It would take years to visit the globe’s best wine producers. The Marina Bay Sands brings their wares to one address
Think of it as a hyper-efficient way to sample all the bottles you still haven’t uncorked: With scores of restaurants offering over 5,000 wines combined, Marina Bay Sands has the unique ability to serve many highly acclaimed and coveted vintages under one roof.
The selection varies widely, from a US$168-a-bottle Châteauneuf-du-Pape to a US$23,000 jeroboam of Heidi Barrett’s acclaimed Napa red blend for Amuse Bouche. Some options crack the six-figure mark—and not just for the sake of going big. The hotel operates an in-house Wine & Spirit Education Trust academy, and the breadth and depth of the list means the dedicated sommelier at each venue has serious knowledge. Some servers even wear WSET’s hard-earned pins on their uniforms.
That’s essential, because the property’s cellars feature bottles from 80 wine regions across 22 countries. Milos runs heavy on Greek wines, Maison Boulud spotlights bottles from France, and the Spago outpost favours pairing Golden State pours with its California cuisine, of course, but each restaurant offers Bordeaux and Napa Cabs. (Guests tend to have an affinity for bold reds.) Champagne lovers can find something sparkling here, too: There are about 120 references from 30 houses on the restaurants’ lists.
Climate and cuisine dictate that the property’s wine director, Britt Ng, also has a large supply of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region, as well as other crisp white wines, on hand. Take the quintessential Singapore chili crab served at Rise, the hotel’s Southeast Asian restaurant.
Still, some plates defy conventional pairing wisdom. Ng describes durian, the malodorous regional signature fruit, as an acquired taste and “a challenge for the wine team.” He likes to serve a glass of late-harvest Tokaji by Disznoko alongside the durian soufflé at Maison Boulud. “The acidity, sweetness, and honey notes of the wine complement the sweetness and creaminess of the durian,” he explains.
For an upcoming Cantonese fine-dining venue, Ng is building a list of 100 Chinese vintages, the largest such collection in Singapore. And while each concept has its own wine cellar, don’t fret if you fall in love with a bottle in one restaurant and want to revisit it in another; the team is happy to open bottles from anywhere in the building. “That’s the beauty of being all under one roof—we have flexibility,” Ng says. Even better than that? “We never say no to a guest.”
This story was first published on Robb Report USA. Featured photo by Stephen Chin/Marina Bay Sands
