SINGAPORE — Having spent the past 20 years of her professional life in public relations, wine education and wine writing, with the past 17 at Treasury Wine Estates, it’s no surprise that Nicole Carter, the company’s international brand ambassador, has a favourite varietal.

A good chardonnay, she enthused, is her go-to wine. “I truly am a chardonnay lover. I like to keep a few choices in the fridge, so when I get home, I can decide if I want big full oak style or something with a good core of mineral,” she said, adding that wine is by and large her “drink of celebration and consolation”. “There’s nothing more comforting to me than a big concentration of California cabernet from Napa; big, bold and jam-packed with structure.”

Wine does, quite naturally, invite its fair share of drama and nostalgia; with much of it involving some sort of affection for good food. Carter’s most memorable, though, are the ones that took her by surprise. “I can remember having homemade potato chips at The Capital Grille in New York City with a gorgeous glass of champagne — so simple, but I thought I died and went to heaven.

“For me, food and wine pairings are always ridiculously good when you are in a country eating the local cuisine and drinking the local wine. I can remember having a traditional Greek salad with retsina on Santorini and thinking this could be the best possible pairing ever!”

We think the romance of being on an island paradise in the southern Aegean Sea helped a tad.

Q: Spirit you crave that is not made from grapes?

A: Gin … juniper is one of my favourite flavours and the stronger the better!

Q: And how do you like it when at your favourite speakeasy?

A: Gin and tonic with three limes.

Q: Wine cocktails: Better with good wine or waste of a good wine?

A: Depends on the mixer but just like cooking, (it’s) always better to go with good wine.

Q: Worst thing you’ve seen done to a good drink?

A: I’ve seen a bartender add grenadine to chardonnay and serve it to a customer who ordered Rose!

Q: Most underrated bar for its music?

A: Blue Nile in New Orleans. Whether it’s blues, funk, rock or (an) awesome weekly improvisational jazz show, you are never going to see a bad live performance here.

Q: A bar you’d return to just for the food?

A: Ku De Ta is a must for me when I am in Singapore! My favourite dish has to be the apple and honey dessert.

Q: A moment involving alcohol you remember fondly?

A: Last year, I was in Singapore (coincidentally) for Formula One. We went to the roof of the Fullerton Hotel, had a glass of champagne and the fireworks started just as our wine arrived. Even more inspiring was the wonderful kismet of timing: It was my birthday.