Uncorked: Juwan Kim

Juwan Kim was born in South Korea and cut his teeth as a sommelier at Roka in Mayfair, before joining Zuma in Knightsbridge. Kim moved to Zuma Hong Kong in the Landmark in September of last year and lives near Wan Chai’s buzzy Star Street. Kim speaks to dbHK about which wine is still on his bucket list and overusing the Coravin in blind tastings.

What vintage are you?

1982, a legendary vintage for Bordeaux.

What bottle sparked your love of wine?

I will have to talk about two bottles instead of one. This may sound very strange, but I met one in my dream and the other in the real world.

First, the wine from my dream. It was about eight years ago, when I was taking time off from college. I had just quit my job at a wine bar and worked part-time at a car wash and construction site while rethinking my future in the industry. Then one day in my daydream, I felt the aromas of blackcurrant and red cherry emanating from the other side of the room, reminding me of a quality wine from Bordeaux. It was my first time ‘smelling’ something in my dream, and this experience convinced me to continue my career as a sommelier. In retrospect, this wine might have been something close to the Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1985, which I loved very much around that time.

The other, ‘real’ bottle that sparked my love of wine was the 1994 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Bonnes Mares Grand Cru. I opened the wine in 2007 together with the Domaine Emmanual Rouget Cros Parantoux 1997, and the entire bar was filled with the delightful scents of flowers and strawberries. I totally fell in love with the wine’s natural beauty.

What would you be as a wine?

Domaine Philippe Pacalet Cornas. The first impression is unconventionally light for a Cornas, but the subsequent hints of delicate spices and the unique combination of boldness and roundness prove this indeed is a serious wine.

Where are you happiest?

In my room with a little desk where I read and work. As if I were sitting in a great restaurant, I leave everything else outside the door and stay happily focused on my work and books. This is my source of new ideas for the restaurant, which are crucial to what I do as planning now takes up as big a part of my job as sales.

What’s your greatest vice?

Leaving holes with our Coravin in my wines kept at the restaurant. My teammates and I do a blind tasting right before we head home. We would use the same Coravined bottles over and over again as we only need a tiny amount of wine each time, and the result is a bunch of wine bottles with several holes in the corks, which gives me a weird sense of guilt and joy at the same time.

Best advice you ever received?

The best advice I have ever got was a set of small but considerate actions, not words. I learned from my mentors how I should take care of people I work with, how I should help them step up, why this counts, and how big a difference small things can make.

Most overused word?

Amazing. My restaurant is amazing, and my colleagues are amazing. So why not keep telling them all the time how amazing they are?

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

I have just moved to Hong Kong so I do not have a cellar at home yet. So if I may assume the one at my restaurant as mine, then I would go for the 2002 Domaine Liger Belair La Romanee—the only wine I have yet to taste there.

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

Best thing: There are so many fantastic wines and immensely talented sommeliers whom I always learn from. Worst thing: Well, there are still so many things to learn.

What’s on your wine bucket list?

Domaine de La Romanee Conti Romanee Conti: I have only got to sniff it so far. One day back in Korea, I got a phone call from one of my fellow sommeliers, who asked me to join him right away as he had just opened the wine. By the time I arrived, however, it was almost gone; what was left was just enough for me to smell the wine!

Also, Yves Cuilleron Condrieu Ayguets: The sweet Viognier is my all-time favourite. Domaine Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynards 1982: The very first vintage from whom I believe is the best Cornas producer.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

My mother, together with my dearest friends in the industry. A very loving yet conservative mother, she puts the biggest value on stability so she is always worried about her son who longs for new experiences and loves to travel and work in other parts of the world!  What I do has never been included in her definition of professions but if this dream dinner party comes true, I would be very happy to introduce her to a world that my colleagues and I love and cherish, showing her that her son does have a pretty decent and happy job!

Personal satisfaction (Parker points – out of 100)?

79. I have been incredibly lucky to have so many wonderful experiences, and now it is time for me to build on those experiences and make a real achievement. Hopefully I am just a few steps away from the 80-point mark!

Which wine would you like served at your funeral?

Korean funerals are extremely solemn and sad events, but there is one exception. When someone dies full of years without suffering from a major illness, his funeral is considered a “happy” one where his family and friends comfort each other talking about his long, prosperous life and peaceful death. If I am fortunate enough to have such a happy funeral (and get to replace the typically served Korean soju with a wine), I will definitely choose the Chateau La Tour Blanche 1998, one of the best sweet wines in my opinion. Now completely mature, it is not too sweet or serious and is something that everyone can enjoy.