The week in pictures: Hong Kong

Celebrating the Island Shangri-La’s 25th anniversary, meeting the exuberant Michael Jordan MS and a charity dinner with Jancis Robinson, it’s been an eclectic week for the dbHK team.

Hong Kong’s spring is rarely noticed or commented on, but a quick stroll through Hong Kong Park does indeed reveal blooming flowers and gentle sunshine.

The walk through the park was in fact to meet the eminent master sommelier, Michael Jordan who was in town to promote Freemark Abbey, Jackson Family Wines’ premium historic Napa brand which can trace its roots back to 1886.

The Island Shangri-La celebrated its 25th anniversary with a lavish cocktail event and Yohann Jousselin, the head sommelier hosting a fiendish blind tasting for the chance to win lunch for two at Petrus.

A quick pit stop at the Shangri-La’s cocktail corner, masterminded by Agung Prabowo, the Lobster Bar’s resident mixologist where dbHK and company mainlined Agung’s barrel-aged Negroni.

Next up was a stellar tasting of Saint-Julien estate, Château Léoville Las Cases, hosted by director general, Pierre Graffeuille and Kerry Wines. Owned by the Delon family since the 19th century the estate is today represented by Jean-Hubert Delon, sole owner of the Château and proprietor of Château Potensac in the Medoc and Château Nénin in Pomerol.

A view from afar: Jancis Robinson spoke of her work with education charity, Room to Read at its Hong Kong chapter’s annual dinner.  The auction saw guests competitively bid for lavish prizes such as a private tour and stay at Maison Ruinart and two nights in a villa on a private island in Cambodia.

This was prize enough for dbHK’s table which happily saw the landing of a double magnum of 1997 Tignanello…

A midweek treat: One of Hong Kong’s top wine bars, 121BC hosted a wine tasting evening, featuring natural wines from the Liguria region in north-west Italy.

Hosted by La Commanderie du Bontemps, the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup saw several of universities around Hong Kong battle it out for a chance to win a place in the finals and a winery tour of Bordeaux.

The finalists were Hong Kong Baptist University (last year’s winners also), who answered the most answers correctly – including these puzzlers: “How many second classified growths are there in Margaux?” and “What is the second wine of Château Brane-Cantenac?”