An Englishman in Hong Kong
Author: Berry Bros. & Rudd
Leading up to the big move last Friday the one thing I promised myself was to immerse myself in the culture and experience what Hong Kong is all about! I’d been a few times before and friends and customers in the UK had given me graphic details of the crazy lifestyle that I was about to get myself into. Given my tendency to get myself into a pickle my mum was a little apprehensive (even though I managed to look after myself in Melbourne for three years!), and had packed me a medical bag larger than my main suitcase! Yep, there is now doubt that Hong Kong is a daunting place to the unsuspecting…fast paced and passionate… it gobbles you up, throws you around and then spits you out (a good thing!)
As I sat in Starbucks Coffee on Sunday morning, having eaten nothing but Western food for 24hrs, I wondered exactly what I had got myself into…. I was starting to get anxious… my nerves were jangling, my sanity teetering on the edge! Wondering why I had moved half way across the globe. Well I had no need to despair, my spirits were lifted that afternoon as my brand new colleague in Hong Kong, Mark Arrowsmith had invited me to a BBQ at his house.
Before I knew it I was off on the MTR railway into the New Territories to Tai Wai (next to Sha Tin, the famous race track …for those horse racing buffs!) That’s right, no swanky pad in mid-levels, Mark has been resident of Hong Kong since I was in nappies, and has had enough of the cosmopolitan life on the island. He prefers to relax in the country with is lovely wife Helen and far too intelligent daughter Keeler! I think I saw more of the real HK in that 45 min journey than I did in the previous two days! I cannot begin to tell you how great my afternoon was, relaxing with familiar faces on the balcony, in the stunning New Territory Countryside and asking more stupid questions about life in Hong Kong than you can shake a stick at, whilst all the time having a glass of UKC, to remind myself of what I am here to do! A key moment in my life that will not be forgotten, like trying your first First Growth or having your first Burgundy “moment”!
Ok, right you ask, what on earth has this got to do with wine? Well let us get back to my point on
immersing yourself in a culture and passion. You would have to have been locked in a cupboard for the last three years to not know that Asia (Hong Kong and Chinese residents in particular) is gaining a passion for fine wine and the First Growths of Bordeaux in particular. There is hunger and thirst for knowledge about fine wine here and I feel it is merchants such as BB&R’s duty to help, educate and develop this interest. I don’t mean to sound patronising or get on a high horse. What I mean is, that at present wine lovers here (on the whole) tend to appreciate the top wines from Bordeaux much more than any others; well what about the subtle nuances of Burgundy or the brash flamboyance of 2007 Southern Rhônes, the ethereal beauty of Nebbiolo in Piedmont? We are at the tip of the iceberg in Asia, the wine-loving culture is at its infant stage, with so much hunger and potential for consumers to develop the market and enjoy the wondrous variety there is in wine.
A healthy, interested wine market in Asia is good for every wine lover. Encouraging the consumer here to experiment and sample wines from all over the world is key to a healthy wine market. The top wines from Bordeaux are legendary, however we cannot continue to harvest non-stop from the same field! How can you appreciate the majestical structure of Latour if you cannot enjoy a bottle of Good Ordinary Claret or a top value Cab. from Stellenbosch? As someone once said to me, I only appreciate my Ferrari at the weekend because I drive a Ford Mondeo during the week!
So as Mark and Helen advised me on Sunday… relax enjoy the ride and get taken in by this incredible city that is Hong Kong. I feel I will be saying the same our customers here. Trust us, experiment and come along for the ride. In the long run it makes you appreciate the Ferrari in the Eurocave and hey you might just find a few Ford Mondeos you like… and they are a lot cheaper!
Good luck Adam – keep us posted…
You’re spot-on about the preoccupation here with Bordeaux. I was chatting to the manager of a relatively new wine shop the other day, who told me that if two wines were equally priced, customers always opted for Bordeaux “because it’s more famous”.
Great post. I recently relocated to HK too. I feel the same way as you do. I am sure we will all benefit from a little training. People here drink only wines from Bordeaux , they don’t seems to have the idea of matching wines with food. I think drinking expensive wines from Bordeaux give them “face” instead of truely appreciating the wines. Anyway, hope to meet you in person in HK. Keep me posted if there are any wine tasting or training from BBR HK! My email is peterlam268@mac.com
(I am a member of the BBR cellar plan in London)
Thanks for your comments, I’ll look forward to updating the blog regularly and finding out what Hong Kong is all about.
Peter-I shall e-mail you through some info on our tasting events.
Writing from London, I’ve four big questions about the Hong Kong market.
a. how big is Hong Kong relative to mainland China in terms of wine consumption? We hear that the Chinese market is growing all the time, but then someone has also written there are only about 300 buyers of fine wine in the whole of mainland China. And I’m guessing there are more than 300 in Hong Kong alone. Which is true? Or are both true?
b. how much are Hong Kong/ Chinese buyers into “primeur”. We hear that they don’t like it very much and yet that seems to have changed in the last 18 months for Lafite at least. What’s the story from your perspective?
c. how big is ‘brand’ over vintage? If people are concerned with having Lafite on the label, then is it the case that they don’t care so much whether it’s the 2004 or the 2005. In which case, as the market grows, we’ll see a narrowing of price differential between the top vintages and the rest. Or are they “into” particular vintages, just with the rest of the world? And are these years the same as for Europe/ America? e.g. Does the ‘luckiness’ of 2008 trump the quality of 2005? And is 2009 lucky?
d. what is moving next after Lafite? The consensus seems to be that it really matters if you’re a 1st growth: but is, say, Margaux actually more significant to them than Cos d’estournel? And there’s a debate between whether Mouton or Latour will ‘move’ next. What do you think is currently ‘hotter’?
Hello Robert,
I must apologise for not responding sooner, but it’s been Chinese New Year here! These are all interesting questions and I spoke with Nick Pegna (our Managing Director here in Hong Kong) about them – here is what he had to say in response:
1) It is very difficult to say, particularly because so many fine wines destined for China go through Hong Kong, many of them stopping here and many of them passing on to mainland China. Our indication, which comes most clearly from our own business, is that 35% to 40% of our total business in Hong Kong comes from Mainland China. The potential of the mainland Chinese market is huge but at present Hong Kong has the largest amount of buyers of fine wines in the world – many of those are Mainland Chinese buyers who chose to buy through Hong Kong for convenience and security. The short answer is that nobody knows the full scale of the fine wine market in China, but everyone can recognise its potential.
2) Buyers in Hong Kong and China are well versed in the ways of En Primeur and are especially enthusiastic about buying Bordeaux and Burgundy wines through this system.
Many merchants and commentators feel that En Primeur is too ‘theoretical’ or not real enough for people to be involved in from as far afield as Hong Kong and China. However we’ve found that those who buy a lot of wine from us to drink are also happy to buy wines to lay down, including through the En Primeur system.
Judging by our experience over the last 11 years, Hong Kong and China have proven to be great En Primeur markets, but obviously there are still many people here who are not yet fully aware of the process.
3) A brand is very important in Hong Kong and China, but as we have seen with the dominant Ch. Lafite, vintage is also becoming part of the image that people perceive. For example, one could say that 1982 is a brand in itself, just as 2005 arguably is. There is generally a good understanding in the Hong Kong market for which vintages people should follow and also which vintages are not as sought-after, and therefore represent good value. Collectors in Asia are very hungry for information and we are asked to call upon our experience as wine merchants regularly to help people to make decisions on which wines to buy. Eight is lucky number in Cantonese and nine is meaning long life in Cantonese, so these factors may have an effect.
4) There are a number of producers following on in popularity from Ch. Lafite. Recently there has been a particular focus on Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, as well as on Ch. Margaux. Prices of Ch. Haut-Brion are also becoming increasingly attractive. My bet would be that Mouton or Latour will be seen as the next top producers and will have a consistent following for many, many years – I can’t see why it couldn’t be both. I take the view that people who have been drinking Lafite will diversify to more than just one or two other producers. Hopefully they will branch out and discover the other top wines in Bordeaux and take full advantage of the exciting wine is available in the fine wine market.
I hope this answers some of your questions,
Adam