Vintage Gentleman: Sommelier Peter Teng of Beijing Hilton Wangfujing

Originally from Malaysia, where he was trained under the tutelage of Master of Wines, Dr. Ron Georgiou (one of only 262 Masters of Wine in the world), Peter Teng has recently come on board as the new wine sommelier at Hilton Beijing Wangfujing. He tells Agenda about his passion for wine, service, and oenophilic exploration.

When and how did you discover your passion for wine?
I remember the magic moment very clearly. It was the 2002 World Cup final (Brazil vs Germany). I was serving a bottle of wine to a wedding party, and the match was being shown for the party on a large screen. If you asked me at that time, “what is a sommelier?” I would not have been able to tell you. But that scene was so happy, exciting and idyllic, that from then on I decided to focus my career on wine.

What does it take to be a great wine sommelier?
All sommeliers must know the wines, know the food and understand proper service. But for me, a great sommelier knows when to talk and when to listen.

What are your favorite kinds of wine? What do you look for?
One of the benefits of being a sommelier is having the opportunity to try many wines. For me, if a wine is not faulty and represents its true character well, I will enjoy it. But I love to try new things, so my favorite kind of wine is one that is unknown, interesting and allows me to learn something. Thus, if I order a bottle wine for myself, I will choose a very different wine from a random, lesser-known winemaking country such as Greece, Lebanon or even Israel.

With wine, as with everything, expectations are crucial. Our biggest disappointments when trying wine come when we expect too much from a well-established label. Usually, the pleasant surprises come from the labels we don’t know.

What is your favorite saying? How does it apply to you and the things you do?
There are two mantras that help me be successful in my work and enjoy my life. One is “good food, good wine and good service equals paradise.” The other: “Life is too short to drink a bad wine.”

What is one thing you would say or suggest to someone who claims they can’t find a wine they like?
People have different taste buds, and different palates. Just because a wine is celebrated does not mean that everyone will love it. With wines, just as with food, each person must explore in order to find what they like. Being honest with yourself about what you want, what you are experiencing, and what you’re looking for – you will find your wine.

What excites you about the wine collection/label offerings at Beijing Hilton Wangfujing? What makes your list special?
The whole process began with 500 different labels and a two-day marathon tasting with the food and beverage team, a Master of Wine consultant and myself. From there, we separated out the faulty and overpriced wines. The final result is that our wine list represents different regions, types, labels and prices, and we have included some really exciting wines.

We have meticulously selected our wines by the glass to match the signature dishes of Chef de Cuisine Ricardo Bizarro from Portugal of Vasco's restaurant and Chef de Cuisine Yan Zheng of Chynna restaurant.
And of course, our house Champagne, Taittinger – served at our Fizztastic brunch – is one of the few remaining Champagne houses still owned by its namesake family, a perfect match for the premium quality of dishes that we feature on our buffet.