Personal preference

At a recent Cave de Tain l’Hermitage vertical tasting, there were two wines, Hermitage Classic 1996 and 1993 (100% Syrah), that caused a bit of debate and demonstrated how subjective wine tasting can be.

We first tasted the 1996, which I found had an appealing nose of savoury characters of dried seafood and tea leaves. However, to me, it was let down by the palate as it was a bit flat and the length on the short side. The 1993, on the other hand, had a similar bouquet but the palate was more lifted and consistent with the nose. My neighbour shared the same view.

When at the end Jean-Benoît Kelagopian, the Commercial Export Director of Cave de Tain who led the tasting, asked our opinion, all of us except two preferred 1993. The surprising thing was that those who preferred the 1996, including Jean-Benoît, reckoned it was still too young to drink, totally opposite to what I thought.

I later discussed this with Jean-Benoît. He agreed with me that the aftertaste of the 1996 was shorter but said the tannin was still fairly dominant and would need a few years before the wine could shine. In contrast, the 1993 is drinking well now, hence most of us preferred it.

This confirmed, yet again, that wine tasting is highly subjective and there are often spilt opinions in the room. One man's meat is another man's poison, but then this is exactly why wine is so interesting. No one, including wine experts, is in a position to adjudicate on who’s right or wrong. We all have our own palate and preferences.

I would like to urge all wine lovers who don’t dare to disagree with others, or who only drink what the majority drink, to be more relaxed and follow their heart. After all, the world will be too boring if we always have the same view as everybody else’s.

Cave de Tain is available from Amber Wines. Try the 1993 and 1996 yourself and see which one you prefer.

Anything but Bordeaux?

Recent research I did on the position of Italian wine in Hong Kong revealed some interesting facts about the whole structure of our market at the moment.

Most of us know that France has the biggest market share in Hong Kong both by volume and by value. But did you know that Australia is second and the the US third (both by volume and value)?

In terms of volume, Chile is fourth, followed by Spain and Italy. Given that nearly all wine lists in Hong Kong restaurants feature some Italian wine, I was surprised that Italy was only in 6th place.

Going deeper into the figures, the share of French wine by value is more than double its share by volume (value 70%, 32%). The value also includes England and Switzerland as most wine shipped from these countries to HK is French (they were ranked 2nd and 9th top importers by value but not in terms of volume). Actually, I suspect a good portion of wine from the US to Hong Kong is of French origin as well, implying that real US-origin wine would be in lower than third place.

This is logical when you think of all the super-premium Bordeaux and Burgundy here. But how about Italy? With our love of Barolos, Brunellos and Super Tuscans, perhaps its share by value would also be higher than by volume? Well, at first sight, the reverse seems to be true: its share by value is only 3% while its volume share is 6%. Two possible arguments to explain this are that
super premium Italian wine is not as in demand as the super premium French wine and that the production quantity of top Italian wines is simply lower than the French ones.

But what happens if you exclude the French figures from the picture? Then we see that Germany and the US have higher value share than volume share, with ratios of 1.73 and 1.36 respectively, suggesting these countries have more wine in the premium sector. Italy, Australia and New Zealand are pretty much middle of the road, with value to volume ratios ranging from 1.17 to 0.87. At the other end of the scale are Chile and Spain with more entry level wine than average.

I then looked at Watson’s online store to analyse its stock distribution. Watson’s is the biggest wine retailer in Hong Kong so is pretty much representative of the market as a whole. The findings were even more interesting. Of the 1,850 SKUs (stock keeping units, here indicating the number of different wines), 880 (48%) were French, followed by Australia with 202 SKUs (11%). Then came Italy and the US at about 120 SKUs (6%) each.

So Watson’s figures do seem to be broadly in line with the wider market figures mentioned earlier. But my research did not stop there. Further analysis of Watson's French wine SKUs revealed that a whopping 65% was Bordeaux, while 23% was Burgundy, leaving the remainder (a mere 12%) to cover the whole of the rest of France.

What do these figures tell us? Well, our market is dominated not really by French wine, but by Bordeaux. To me, that is a shame as there are so many wines in the world (and even in other parts of France) waiting to be explored. Hong Kong abolished wine import duties in 2008 and we have all seen the exponential growth in the number of importers since then. What a pity that most of them are still apparently geared towards Bordeaux.

Be adventurous, try aged Cabernet and blends from Stellenbosch, the various shades of rosé from the Douro, or the many little-known wines from Martinborough

Hong Kong has a bit of a ‘herd’ mentality and it becomes a reinforcing feedback loop that we drink more Bordeaux, importers bring in more Bordeaux and new consumers copy the regulars and drink (surprise, surprise) Bordeaux. I think we should start a movement of drinking a wine from a different region every time, trying not to repeat it until after 10 or 12 wines. That way you soon find out that a life not restricted to Bordeaux is a lot more colourful. For myself, I drink so many different wines that I have actually forgotten when I last had a Bordeaux. Not only would this help us all broaden our horizons, it would also push importers to break out of the comfort zone and look out for other wines. I remember having a hard time finding a Cabernet Franc from Loire a few months ago—a sad state of affairs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against Bordeaux, but we should also not allow ourselves to miss all those other wonderful wines as well.

Fortunately, there are some importers/wine clubs specialising in other wines. Feel free to check them out.

Adega Royale: Portuguese
At Style: Australia and New Zealand
BNS (Asia): Italian
Castello del Vino: Italian
Cottage Vineyards: Little known regions
Cytise Distribution: French except Bordeaux
Eccevino: German and Italian
Finessa: Swiss and Spanish
Georgian Valleys: Georgian
Ghvino: Eastern European
Gin Gallery: Italian
Golden Gate: US
Heritage Wines: Mainly Italian
Kobo Wine: New Zealand
Margaret River Wines: Australia, New Zealand and German
Redmill: Lebanon
S&D German Wines: German
Schmidt Vinothek: German, Austrian and Swiss
South Africa World of Wine: well, South African
The Swiss Wine Store: Swiss
Thomas Palmer Fine German Wines: German
Veritas Wine: Hungarian
Vincisive: South African
VinoVeritas: Italian
Wine Connection: Australian and New Zealand
Wine ‘n’ things: Mainly New World
Wines North: Canadian
Wiseville: Hungarian

Happy exploring!

Source: Global Trade Atlas

Towards a Hong Kong wine culture

I believe Hong Kong has great potential. However, although we drink the most wine in Asia (an annual 5 litres per capita), which is double that of the Japanese and five times as much as the Mainland Chinese, we are still trailing far behind other countries—only half of what the Americans drink (and 50% of Americans do not drink alcohol at all for religious and other reasons). Wine consumption in Hong Kong has been increasing ever since our Government abolished wine duties in 2008 but the growth rate is not fast. I, and most of us in the wine industry, drink over 100 litres per year, meaning that each of us is drinking for 20 people! I see two issues in Hong Kong: there are not enough real consumers, and those (I mean real consumers) who drink do not drink enough. The challenge to wine producers, therefore, is how to persuade the average Hong Kong consumers to drink more.

From a marketing perspective, Hong Kong is different from other countries. Whereas in most markets the entry level segment is the biggest, that is not the case in Hong Kong. We have a disproportionately big luxury/investment wine category at 28% by volume. And the biggest market by far is the mid-market, from HK$120 to HK$600 per bottle retail, with 60% (Debra Meiburg MW 2012 Hong Kong Wine Trade Guide). So for consumers who are interested in wine, price seems not to be a major concern. This might be explained by the ‘work hard, play hard’ altitude of most Hong Kong residents. We reward ourselves. Just look at the number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the city, and they are always full.

It seems that, unlike in other cash-strapped cities, Hong Kong people are willing to spend.  So why don’t more people drink? What it boils down to is that people just don’t understand wine. And, we in the industry don’t make it any easier for them. We talk technical stuff like tannin and acidity and we make them feel stupid if they can’t pronounce ‘terroir’ properly. In other words, we put consumers off wine by being too professional.

To make wine truly popular, we need to make it enjoyable. Coke is a highly precise drink with the exact same amount of syrup and pressure in every can, but the company doesn’t bother consumers with this. Consumers enjoy Coke because it is refreshing and they explore the different flavours and brands of soft drink to find their favourite. Starbucks didn’t lecture us about the correct temperature at which to drink coffee when they first came to Hong Kong, and now see how many coffee bars there are here! Wine may be slightly more complicated because of the many grape varieties and producing countries but it’s not impossible to make it simple and accessible. How about light and refreshing, soft and fruity, chewy and spicy, bold and savoury? These are descriptors that any consumer can grasp and imagine.

We don’t have a wine culture but we can develop one. We love food and we understand flavour pairings—look at all the different kinds of chilli sauce we have. So food is the logical key to introduce wine to consumers. But not those stiff, technical pairings that again put people off. Fongyee Walker, a friend and wine consultant based in Beijing, says that the Chinese always describe a meal as being comfortable or uncomfortable. They like enjoying food with friends and without worrying too much about manners. Food and wine pairing gives an excuse for consumers to try wine in a relaxed environment and build their confidence. A Chilean Pinot Noir can be just as good as a Barossa Shiraz to match with stir-fried beef with noodles in black bean sauce. It all depends on the individual consumer’s preference.

We eat Chinese meals most of the time but, sadly, not many mid-market Chinese restaurants offer wine. I hear lots of excuses, but I wish and hope that Chinese restaurateurs will one day soon realise the potential of having wine on the menu. The wine list doesn’t need to be long and winding—six to eight is adequate to start with—but the wine must be of good quality. People may not be able to tell the difference between wine varieties, but they know when a wine is not good. For me, a wine by the glass programme is the ideal way to start. It’s all about quality, not quantity. And in fact a few pioneer outlets have already demonstrated that having wine available not only increases their turnover but also customers’ loyalty.

We didn’t drink cappuccino 20 years ago, yet now the espresso machine is a trendy home appliance. I believe it’s only a matter of time before wine will be a normal item on the dinner table. After all, it’s a much better match for food than lemon tea!

The industry must unite to develop the wine culture. This is the only way to sustain a heathy market, benefiting everyone from producers and importers to restaurateurs and consumers.

The Spanish flair

The partner country of this year’s Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Fair (HKIWSF) was Spain. Spain has come a long way over the past few years. Although most Spanish wine is still in the entry level segment, there is more and more mid-market wine being exported to Hong Kong thanks to the continual efforts of the Spanish Trade Commission and various regional wine boards. This is reflected in the latest statistics. In the first eight months of this year (Jan-Aug 2013), the value and volume of overall wine imports to Hong Kong were down by 1% and 2% respectively because of the economic slow down (source HKTDC), but Spanish wine imports were strongly up—volume increased by 35% and, still more impressive, value was up by close to 50% (source: Spanish Trade Commission).

This is good news because Spanish wine deserves more attention. Most of us know of Spanish red wines such as Rioja, Priorat and Ribera del Duero, but there are also some very good white wines from the cooler Rias Baixas (Albariño) and Rueda (Verdejo, Viura and Sauvignon Blanc). Like Portugal and Italy, Spain has its fair share of native varieties though most are not available here. If you want to have something different, try Mencía and Juan García , both elegant and fragrant with the former quite similar to Cabernet Franc from northwest Spain. They typically used to be high yield and diluted but the new generation winemakers are making some serious wine from old bush vines.

Of course there is also the underrated sherry. Sherry lacks the obvious fruit aromas but it is very versatile and food friendly. And if you want an affordable good quality sparkler, Cava never fails to deliver.

Being this year's partner country of the HKIWSF, Spain also co-hosted a Spanish theme gala dinner on 7th November with food prepared by The Spanish Chef Association in Asia. The Association was initiated by Alex Fargas, chef de Cuisine at Fofo by el Willy, in 2012 and now has over 20 members in Asia. Its objective is to promote Spanish gastronomy, culture and products, and it aims to be the bridge between authentic Spanish cuisine and local expectations. I believe this is definitely the right direction to take—bundle food, wine and culture together. Asian, especially Chinese, spend more time eating than drinking. Alex says his restaurant is full every day, and perhaps this is one of the reasons why Spanish wine is getting popular as well. According to OpenRice, there are now over 50 Spanish bars and restaurants in Hong Kong. Seems that Hongkongers definitely have a palate for Iberico ham and paella!