Uncorked: Thanakorn Bottorff

Hailing from Thailand, Thanakorn Bottorff was recently appointed as the sommelier at 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Macau. Having previously worked at L’Atelier de Robuchon in Bangkok and acclaimed Gaggan restaurant, the Thai sommelier won Thailand’s Best Sommelier Competition in 2016.  A certified CMS sommelier, Bottorff is currently studying for the WSET diploma. The talented sommelier talks to dbHK about a glass of Domaine Arlaud Bonnes Mares that unlocked his passion for wine, and his dream dinner party with Rajat Parr and natural wine advocate, Isabelle Legeron MW.

What vintage are you?

I prefer to be a non-vintage wine and be open minded to every great wine that I can taste. For me numbers are not as important as the person who made the wine.

What bottle sparked your love of wine?

2012 Domaine Arlaud, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru. When I was at Robuchon (in Bangkok) in the middle of the busy service, my boss handed me a glass and told me to taste it. My mind blank for a few seconds. It was the first time I got goosebumps from tasting wine.

What would you be as a wine?

An unfiltered and light-bodied white wine with an orange colour and an unpredictable taste.   

Where are you happiest?

When I suggest a wine for a guest and they enjoy the wine that I recommend.

What’s your greatest vice?

Sigur Rós with a nice bottle of craft beer after work.

Best advice you ever got?

“Don’t stop dreaming and accept the sacrifice you have to make for that dream. Eventually, you will find your happiness.” It’s as simple and straightforward as that.

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

I will just watch it sink and start discovering more wine to fill up my new cellar.

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

The best thing is that there are so many good wines out there waiting for you to discover. The worst thing is that many people are just following the brand and area afraid of trying new things.

What’s on your wine bucket list?

I have an infinite, funky list of wines I want to try and cannot really name all of them. But for sure the list is driven by cool, natural, organic and biodynamic growers.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

Rajat Parr and Isabelle Legeron MW. And the most important guest will be Marc Bittner, my first mentor who helped me when I started out on my serious wine journey.

Personal satisfaction (Parker points – out of 100)

I don’t really follow wine critics or scoring. Each person has their own taste and deserve to be respected. Without mentioning Parker points, my life satisfaction should be around 4 out of 10 as I am not even half way yet to where I want to be.    

Which wine would you like served at your funeral?

Egly Ouriet, Blanc de Noirs, Brut ‘Les Crayères’ Grand Cru, Vieilles Vignes. Just to make sure that they forget that they are in the funeral!