Uncorked: Nellie Ming Lee

Canada-born Nellie Ming Lee CS arrived in Hong Kong in 1997 with three suitcases and $500 where she worked as a wine and food consultant for Dairy Farm, as a wine ambassador for Jackson Family Wines and as a wine ist for the SCMP with “The Corkscrew.” She is now the sommelier for Porterhouse by Laris headed up by Australian chef, David Laris and speaks to db HK about her greatest vices and Hong Kong’s know-it-all wine fanatics.

What vintage are you? 

A mature vintage that is reaching its peak now and will further improve with age.

What bottle sparked your love of wine? 

My first wine “aha” moment was a bottle of Hugel Gewürztraminer – the lush aromas of lychee, peaches and apples had me reaching for my glass over and over again until I realised that I had drank more than half the bottle without offering my parents a top-up.

What would you be as a wine?

If I were a wine, it would be Champagne because it is always enjoyed at celebrations.

Where are you happiest? 

It could be anywhere – whenever I am sharing a glass with friends and family.

What’s your greatest vice? 

Shoes and wine! I can’t walk by a shop that has either without stopping to look in the window.

Best advice you ever received?

Live your life as if every day is precious!  And wine is always at its best when shared with friends and family.

Most overused word? 

Fruity. It is so overused in the wine world. Of course wine is fruity!  It’s made from grapes.

Your cellar’s underwater, which bottle would you dive in and save? 

Most likely my last bottle of 1997 Belle Epoque Rose by Perrier-Jouët.

What’s the best & worst thing about the wine business?

I get a lot of satisfaction when I introduce a guest to a wine that they’ve not tried before and I see their eyes light up on the first sip with pure enjoyment. But the worst aspects are the wine fanatics who think they know it all and are not open to suggestions or other viewpoints on wine – I’ve been tasting and studying wines for many years now and still find that there is something new to learn and a wine that I’ve not tasted before every day.

What’s on your wine bucket list?

My bucket list is rather simple – I’d like to be able to consume the contents of my cellar with friends and family before venturing off to my mortal coil – and leave just enough bottles for everyone to enjoy at my wake.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? 

I would love to dine with:

1. Andre Simon – he’s the founder of the International Wine & Food Society and from reading his biography, I think he was the original ‘foodie’ as well as a wine buff.
2. Gerald Basset – one of the rare wine people in the world who is a Master of Wine, a Master Sommelier and holds a Wine MBA.  I’ve met him and he is so easy to talk to about any wine related subject.
3. Madame Clicquot (or the Widow Clicquot) who is the ‘Grand Dame of Champagne’ (1777 – 1866).  She took over her husband’s wine business at the age of 27 when he passed away unexpectedly.  Her many ideas and innovations in champagne are still used today in Champagne.  By all accounts, she was a formidable woman who led her champagne house – Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin with great courage in an age when women were expected to live a quiet life at home.
4. My parents and grandparents!  I would like to thank them for instilling in me their work ethic and courage to try new things whatever they may be.

Personal satisfaction (Parker points – out of 100)?

My personal satisfaction with my life in wine?  93 points.  I moved to Hong Kong in 1997 with 3 suitcases and $500 in my pocket and have come farther in my wine journeys through life than I ever thought!  I am very grateful for all the great introductions to people in wine (sommeliers, wine makers, and owners) that I have been able to meet and to share wines with.

Which wine would you like served at your funeral?

Champagne! I hope my friends and family will celebrate my life as a life well lived with all its sorrows and happiness.