Jack Wu, Owner of Fratelli

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on Friday, May 13, 2011 12:00 AM

Is Fratelli your first restaurant? What possessed you to create one?

Yes, it is. I run an Italian brand of men's garments and got to know many Italian friends. By accident, I met someone who is the CEO of a famous shoe brand--TOD's. We became friends and he told me there is not only fashion culture in Italy, but also wine culture. It was then that I started on the wine business. In my opinion, a good way to promote wine is throwing wine tastings. Many Italian wines are well priced, but are not promoted well. I found a nice place in 889 Plaza by chance. So I opened this restaurant and went to Italy to hire Chef Roberto to be my restaurant manager.

How is the wine tasting going now?

It's organized once every two months. I need to contact with more vineyards. My Italian business partner will come to Shanghai this month and we will arrange more. Wine sales are going up in China, but many people don't know how to taste wine. So I am using wine tasting paired with Western cuisine to let people experience both aspects of the culture at the same time.

Are the wines at Fratelli all from Italy?

They were before, then I started to import Austrian and French wine to give people the opportunity to taste wine from all over the world.

How often do you go to Italy and which city do you like?

I go there twice or three times a year. I have been to Milan, Florence and Tuscany. Sicily is my favorite city. It looks old and original. I imported the olive oil in the restaurant from Sicily.

When you're not swirling and gulping wine, what do you do to enjoy Shanghai?

I like to read books, surfing the internet while having a cup of Italian coffee or Chinese green tea. I also play golf when I have spare time.