Wine celebrated in style in HONGKONG..

Chinese Translation : 香港葡萄酒节狂欢

4/11/09
hongkong

CHINA : Based on the model of the “Fête du Vin” (wine festival) which is held in Bordeaux every two years, the first Hong Kong wine and gastronomy festival was a success, attracting 70,000 visitors.

On Saturday, the front page of Hong Kong’s major daily newspaper, the “South China Post”, featured an advertisment promoting Pomerol wines put in by a merchant from Libourne. On another page was another ad to intice passionate local wealthies into investing in vineyards in NewZealand…

Indeed, it is in Hong Kong, this strategically located city of 7 million inhabitants which was retroceded to China in 1997, that part of the future of French wines will be determined, bearing in mind the continuing growth of exports towards Asia.

Following the popularity of “eaux-de-vie” (cognac being the leader), the city is opening up more and more to wine. Last weekend, the sight of more than 70,000 eager tasters, each with glass in hand, dashing from stand to stand along the magnificent Kowloon Bay, was certainly very encouraging.

This first festival was organised as part of the “Year of Wine and Gastronomy” launched by the local tourist office, and was dedicated to good quality wines and gourmet dishes they compliment (1). “Hong Kong is putting emphasis on these two assets in order to consolidate its position as the hub of business activity in Asia,” explains Laurent Maupilé from Bordeaux Grands Evénements.

Popular and Chic :

For the past year, Laurent Maupilé has been working as a consultant for the organisers of this Hong Kong festival which is seen as both
popular and chic ; not least because it is the replica of “Bordeaux Fête le Vin”, a wine festival held every two years on the banks of the
Garonne River and which attracted more than 450,000 visitors in June 2008. So, having already exported its grape varietals, techniques, wines and wine fairs (Vinexpo and Vinitech), Bordeaux is now exporting its festive events!

The Hong Kong authorities who visited the Bordeaux area last year, wanted their festival to function along the same lines : free entrance and purchase of tasting vouchers (12 tastings for 15 euros) which enables the visitors, supplied with a glass each to hang round their necks, to discover wines (in small quantities) from the various stands. A variety of food is also available to tasters. All this accompanied by a lively backdrop of music played on the stage built for the occasion, backed by the huge floodlit skyscrapers of the city.

“It’s amazing! People here are really interested in our wines,” exclaimed Bernard Fargues, a Bordeaux wine grower, last Saturday evening. He was trying to serve the tens of glasses held out towards his collective stand. “The visitors are young and that’s good for both our morale and our future,” commented Arnaud Chedhomme from Bègles (suburb of of Bordeaux), who, together with his Basque colleague Pierre Oteiza, was busy cutting up salami at the neighbouring stand.
Both men are highly reputable pork butchers.

Many professionals from the Aquitaine (South West France) were part of the large delegation present at the festival, including the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, Tourist Office and the Bordeaux inter-professional marketing board (CIVB). Moreover, our regional products covered almost 20% of the surface area of this event which attracted producers from over fifteen countries.

“Wine is chic and, being a novice, I need to learn all about it,” commented a young student, sipping a glass of red wine. He had come to enjoy the event with friends. The Hong Kong population came by busload, even though wine is not yet part of their everyday culture.

“This is a cosmopolitain and dynamic city : the people who live here are intellectually curious and enjoy going out to escape from their small appartments. Like luxury leather goods or fashion, wine provides social staus, and France remains the benchmark for ’savoir-vivre’, ” observes Joël Lafon, who is regional manager for the company Rémy Cointreau, which has been established in the area for many years.

PHOTO (Othk) : The enthusiasm shown by the young Hong Kong tasters has breathed optimism into our region’s professionals.

Commercial hub of Asia :

This spotlight on table delights in Hong Kong is part of an overall strategy. The local authorities want to establish the city as the major commercial turntable for wine imports to Asia, with a view to becoming a worldwide trade centre like London.
With this goal in mind, importation taxes were abolished in 2008. The latter had reached up to 80% in the past which of course considerably added to the price per bottle once it had arrived on the consumer’s table. There are hundreds of importers in Hong Kong, some specialised, some less, who generate business on a huge scale ; not just for the buoyant local market, but also as the commercial gateway to China whose gigantic potential market draws longing glances from all the producing countries, both traditional (’Old’ world : France, Spain, Italy,…) and ‘New’ (Australia, Chili,..).

In order to energize the Hong Kong wine market further, new consumers must be found and educated. Last weekend’s festival was organised with this objective in mind. Among the many events programmed at the festival, the Bordeaux Wine School was also there to welcome more than 500 participants for a rapid training class in wine tasting.

Working towards an annual event :

This is another initiative involved, similar to that of the special events organised annually with the best restaurants in Hong Kong, many of which are located in the big hotels (Peninsula, Mira, Mariott,..). Or the International Wine and Spirits Fair, restricted to professionals, which is will be held in Hong Kong for the second year running. This event competes with Vinexpo, whose Asian-Pacific version is also held in Hong Kong every other year (the next edition being from the 25th to the 27th May 2010).

So, it appears to be all go on the wine front in Hong Kong and this, under the watchful eye of many French professionals based in the city. The interest in this budding market is heightened by the fact that in 2009, due to the economic crisis, all the export markets for French wines are ‘in the red’….with the exception of Hong Kong and China which are still expanding. For example, both the latter now figure in the top ten commercial destinations for Bordeaux wine exports. This is how potential future income for wine producers in Libourne, Marmande or Le Gers is partly at stake 10,000 kilometres away from their vineyards….

Due to the success of this first festival, the organisers can hope to turn it into an annual event. The concept could also be cloned in Montreal. In the meantime, rendez-vous in Bordeaux for the 2010 edition of the festival, from the 24th to the 27th June (2).

Author:César Compadre in Hong Kong

Photo:SO.DR