How a dinner in Dijon changed my life
Malo e lelei and bonjour, fellow wine explorers!
Welcome to my very first edition of my weekly newsletter, where I will sip and share a bit of what makes the world of wine so special to me and hopefully to you too.
Let me take you back to where it all began, not on a vineyard, not at my home but around the dinner tables of my extended Dijon family. Year 2006 mid-October, I was a rugby player who knew a lot more about a pint of beer or a RTD Cody can than a glass of Pinot Noir. But the moment I found myself surrounded by bottles of Burgundy and family meals in Dijon, France, something clicked. I got curious about how each wine had a story, how it was paired with different foods, and how it transformed a meal into a whole experience.
One of those unforgettable moments was a dinner at Francis’s home, the president of the Stade Dijonnais Rugby Club. His house was five levels high, located in central Dijon, directly opposite the Église Saint-Michel a church built in the 16th century. He led me down into his wine cellar in the basement a real cave full of bottles where I had to carefully weave my way down a narrow staircase, my shoulders brushing both sides of the stone walls. Then we stepped into a massive room with white pebbles on the ground, lighting glowing from below, and hundreds of bottles surrounding us. I didn’t know a thing about choosing wine back then. All I remember is Francis shouting from the other side of the cave, asking what year I was born. He handed me a red wine, and the rest was history. The whole experience of just being there and picking a bottle felt like stepping into a new world.
It’s funny looking back, because before those dinners with my Dijon families, the only time I ever really drank wine was during the Grey Lynn Siasi Tonga Tau’ataina sacraments back home, just twice a year, once at Easter and once on the first Sunday of the new year. So going from that to suddenly exploring the wine caves of Burgundy was quite the adventure!
Over time, after more invites to family dinners, post match functions at the rugby club, and long bus rides home after away games, where wine was always present, that curiosity grew into a passion. And that passion eventually led me to study wine at the Burgundy School of Business, where I completed a Master of Science in Wine Business, becoming the Wine Chief you know today. Not bad for a Tongan boy coming from Glen Innes lol
For me, wine isn’t just about what’s in the glass. It’s about the stories, the people, and yes, even the spiritual side like the first miracle of Jesus, turning water into wine at a wedding. That’s my faith.
So each week, I’ll be sharing a piece of that journey with you, whether it’s a wine I’m loving, a story from the vineyard, or a tip to make your own wine adventures more fun. Here’s to the start of something special thanks for being here from day one!
Malo ‘aupito
Semisi