An Ode To Wine Connection

If you're in Southeast Asia, you've most likely had your first proper wine experience at a Wine Connection. The chain of wine retail shops and bistros have been around since 1998 and have over the years readily stocked great wine picks that balance taste with affordability - and they serve great food too with regularly changing specials.

Even before I was too young for the wine, I've always looked forward to each dinner at Wine Connection because I knew I was going to be in for great food, and then as a young folk in university, Wine Connection was always a reliable pick for a nice night out with my friends - even on a night out in Bangkok, Wine Connection would be there! Finally in my wine-appreciating years, it almost appalled me that I never realised how many great labels, Chateaux and vineyards are regularly represented on Wine Connection's shelves! It wasn't till I learnt more about wine labels that my appreciation for Wine Connection being more than just a reliable place for a great meal truly deepened - and now I can't rave enough about it.

Wine Connection has been a reliable joint through the years!

From affordable French Classified Growth's second labels giving you a taste of something timelessly magical to easy drinking New World whites and roses, and of course those rich and bold Chilean's and Spanish reds - all at wallet friendly prices; the selection is definitely one of the best in town.

It's quite magical how awesome the place is, really. And I've always wondered how they do it all.

Well, a couple of days ago, I finally found out.

Angela Guérin takes us through some of the wines that made the cut for Wine Connection's 2025 New Collection.

How Does A Wine Label Make The Cut For Wine Connection

Angela Guérin, who is the assistant group buyer for Wine Connection had divulged to me during the showcase that each year the team looks to keep things fresh by going over their entire inventory - whilst they do look to keep fan favourites, they also want to stock new wines that will give folks a reason to head down and get the chance to try something new. 

As such, each year they set down a 1-2 month window where winemakers from around the world can submit their wines to Wine Connection (which is really only possible because of how big and recognised Wine Connection is!) and from there they'll shortlist hundreds of wines - Angela says that each year they receive a whopping three thousand submissions! Once the shortlist is drawn up, the Wine Connection team comes down to actually taste every bottle together to make sure they're genuinely good! Together they'll taste through somewhere between 100-120 wines per day and score them on quality and price (and the look and feel of the bottle also counts for a few points here, just so you know that the book's cover is worth something too). One of the interesting things that the team also keeps in mind is whether or not the wine expression is a good representation of that region, appellation, or country's style.

Finally, just 60 producers from 11 countries will make the cut to be in Wine Connection's new annual collection as an exclusive label that can only be found at Wine Connection outlets - statistically that means just 2% of wines actually make the final cut! That's some pretty rigorous selection process right there!

Some other interesting trends that Angela tells me (and I had to ask considering that Wine Connecion above all would have the data to know this!) is that the Italian Amarone style is by far the customer favourite and that's even led to any wines made with the appassimento method (letting grapes dry out and raisinate to concentrate the flavours before making them into wines) being a hot pick. With the whites, it's gone from the lighter style Pinot Gris to the more fuller bodied Sauvignon Blanc. More broadly speaking over the years, Angela also tells me that Wine Connection has moved from being heavily French wine focused to now featuring a wider selection of New World wines from Australia, New Zealand, Chile, South Africa and Argentina being represented. I ask if American wines will ever show up - and much to the anticipation of fans of California's Zinfandels, the answer I got was a smirk for a hint.

And so with all that said, it was finally time to try some of the new wines that have made the cut for Wine Connection's 2025 New Collection.

Tread Softly "Forever Young", Early Picked Rose, 2024

A very pretty bottle from Australia that very interestingly features the use of early picked Pinot Noir. This means less sugars in the fruit, and therefore less alcohol post fermentation. Tread Softly, the winemaker, also has a particular focus on sustainability, and thus produces the wines with a minimal carbon footprint, as well as planting an Australian native tree for every case of its wine sold - thus far that's over 1.3 million trees that Tread Softly has planted!

Now on to the wine itself - as mentioned, this is going to be less boozy which makes it good for an easy afternoon drink, or if you've got a dinner with folks who don't go too hard - this comes in at 5.5% ABV, which is about half to two-thirds the standard alcohol proof for wines. 

This had a lovely light pink hue, with gentle notes of strawberry jams, blackcurrants, really fresh with good richness and depth (even with the lower proof!), garnished with meadowy florals and grassiness. On the palate, it keeps its richness, really smooth and lightly buttery even. Gentle notes of cassis and blackcurrant, some field strawberry and blackcurrant jams, and it stays gently sweet and fresh into the finish, here with some blueberry jams coming through as well. This was fresh, rich, buttery, gently sweet, with such a supple body and easy sweetness.

Prices at SGD$18.90 per bottle. What a steal, this makes a great holiday gift. It's easy drinking, low ABV yet great richness, think soft and supply strawberry jams. Find it here.

Wairau Hills, Artisan Sauvignon Blanc 2023, Marlborough, New Zealand

New Zealand Marlborough whites have been such a hit the past few years simply because they offer wines that are fuller bodied, have big fruitiness, and are vibrant with sufficient acidity that doesn't cut. It's just known for being really fresh and fruity - let's see if that goes for this Wairau Hills Sauvignon Blanc.

In the glass it's light honey toned, and on the nose it's fresh with a rustic purity of freshly harvested orchard fruits. More on gooseberry jams, passionfruits, guavas, pear compote. There's also a little bit of hay that comes through here. On the palate, it feels fuller with great richness. More of that gooseberry jams, pear jams, vanilla cream - it's just lightly tart, with great smoothness and silkiness. Some starfruits and this persistence of a deep honeyed sweetness. Into the finish, it's rich, still gently sweet, with a slight savouriness, still keeping with all those green fruit jams and vanilla frosting, and a touch of passionfruit tartness.

I really loved the freshness on this, yet at the same time it's not overly light, with a very good richness here, lots of tropical fruits, and also really pure and rustic, with a creamy body.

Prices at SGD$29.90 per bottle. If you're looking for a white wine, but always find them too light or overly tart, this one is for you. Great richness, creamy body, lots of tropical fruits. Find it here.

Aldaba Tempranillo Roble 2023, Castilla VDT, Spain

It's time to head off to Spain for some Tempranillo, which is also the national grape of the country. Here we have the Aldaba Tempranillo Roble that comes from the region of Castilla of central Spain.

Right from the get go, this dark ruby wine was ridiculously aromatic and evocative, filled with bouquets of perfumed roses, along with more rosy red berries of strawberries and raspberry jams. It's rather confectionary, also giving tones of chocolate and vanilla sauce. It's rich and sensual, with a vibrant perfume. On the palate, this had great richness, darker here, with blackberry and strawberry jams, tobacco leaves, cherry jams, red licorice, still quite confectionary altogether, and yet also cohesive and plush in texture. A light dryness of the tannins that comes through as black tea on the finish, bringing back more of those roses and hay, finally fading off in supple rose jam.

This was big on those fruits, confectionary too, leaning sweeter with a sensual and rich body, also really floral and plush, with a well balanced dryness of black tea tannins.

Prices at SGD$19.90 per bottle. If you're on to full bodied reds, and you like something more dark and sensual, really fruit driven and perfumed, berry jams, chocolate and vanilla sauce - this is your perfect date night wine. It's easy drinking, full and yet not boozy, with all the markings of a date night dinner. Find it here.

Marques de Garoa 2019, Rioja Reserva, Spain

Here we have another Spanish red, this comes from Rioja, a more classical and well explored wine region, best known for their more spiced reds that also tends to be more on the dry side, which is best paired with more oily tapas style foods. This is the Marques de Garoa Rioja Reserva - Reserva being at least 3 years of aging on the wine before it's released. More time in wood is where that spices and dryness comes from! That's the Rioja style - a food pairing sort of wine!

This one's dark ruby in shade, with aromatics of dark raspberries and cherry jams, red licorice, cherry frosting, and then more of those spices of cardamom and cloves, tobacco leaves, plums and prunes too. Some of the oakiness comes through on the nose, giving it this aromatic woodiness. On the palate, it's rich with chocolate, vanilla sauce, cherry jams, all manners of raspberry and strawberry jams, the same spices of cloves, cardamom, some cinnamon here too. It develops into raisins, dried plums and prunes, not as confectionary as our previous Tempranillo, where here it leans more dry and spiced - true to the Rioja style! On the finish, it's giving black tea tannins, cherry jams, cherry frosting, roses, and is rich into the finish with some firm and grainy tannins.

This was really consistent throughout the experience, and also very representative of that classic Rioja style without the tannins here being overbearing. Here it's well-balanced and gives it this gourmet quality to it that makes for a great food pairing. I really liked that dryness and more raisinated quality here that gives it this chiselled richness and depth.

Prices at SGD$34.90 per bottle. We always hear about food pairings and wine - and the truth is not every wine goes well with food, but this one is. The more dry quality of this Rioja is exactly representative of that famous regional style that has been so loved by the Spaniards for going so perfectly well with tapas. It's clean, rich, dark, lots of dried dark fruits, spiced, with just a firm dryness - this is the real food pairing wine. Find it here. 

Casato Mastino 2019, Amarone Della Valpolicella DOCG, Veneto, Italy

And finally the last wine for the afternoon - everyone's favourite Amarone! This comes from Casato Mastino in the land of Amarone's, Veneto, Italy. Amarone is famous for having this rich, dark, sensual, sweeter and fulled bodied flavour profile that is typically enjoyed for being bold and hard to miss. This is the result of the apassimento method where the grapes are left to dry out and raisinate (to turn into a raisin) which removes the water naturally and leaves more concentrated sugars - this is an incredibly laborious process and yet it is deep traditional and yields a unique and distinctive style of wine that has now become world famous.

A deep garnet hue, this is giving heaps of plums, figs, raisins and prunes, some roses even, with a deep and rich bouquet of concentrated sweetness. Some mustiness of dried fruits come through as well. On the palate, it's got a light spiciness, more of the same raisins, figs, prunes and plums as is the very classic Amarone style. Good richness here, with some of that black tea tannins coming through earlier here. It's of course leaning sweeter, garnished with roses, cloves and tobacco. Into the finish, we find some more of that dried plum mustiness, roses, sweet figs, still very rich and also spiced by some cloves and tobacco. Some grittiness of coffee grounds comes through with a long finish that goes seamlessly on raisins and prunes.

A very classic Amarone, yet here it definitely gives more drinkability. It's not overwhelmingly dark, sweet and heavy, still medium-bodied with restrained sweetness so that more of those nuances can come through unmuddled.

Prices at SGD$49.90 per bottle. This is classically Amarone yet expressed in a very drinkable manner where it's not too heavy or sweet, and yet still delivers those nice and rich dark fruits and raisins, where here you'll also find a wider spectrum of earthiness and florals. Find it here.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot