Week in pictures: Hong Kong

This week, lesser-known wine regions and varieties were in the spotlight as Hong Kong hosted its inaugural Asian Wine Festival, an informative South African wine tasting and a masterclass of one of the Languedoc’s top producers Mas de Daumas Gassac. A Mouton wine dinner by Wines’ Link brought out some of the first growth’s most celebrated wines including its 1988, 1996 and 2009 vintages, while auction houses including Australia’s Langton’s, Italy’s Gelardini & Romani and the US’ Heritage Auction were in town to sate Hong Kong collectors’ appetite for fine wines. Click through images to see the week’s highlights.

The inaugural Asian Wine Festival was held from 18 to19 April with a wine dinner and a walk-around tasting at the Hotel Icon. About 60 wines from roughly 20 wineries from across Asia were showcased at the tasting including wines from Bali, Indonesia, Japan and China’s Ningxia region to name a few. 

Over 200 South African wines were on pour at this year’s South Africa wine tasting held at the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel in Wanchai on 20 April. A diverse range of wines from South Africa’s famous Chenin Blanc and Pinotage and even a single-vineyard Barbera as well as sparkling wines made with Méthode Cap Classique were showcased at this year’s tasting. Family-owned producers from the PIWOSA association (Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa) were also present to introduce their wines.

A vertical tasting of one of the Languedoc’s leading producers Mas de Daumas Gassac was hosted by its Asia director Basile Guibert. Guests were guided through a tasting of its reds from 2006 to the latest 2016 vintage. The winery, dubbed by many as the ‘grand cru’ of Languedoc, first tapped into Asia market in 1998 and has been enjoying stable success despite a market slowdown after China initiated an anti-corruption clampdown that affected luxury consumption. The reason, as Guibert explained was because they were selling medium priced wines with each bottle priced around HK$350 (US$45).

Wines of Argentina and the Consulate General of Argentina in Hong Kong presented ‘The Heart of Argentina’, the 7th edition of World Malbec Day at Italian restaurant Grappa’s Cellar on 21 April. A seminar on Argentine wine was held in conjunction with a Malbec Competition where a panel of expert judges blind-tasted and judged about 20 Malbecs submitted from local importers.

A Barossa Valley wine tasting was unveiled at Loft 88 gallery in Central ahead of Langton’s Barossa Wine Chapters auction on 21 April. Some of the Barossa’s most sought-after wines including Kris Ringland, Henschke and a rare 1880 Seppeltsfield ‘The Barrel’ were presented to the city’s wine lovers and collectors.

A Château Mouton Rothschild wine dinner hosted by Hong Kong importer Wines’ Link and the first growth’s Greater China representative Wang Wenjia was held at the sumptuous Garden Suite at The Peninsula hotel. A flight of the Bordeaux first growth’s most celebrated wines including 1988, 1996 and 2009 vintages were poured alongside the 2014 Aile d’Argent Blanc du Château Mouton Rothschild and its prune-based spirit, ‘Eau de Vie de Prunes de Mouton Rothschild’.

Some of Italy’s most sought-after Brunellos, Super Tuscans, Barolos from Soldera, Sassicaia, Antinori, Gaia, Biondi-Sandi and Damiliano went under the hammer at Sunday’s Gelardi & Romani auction held at Gia restaurant in Wanchai. Despite Italian heavy wine lots, a few French lots of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Henri Jayer commanded some of the highest bidding prices. The DRC lots were said to come from an Italian vice minister and a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti ‘Romanée-Conti’ 2001 with damaged label was sold for HK$90,000 (US$11,564).