asia are more confident to branch out beyond the big names and big regions, to discover excellent new wines for themselves. This is partly due to cost – not everybody will want to pay the price of a Bordeaux First Growth or Burgundy Grand Cru. But the joy of learning about wine, and discovering new details, can’t be diminished either.   

These days, the biggest flex at a wine dinner in Singapore is not simply bringing the most expensive bottle, but rather being the person who brings a previously little-known producer which people enjoy drinking above the big names. I find this wonderful, because at the end of the day, fine wine shouldn’t be about expense; is about the pleasure of discovery, tasting and sharing something delicious.

We have offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. If you’re interested in speaking with one of our Account Managers in Singapore, please contact us at bbr@bbr.com