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I have been a citizen for quite a few years now. I am not patriotic because I have divided my citizenship between Schiphol Airport Amsterdam (the first hotel that was opened in 2008), London, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, and Gare de Lyon. CitizenM was founded by India-born Dutch businessman Rattan Chadha and …

Saturday 20 JULY 2019 This coming Saturday 20 July 2019, if you happen to be in Singapore, you are in for a Italian vinous treat. Organiser Jessican Tan CSW, founder of Singapoured, is an Italian specialist. She is a member of the Vinitaly International Academy as well as an Italian Wine Ambassador. “Come …

Le Train Bleu is in Gare de Lyon, Paris. “The Blue Train” is one of the most sumptuous restaurants in Paris. In its hey days, it was the penultimate destination in Paris before you launched yourself to luxury travel. A pate of duck and foie gras of duck is the …

Priorat, the Catalan wine region, is about 120 kilometres from Barcelona in a southerly direction. Falset is a good location to overnight when visiting the vineyards. Lotus is a charming 3-star hotel in the old part of Falset. The rooms are very individual and the hotel prides itself in offering environmentally responsible …

Jorge Bombin has catapulted to Spanish wine fame since 9 July 2019. The winemaker’s Legaris Alcubilla 2015 won Gold and swept Trophies for Best Spanish Red and Best Ribera del Duero Red. Jorge Bombin’s first vintage at Legaris was 2008. The winery is just outside the town of Penafiel in …

For the very first time in their history, the Symington Family has made back-to-back Vintage Port declarations. 2016 has been followed by 2017. Back-to-back Vintage Port declarations by the Symington Family are more difficult to come by than finding the needle in the haystack. In fact, since their ancestor Andrew James …

I met Bernard de Nonancourt (c. 1920 – 29 October 2010), also known as “Big Bernard”, in 2001. The affectionate description is entirely justified. At 1.85 metres, Nonancourt was a towering presence. A bear of a man. Very friendly and smiling. A giant full of charm and genuinely interested in people. We set off …

Champagne is just 45 minutes away. If you are going from Paris to Champagne, catch the TGV from Gare de l’Est. Forty-five minutes later, you will be in Reims where many of the major houses are located, including Louis Roederer, Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot, Charles Heidsieck, and Krug. Gare de l’Est is …

370-year old hotel in Paris Hotel du Lys is a 370-year old hotel. A building, let alone a hotel, this old is very rare in Paris. Built originally in 1650, the charm is immediate as soon as you see it from the narrow street outside. Rue Serpente is just a …

On 29 June 2019, a first-ever dinner featuring Domaine du 1er Juin wines outside China took place in Singapore. Singapore has become the first country to import wines from Domaine du 1er Juin. To commemorate the occasion, on 29 June 2019, a dinner was held featuring wines from the Ningxia …