Some of the best discoveries happen when you are not really looking for them.
My introduction to **Cantina Pelossi in Ticino** started with a recommendation from a friend, who had learned about the winery through **Leo Leoni**, guitarist and founding member of the Swiss rock band **Gotthard**.
As a guitarist and vocalist with the Hong Kong band **The Cave Men**, I naturally found this connection interesting.
But my curiosity soon moved from music to wine.
I contacted **Sacha Pelossi**, and he warmly welcomed me to his winery in Ticino. During my visit, we spent time tasting the wines and talking about his vineyards, his work, and his approach to winemaking.
Sacha is an enthusiastic and talented **winemaker and viticulturist**, and his passion for Ticino is immediately apparent.
The photograph accompanying this story was taken during my visit, in Sacha's wine cellar, where I tasted the wines that I would eventually select for our customers in Hong Kong.
**Lamone Merlot Riserva**
**Sassarei Merlot Bianco**
**Bianco della Piana**
I selected them because each tells a different story.
---
Of the wines I tasted at Pelossi, **Lamone Merlot Riserva** immediately stood out to me as one of the better Swiss red wines I have tasted.
It is elegant, complex, and well-structured, with a long finish and the potential to develop beautifully with age. The current wine I have selected is the **2023 Lamone Merlot Riserva from Ticino DOC.
But what I remember most vividly from that first tasting is actually something much simpler.
**The blackberry aroma.**
Having grown up in the Swiss Alps, that particular aroma immediately recalled my upbringing. It brought back memories of the wild blackberries I knew from the Alpine landscape.
It was only an aroma — but it was enough to bring back a very personal memory.
And perhaps that is one of the wonderful things about wine.
You don't necessarily need to analyze everything in the glass.
Sometimes one familiar smell is enough to take you somewhere else.
For me, Lamone was the wine that made me think:
I have been searching for some time for Swiss wines with the quality, character, and personality that I believe can really appeal to our customers in Hong Kong.
Lamone convinced me.
---
Then came a completely different discovery.
Sassarei Merlot Bianco.
When we hear the word *Merlot*, most of us immediately expect a red wine.
So what happens when Merlot becomes white?
That was one of the things that made me want to bring Sassarei to Hong Kong.
The wine is made from Merlot grapes using a gentle process designed to minimize color extraction, resulting in a delicate white wine.
But I don't want to turn this into a technical tasting note.
What matters to me is that **Sassarei is simply enjoyable**.
It is fresh, approachable, and easy drinking. I can imagine it as an aperitif, with seafood, or even as an interesting ingredient for a cocktail.
And there is another reason I chose it.
The Hong Kong wine market is already full of wines from around the world. There are thousands of bottles competing for people's attention.
So I am always interested in finding something that makes people stop and ask:
**“What is that?”**
A **white Merlot** does exactly that.
It creates curiosity.
And I think once wine lovers try it, many will enjoy discovering this completely different side of a grape they thought they already knew.
---
This is a very different wine again.
While Sassarei is an easy-going wine for relaxed occasions, Bianco della Piana is, for me, a **serious white wine**.
It is not something I would choose simply for casual drinking.
I would open this bottle when the food deserves a wine that can stand beside it.
Think of **fine fish with a delicate butter sauce, lobster or other sophisticated seafood dishes**.
That is where I see Bianco della Piana.
The wine is made from **Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon**, and is fermented and matured in French barriques. The current wine in our selection is the **2024 vintage**.
But again, what matters most to me is not the technical description.
It is the experience.
This is the bottle I would choose when someone tells me:
**“Tonight we're having a really good dinner.”**
---
Three wines, three very different experiences
What I like about these three wines is that they don't try to do the same thing.
**Lamone** is the wine that convinced me personally — an elegant and serious Swiss red that immediately stood out.
**Sassarei** is the surprise — **Merlot, but white**, fresh and easy to enjoy.
**Bianco della Piana** is the dinner wine — something I would bring to the table when the food is special.
Three wines.
Three personalities.
And three different reasons to discover Cantina Pelossi.
---
Why I personally select the wines
When I build the Selection-Hermann-Hofmann portfolio, I don't want to select wines simply from a catalog.
I want to **meet the people behind them**.
I want to see where the wine comes from, hear the story, taste it myself, and decide whether it is something I genuinely want to offer to our customers.
That is what happened with Sacha Pelossi.
A recommendation came through a friend.
That recommendation had a connection to music.
I contacted Sacha.
He welcomed me to his winery.
We tasted together.
And I found three wines that I wanted to bring back to Hong Kong.
For me, this is much more interesting than simply adding another bottle to a wine list.
**There is a person behind the wine.**
There is a place.
There is a story.
And hopefully, when you open the bottle, some of that story travels with it.
---
I am therefore very pleased to introduce **Cantina Pelossi** as a new addition to our selection.
The wines I personally selected are expected to become available through our online store from 23 October onward:
The wine that immediately convinced me — elegant, complex, structured, and with the potential to age beautifully.
The unexpected one: **a white Merlot** that is fresh, approachable, and easy to enjoy.
A serious white wine that I would choose for a special dinner, particularly with fine fish or lobster.
I hope you enjoy discovering these wines as much as I enjoyed discovering them myself.
And if someone asks you:
You can now tell them:
Hermann Hofmann
Selection-Hermann-Hofmann
Personally selected in Switzerland for Hong Kong
selection-hermann-hofmann.com | Advantage Asia Pacific Limited | Hong Kong SAR
Some of the best discoveries happen when you are not really looking for them.
My introduction to **Cantina Pelossi in Ticino** started with a recommendation from a friend, who had learned about the winery through **Leo Leoni**, guitarist and founding member of the Swiss rock band **Gotthard**.
As a guitarist and vocalist with the Hong Kong band **The Cave Men**, I naturally found this connection interesting.
But my curiosity soon moved from music to wine.
I contacted **Sacha Pelossi**, and he warmly welcomed me to his winery in Ticino. During my visit, we spent time tasting the wines and talking about his vineyards, his work, and his approach to winemaking.
Sacha is an enthusiastic and talented **winemaker and viticulturist**, and his passion for Ticino is immediately apparent.
The photograph accompanying this story was taken during my visit, in Sacha's wine cellar, where I tasted the wines that I would eventually select for our customers in Hong Kong.
**Lamone Merlot Riserva**
**Sassarei Merlot Bianco**
**Bianco della Piana**
I selected them because each tells a different story.
---
Of the wines I tasted at Pelossi, **Lamone Merlot Riserva** immediately stood out to me as one of the better Swiss red wines I have tasted.
It is elegant, complex, and well-structured, with a long finish and the potential to develop beautifully with age. The current wine I have selected is the **2023 Lamone Merlot Riserva from Ticino DOC.
But what I remember most vividly from that first tasting is actually something much simpler.
**The blackberry aroma.**
Having grown up in the Swiss Alps, that particular aroma immediately recalled my upbringing. It brought back memories of the wild blackberries I knew from the Alpine landscape.
It was only an aroma — but it was enough to bring back a very personal memory.
And perhaps that is one of the wonderful things about wine.
You don't necessarily need to analyze everything in the glass.
Sometimes one familiar smell is enough to take you somewhere else.
For me, Lamone was the wine that made me think:
I have been searching for some time for Swiss wines with the quality, character, and personality that I believe can really appeal to our customers in Hong Kong.
Lamone convinced me.
---
Then came a completely different discovery.
Sassarei Merlot Bianco.
When we hear the word *Merlot*, most of us immediately expect a red wine.
So what happens when Merlot becomes white?
That was one of the things that made me want to bring Sassarei to Hong Kong.
The wine is made from Merlot grapes using a gentle process designed to minimize color extraction, resulting in a delicate white wine.
But I don't want to turn this into a technical tasting note.
What matters to me is that **Sassarei is simply enjoyable**.
It is fresh, approachable, and easy drinking. I can imagine it as an aperitif, with seafood, or even as an interesting ingredient for a cocktail.
And there is another reason I chose it.
The Hong Kong wine market is already full of wines from around the world. There are thousands of bottles competing for people's attention.
So I am always interested in finding something that makes people stop and ask:
**“What is that?”**
A **white Merlot** does exactly that.
It creates curiosity.
And I think once wine lovers try it, many will enjoy discovering this completely different side of a grape they thought they already knew.
---
This is a very different wine again.
While Sassarei is an easy-going wine for relaxed occasions, Bianco della Piana is, for me, a **serious white wine**.
It is not something I would choose simply for casual drinking.
I would open this bottle when the food deserves a wine that can stand beside it.
Think of **fine fish with a delicate butter sauce, lobster or other sophisticated seafood dishes**.
That is where I see Bianco della Piana.
The wine is made from **Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon**, and is fermented and matured in French barriques. The current wine in our selection is the **2024 vintage**.
But again, what matters most to me is not the technical description.
It is the experience.
This is the bottle I would choose when someone tells me:
**“Tonight we're having a really good dinner.”**
---
Three wines, three very different experiences
What I like about these three wines is that they don't try to do the same thing.
**Lamone** is the wine that convinced me personally — an elegant and serious Swiss red that immediately stood out.
**Sassarei** is the surprise — **Merlot, but white**, fresh and easy to enjoy.
**Bianco della Piana** is the dinner wine — something I would bring to the table when the food is special.
Three wines.
Three personalities.
And three different reasons to discover Cantina Pelossi.
---
Why I personally select the wines
When I build the Selection-Hermann-Hofmann portfolio, I don't want to select wines simply from a catalog.
I want to **meet the people behind them**.
I want to see where the wine comes from, hear the story, taste it myself, and decide whether it is something I genuinely want to offer to our customers.
That is what happened with Sacha Pelossi.
A recommendation came through a friend.
That recommendation had a connection to music.
I contacted Sacha.
He welcomed me to his winery.
We tasted together.
And I found three wines that I wanted to bring back to Hong Kong.
For me, this is much more interesting than simply adding another bottle to a wine list.
**There is a person behind the wine.**
There is a place.
There is a story.
And hopefully, when you open the bottle, some of that story travels with it.
---
I am therefore very pleased to introduce **Cantina Pelossi** as a new addition to our selection.
The wines I personally selected are expected to become available through our online store from 23 October onward:
The wine that immediately convinced me — elegant, complex, structured, and with the potential to age beautifully.
The unexpected one: **a white Merlot** that is fresh, approachable, and easy to enjoy.
A serious white wine that I would choose for a special dinner, particularly with fine fish or lobster.
I hope you enjoy discovering these wines as much as I enjoyed discovering them myself.
And if someone asks you:
You know now:
Hermann Hofmann
Selection-Hermann-Hofmann
Personally selected in Switzerland for Hong Kong
Hermann Hofmann
Author