You Say You Want A Revolution
WINE&DINE|May/June 2018

As with most good things, it all started with an idea between friends—wine-loving, wine-drinking friends, in this case. Before you know it, you have RVLT on your hands.

Joyceline Tully
You Say You Want A Revolution

Sommeliers Alvin Gho and Ian Lim opened Singapore’s first all-natural-wines wine bar in September2016. Called Wine RVLT (short for ‘revolution), the cosy, no-frills bottle bar along Killiney Road had no menu, stocked quirky esoteric labels and offered natural wines by the glass that change daily. Word soon got around that this was the hot new wine bar in town. Oh and that the vibe is casual, and the wines, exciting and gorgeously natural.

Fast-forward a year and Wine RVLT has become RVLT and moved to new premises on Carpenter Street. It has also gained a new ally in the form of chef Maestro Manel Valero, formerly of Moosehead Kitchen & Bar, and Kilo, and is serving up fresh, light dishes with a Spanish touch. Other than that, nothing has changed, its two owners insisted. Well, except that Alvin Gho has just won the Sommelier of the Year award at the year’s World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence, and natural wines are gaining currency amongst the island’s wine loving community.

Wine & Dine checks in with the two partners in wine, Gho and Lim.

What are you drinking today?

This story is from the May/June 2018 edition of WINE&DINE.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the May/June 2018 edition of WINE&DINE.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM WINE&DINEView All
New Blood
WINE&DINE

New Blood

The next-generation is breathing new life into the forgotten art of spice-mixing, peppering the traditional trade with renewed ideas and fresh perspectives.

time-read
7 mins  |
April - June 2021
Sharing Is Caring
WINE&DINE

Sharing Is Caring

Compared to its flagship at Serene Centre, Fat Belly Social at Boon Tat Street is a classier and bolder affair, in more than one sense.

time-read
1 min  |
April - June 2021
Nutmeg's Role In Singapore's History
WINE&DINE

Nutmeg's Role In Singapore's History

From tales of it being used to ward off the plague in mid-1300s Europe to one of the ingredients in dessert, we have all known, tasted, or at least heard of nutmeg. But not many know of the spice’s role in Singapore’s history.

time-read
6 mins  |
April - June 2021
New And Improved
WINE&DINE

New And Improved

The ever-profound chef-owner Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida finds more room, three to be exact, to express a Ha Ri philosophy at Hashida Singapore’s new location at Amoy Street.

time-read
1 min  |
April - June 2021
Pairing Spice-Driven Cuisines With Wine
WINE&DINE

Pairing Spice-Driven Cuisines With Wine

Pairing spice-driven cuisines with wine has long been a challenge but with a little imagination, it doesn’t have to be.

time-read
7 mins  |
April - June 2021
Let Land Grow Wild
WINE&DINE

Let Land Grow Wild

Niew Tai-Ran has worn many hats: aeronautical engineering major, investment banker, avid surfer, and, for the last 14 years, winemaker. Discover how this Malaysia-born, Singapore-native is championing the “do-nothing farming” philosophy at his vineyard in Oregon.

time-read
7 mins  |
April - June 2021
The South Asian Misnomer
WINE&DINE

The South Asian Misnomer

Incredibly diverse and varied than most know, Indian food is far more intriguing than butter chicken or thosai. Here is a crash course on the extensive cuisine from region to region, recognisable for the seemingly infinite ways of using spices.

time-read
8 mins  |
April - June 2021
Keepers Of The Spice Trade
WINE&DINE

Keepers Of The Spice Trade

From its glory days along trade routes to pantry staples all over the world, spices have become so commonplace that we’ve taken them for granted. For these three trailblazers, however, spice is their livelihood and motivation: Langit Collective working with indigenous rural farming communities in Malaysia; IDH’s Sustainable Spice Initiative; and chef Nak’s one-woman mission to share forgotten Khmer cuisine.

time-read
7 mins  |
April - June 2021
Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice
WINE&DINE

Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice

Like food, spices bring vibrancy and variety to alcoholic beverages. Surfacing in unexpected ways on the palate, find everything from cumin to tamarind, cloves to cardamom enriching these drinks.

time-read
4 mins  |
April - June 2021
WINE&DINE

Building Blocks From The Archipelago

For the smorgasbord of dishes found in Indonesian cuisine, it is a little known secret that the modest bumbu, in all its variants, is the bedrock of such flavourful fare.

time-read
7 mins  |
April - June 2021