14/08/2026
Meet Manuel, our sommelier at Restaurant Embla.
Raised between Sicily and Venice, Manuel fell for local wines at 18, while managing a restaurant inside a stone theatre in Modica. From there, he spent three years at a two-Michelin-star kitchen, then time at two of Italy's three-star greats: Le Calandre, once ranked no.10 on the World's 50 Best, and Enoteca Pinchiorri, home to one of the finest and largest wine collections in the world. After a stint as a wine broker, he moved to Berlin during the pandemic, and an offer brought him all the way to Hong Kong. Now he's back on the floor on the other side of the world, and glad to be doing it with our passionate team and wonderful guests here at Embla.
For Manuel, pairing is more than matching wine and food. It's about syncing with the experience and making you happy in the moment.
In his glass lately: plenty of Valpolicella Classico and Etna Rosso, both whites and reds of Valais in Switzerland, and one he always comes back to, Frappato from Vittoria.
