Mr Timothy Goh had his first taste of wine at 20. Now, seven years on, he is one of Singapore's youngest chief sommeliers.

If that isn't achievement enough, he was recently awarded Sommelier of the Year at the World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence, the local food scene's equivalent of the Oscars.

When asked about the secret to his meteoric rise, however, the soft-spoken man, who manages the wine portfolio for all the Les Amis restaurants and ensures that a high level of wine service is practised in all its outlets, answers: 'I worked hard and stayed focused on the job. I was motivated by my passion for wines.'

Indeed, at an age when most youths were partying at clubs and splurging on liquors and cocktails, he preferred to cut down on those activities and save up for bottles of wine or books on it.

He has a collection of some 80 bottles of wine that range from $60 to $500, the most expensive being a Chateau d'Yquem (1986).

His first contact with wine happened over a Sunday dinner at his family's five-room flat in Simei.

His mother's friends had brought a few bottles of wine over and they were discussing the taste animatedly.

Mr Goh recalls: 'I was curious about what the big deal was, so I had a sip. I was immediately drawn to the complex aromas of the wines and that made me want to find out more about them.'

For a long time, however, his interest in wines was more a serious hobby than a career prospect. In fact, he had his sights set on a job in hospitality, spurred by his holiday job as a teenager waiting tables at the now defunct restaurant The Verandah, in Le Meridien.

So persistent was he about joining the service industry, he left his engineering course at Ngee Ann Polytechnic after the second year to enrol at the Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre (Shatec) for a diploma in hotel management.

In 2002, he participated in the Shatec Australian Wine Education Award, a wine competition involving blind tasting and food and wine pairing.

He says: 'I took part in the contest for fun. It was more an extension of my passion for wines than a desire to carve a career in the field.'

Nonetheless, he was one of the four winners who were given an all-expenses paid two-week trip to wine-growing regions in Australia.

Following this win, he was offered the job of a sommelier at Raffles Hotel when he graduated from Shatec in 2003.

He says: 'It'd never crossed my mind to turn my hobby into my career until the opportunity came knocking.'

Then in 2004, he beat more than 30 other local aspiring sommeliers to snag the coveted Bodegas Torres Wine Scholarship, which is awarded during the World Gourmet Summit.

The win came with a three-week apprenticeship at the sponsoring winery in Spain. The same year, he left Raffles Hotel to do his national service and, when that ended, he was offered a job as a sommelier with Les Amis in 2006. Less than two years later, he was promoted to chief sommelier.

He brushes aside the suggestion that his pursuit of the craft was smooth-sailing.

'I started from the bottom, polishing a few hundred glasses a day. It was not fun, but it helped build character and made me pay attention to details.'

The long hours also made him have second thoughts about it initially.

'I was concerned that I wasn't paying enough attention to my family and fiancee but they were very supportive.'

On whether he feels intimidated when serving older customers who are usually corporate bigwigs, he says: 'Wine is meant to be discussed among people of all ages. I don't feel any pressure talking to those older than me, or who are more knowledgeable about wines than I am.'

Indeed, it is his passion and dedication for wines that impress his customers.

Ms Nicola Lee, 36, managing director of a property development firm who has known Mr Goh since his Raffles Hotel days, says: 'I know I can always tap on Timothy's passion and knowledge for wines.'