Six Italian wines, one Hong Kong importer, and a Smalls wine tasting on a Monday night that is likely to attract exactly the sort of crowd that reads a wine label before ordering.
Smalls wine tasting runs 7-10 p.m. Sept. 21 with Michele Volpato, Founder and CEO of Cheese Meets Wine, flying in from Hong Kong to lead the session. Volpato will present six wines from different Italian regions and talk guests through the producers, grapes and places behind them.
CMW Hosts to Smalls Wine Tasting
CMW – Cheese Meets Wine – was founded in Hong Kong in 2015 and specializes in artisan Italian wines, with much of its attention going to smaller producers and bottles that are unlikely to be familiar simply because somebody has seen the label in every supermarket and hotel wine list in town.
Volpato has built CMW around direct relationships with producers and a portfolio stretching across Italy. At the Smalls wine tasting, he will be doing the pouring and explaining himself, giving guests some background on where each wine comes from and why it made the CMW list.
At the Smalls wine tasting, the whites start with Etyssa Trento DOC Extra Brut 2020 Cuvée No. 9, a traditional-method sparkling wine from Trentino. It is followed by Orlando Abrigo Langhe DOC Très Plus 2021, a Chardonnay-led white from Piedmont, and Vigna Traverso Pinot Grigio Friuli Colli Orientali DOC 2024 from Friuli.
The reds at the Smalls wine tasting include KRIS Pinot Noir IGT Terre Siciliane 2021 from Sicily and Vigna Traverso Troj Friuli Colli Orientali DOC 2021, a Friuli blend of Merlot, Refosco and Schioppettino. The final bottle is Caprili Rosso di Montalcino DOC 2024, a Sangiovese from Tuscany.
That gives the Smalls wine tasting a decent sweep through Italy without turning the table into a geography exam.
Why Smalls Makes Sense
Smalls has been part of the Suan Phlu nightlife landscape for years and has built the sort of reputation that is difficult to manufacture. It is French-owned, heavy on art, serious about music and attracts a customer base that tends to know what it likes while remaining willing to try something it has not seen before.
Jazz is the best-known part of the Smalls identity, but wine, food and long evenings around a table have always fitted the place just as comfortably.
The crowd is a mix of Bangkok regulars, expats, musicians, hospitality people, artists, visitors and people who would rather spend a night somewhere with some character than under another row of LED screens.
That makes a tasting built around lesser-known Italian producers a fairly natural match.
Smalls also opens early enough to make a proper evening of it. Doors are open from 6 PM, an hour before the tasting begins, and there is a small in-house food menu for anyone who wants something to eat before the wine starts moving.
There is also Gallery Pizza, which gives anyone planning to stay for the full night the option of getting something more substantial delivered while things are underway.
From Wine Tasting to Late Night
The Smalls wine tasting finishes at 10 PM, but Smalls will already be shifting into its late-night mode before the last glasses are poured.
During the Smalls wine tasting, DJ Fredrik Funk spins the tunes from 9 p.m. Fredrik is a familiar name at Smalls and is known for playing all-vinyl sets, with appearances at the bar stretching well beyond a one-off guest booking.
So the evening starts quietly enough at 6, moves into the tasting at 7, and by 9 there is a DJ working the room while Michele Volpato is still pouring wine.
People coming specifically for the tasting do not have to disappear once it ends. They can eat, stay for the music and let Monday turn into one of those Smalls nights that runs considerably later than originally planned.
For Smalls regulars, the wine event gives them something different at the start of the night. For people coming primarily to meet Volpato and try the CMW selection, it is also a useful introduction to the place itself.
Smalls opens at 6 PM. The Italian Wine Tasting runs from 7–10 PM on Monday, September 21, with DJ Fredrik Funk playing from 9 PM until 2 AM. Reservations are available through the link in Smalls’ bio.
