Sheraton Social Hour @ Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel



Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel Launches Sheraton Social Hour Global Premium Wine Program. Sheraton Social Hour, a first-of-its-kind, brand-wide premium wine program developed by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. Features Curated Wine Menus and Wine Tasting Events in More than 240 Hotels around the World. The new program, created by today’s premier wine experts, the brand’s global food and beverage team, offers guests a specially curated menu of premium wines and weekly tasting events at more than 240 participating Sheraton hotels around the world.

“We wanted to truly elevate the wine tasting experience for our guests and are proud to introduce Sheraton Social Hour across our global portfolio,” said Vincent Ong, Director, Brand Management, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts and Westin Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific. “Our goal is to become a destination for a great wine experience no matter where your travels take you.”

“Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur is delighted to be a part of the Sheraton Social Hour. We hope that our Social Hour tasting events at Pavilions Lounge will offer our guests and residents of Kuala Lumpur opportunities to get together for a world-class wine experience,” said Chuck Abbott, Managing Director of the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel and Regional Vice President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in South East Asia.
The global program was launched at the Pavilions Lounge, with much fanfare by Vincent Ong, Director, Brand Management, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Westin Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific; Martin Jones, Vice President – Food & Beverage Asia Pacific, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts and Chuck Abbott, Managing Director of the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel and Regional Vice President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in South East Asia.

At the launch, approximate 80 guests comprising key industry leaders, socialites, member members and hotel guests, had the opportunity to sample three exquisite wines from the hotel group’s Wines of the World menu. On hand to introduce the wines were Guillaume Blanchard, wine principal from Castello Banfi and Eddy Lau, wine sommelier from Asiaeuro Wines and Spirits.

In addition to the wines, guests also feted on a mouth-watering spread of culinary delights offered at each of the hotel’s 5 F&B venues i.e Villa Danieli Italian Restaurant, Celestial Court Chinese Restaurant, Essence Restaurant, Toastina Café & Bar and Pavilions Lounge.
Raise a Glass – Sheraton Social Hour Tasting Events All hotels participating in the brand’s signature global wine program will offer guests a specially curated menu of premium wines that will be available as a lobby bar offering. Designed to create and foster social interaction among guests, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur will host evening Social Hour tasting events at Pavilions Lounge on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5pm to 8pm featuring three pours of 50ml of premium wines from the Wines of the World menu at RM40++. Each glass is served in Stolzle stemware to ensure that each varietal is presented in the perfect stemware that artfully enhances the wine’s flavour and aroma.
Eddy Lau – Asiaeuro Wines and Spirits Sdn. Bhd
Eddy Lau is a Sommelier for Asiaeuro Wines & Spirits Sdn Bhd. Eddy’s passion for wines started at 2005, since then he has been involved in wine industry such as in hotels, retailer, restaurants and trainer. Eddy trained by his mentor who is pursuing Wine Master in WSET (MW), and Eddy holds an Advance Certificate with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (UK) and trained by Master Sommeliers in Court of Master Sommeliers (UK).

Eddy started his career as a wine sommelier in 2007 and responsible for over 1,000 wine labels and on-premise inventory of over 5,000 bottles for the F&B outlet. He is also the member of Malaysia Sommelier Association (SOMLAY). Then Eddy was the Wine Manager for Tai Thong Group of restaurants and after that the Chief Sommelier fo GTower Hotel. Eddy brings on board an extensive wine knowledge and charming personality, making the complexities of wine selection with a pleasure rather than a chore to his clients. Eddy also well versed with mixology as well as Barista training. Eddy is very passionate, he loves to enjoy, explore and wanted to share with people about wines.
Guillaume Blanchard – Castello Banfi
An extensive background in the hospitality industry has given Guillaume Blanchard the insight to appreciate fine wines. Guillaume refined his knowledge of old world and new world wines by working with a well respected wine merchant around S.E Asia. His passion for wines has been cultivated for the past seven years and now combines his love of Italian wines and the industry by working with Castello Banfi, Italy’s leading Tuscan wine producer.

MARTIN B. JONESVICE PRESIDENT
FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA PACIFIC, STARWOOD ASIA PACIFIC HOTELS & RESORTS
As the Vice President - Food & Beverage for Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts, Martin B. Jones will be responsible for all facets of Food & Beverage for the Asia Pacific Division.

Prior to this new position, Jones was the Managing Director – Food & Beverage Asia Pacific and was the inspiration behind F&B innovations that define the concept of dining for each distinctive brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts i.e St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft(SM), and Element(SM).

Besides creating concepts of restaurants and bars, he oversees the F&B operations in every detailed aspect to meet with the demand of today’s art of dining: world-class design, culinary innovation, quality assurance and consistency of standards across the region.

Jones was the General Manager of The Westin Kuala Lumpur and also Chairman of Starwood Asia Pacific’s Food & Beverage Council. He has already been instrumental in leading a number of successful new Food & Beverage initiatives for the Division, including a series of new Restaurant and Bar concepts, Best Breakfast initiatives and various new Food & Beverage programmes. He has also been involved in the design and development of many of the restaurants and bars presently under construction, and was also the recipient of the Starwood Business Excellence Award for ‘Most Creative Innovator’.

Jones comes with 20 years of professional work experience from the hospitality industry. He has been with Starwood since 1999, where he started as Director of Operations, Food and Beverage with Westin Stamford & Westin Plaza Hotels in Singapore, before becoming General Manager of the W Seoul in Korea in 2002, and then subsequently the General Manager of The Westin Kuala Lumpur.

With the current development plan and planned opening of so many new hotels over the coming years particularly in Asia Pacific, the role, will help the already successful brands under Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts to become leading Food and Beverage operations.
Vincent Ong 
Director, Brand Management, Asia Pacific Sheraton & Westin 
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Vincent Ong is the Director of Brand Management for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Westin Hotels & Resorts, Asia-Pacific.

In his role, Vincent leads and manages the Brand Marketing function for Sheraton and Westin in Asia-Pacific covering over 120 hotels across 20 countries. Vincent also works with the Global Sheraton and Westin Brand teams to conceptualise, develop and roll-out guest experience initiatives aimed at bringing the Sheraton and Westin brands to life. Additionally, his role encompasses the management and implementation of Brand Standards which includes branding, operational and service standards development and compliance. Vincent is an extended member of the Sheraton and Westin Global Brand team in Asia-Pacific.

Vincent has been with Starwood Hotels & Resorts since 2003 where he started a career in hospitality as the Director of Six Sigma for the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur. Prior to joining Starwood, he was with Accenture, consulting financial services organisations in strategy, business planning and processes. During that time he led major banking mergers and acquisition projects in Malaysia and Singapore. Vincent also previously worked with KPMG Management Consulting.

A native of Malaysia, Vincent holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree with a major in Accounting from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He is a Certified Practising Accountant with CPA, Australia and holds a certification in Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
 
Col di Sasso
Toscana IGT - Estate Bottled
Production Area: Tuscany, Italy.
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese.


Description: Ruby red, with purple hues. Black cherry and spice aromas. Rich taste with soft tannins, delivering persistent black-fruit flavors and subtle hints of oak, with a lingering finish. Col di Sasso, which translates to "Stony Hill," is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese grapes cultivated in hillside vineyards in the southern part of Tuscany. The Cabernet imparts bold flavor and body, while the Sangiovese adds zesty fruit and structure. A relatively brief (5-6) maceration days at 75-77˚F allows for good color extraction while maintaining aromatic freshness and tannic structure.

Col di Sasso is a youthful red to be enjoyed with grilled or roasted meats, poultry, or pasta.
Le Rime
Toscana IGT - Estate Bottled
Production Area: Tuscany, Italy.
Grape Varieties: Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio.

Description: Pale straw in color. Fresh bouquet with lemon and apple aromas. Dry and well balanced, with crisp apple and citrus notes. Le Rime takes its name from the lines that form on the sloping vineyard floor as water washes down the hillside, much as the ebb tide leaves its mark on the sandy beach. This blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio catches that fresh minerality inherent to the terrain of southern Tuscany. The exclusive use of free-run juice at fermentation, followed by cool temperature fermentation (59-61˚F) and early bottling, makes the wine brilliant, vibrant, and appealingly fresh.

Le Rime is a splendid aperitif and a delightful complement to pasta, fish, veal, and poultry dishes.
Villa Maria
Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

VINEYARD DESCRIPTION
Fruit for this wine was sourced from vineyards across the Marlborough region. A blend of fruit grown in the Wairau and Awatere Valleys spanning a range of different meso-climates were incorporated. Careful attention was paid to vine health to give the vine the best chance to optimise the season and develop strong, clean flavours.

WINEMAKING
The superb vintage and beautifully balanced vineyards produced grapes which were harvested at varying levels of ripeness over a five week period, providing for an array of flavours and blending options. The fruit was crushed, pressed and settled for 24 hours before being racked clean off press solids for fermentation. Both neutral and aromatic yeast strains were used. Fermentation was conducted cool at 12-14ºC to ensure maximum retention of delicate flavours and aromatics. Soon after fermentation was completed the wine was bottled to capture its vibrancy and freshness.

WINEMAKER'S COMMENT
This vibrant Sauvignon Blanc is bursting with a fruit-salad-bowl of flavours including ripe gooseberry, passionfruit, fresh citrus lime and exotic herbaceous aromas. The wine has an exciting palate with layers of juicy flavours, intensity and fullness, finishing with a refreshing crisp, clean and racy acidity. Enjoy this exuberant and delightful wine.

SERVING SUGGESTION
Salmon, tomato, green bean and potato salad.

Social Hour by the Numbers
Sheraton Hotels tested the Sheraton Social Hour program in 19 global properties to tremendous success. Internal research conducted by the brand found that 66% of guests would be more inclined to purchase wine while traveling if there was a premium wine program offered. After experiencing a Sheraton Social Hour pilot program, 95% of guests said they are “very likely” or “likely” to return to another Social hour and would recommend the program to others.

Starwood has spent the last few years enhancing one of the hotel industry’s most iconic brands and Sheraton now stands better than ever with the strongest portfolio in its history. The brand is gaining market share, RevPAR continues to rise, guest satisfaction scores are the highest in the brand’s history and likelihood to return, likelihood to recommend and meeting planner and associate engagement scores are also at all-time highs – signaling that guests are taking notice and rediscovering the new Sheraton, and increasing the brand’s appeal to owners and developers.

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts  Helping guests make connections at more than 400 hotels in 75 countries around the world, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is currently implementing a $6 billion worldwide, multi-year revitalization program. This effort includes a $4 billion investment in North America, with over $2 billion in new hotels, $1.5 billion in renovations and $400 million in signature brand initiatives around the Sheraton brand.

Sheraton is owned by and is the largest and most global brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 966 properties in more than 100 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com

For more information, please visit www.sheraton.com/imperialkualalumpur.
For more on Social Hour tasting events around the world, please visit www.Sheraton.com/Socialhour
For more information on Sheraton Hotels, please visit www.sheraton.com or www.facebook.com/SheratonHotelsandResorts
Follow Sheraton on Twitter, @SheratonHotels

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