Hong Kong goes wild for natural wine

Low-intervention wines have become increasingly popular in Hong Kong, with younger drinkers keen to try organic offerings from around the world. In this longer read, Alice Liang discovers why the city has become a hotbed for the sector.

In recent years, natural wine has gained a foothold in Asian markets such as South Korea, Singapore and China. And as one of the world’s important wine hubs, Hong Kong has predictably seen the popularity of natural wines blossom in the past decade. But is the success simply a fad, or have consumers converted to natural wines for good?

Despite natural wines – ones made with extremely little intervention – having been available for several years in Hong Kong, consumers’ attention was grabbed when La Cabane Group was founded in 2010. Starting out with a modest cellar shop, the company became known for taking a pioneering stance in promoting natural, organic and biodynamic wine in the city. The group effectively tapped into the on-trade business with the opening of La Cabane bistro, and swiftly became one of the biggest natural wine suppliers in Hong Kong.

After working with natural wines for more than a decade, co-founder Cristobal Huneeus has born witness to the gradual evolution of the trend.

According to Huneeus, right now there is a clear interest in natural wine, especially from hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants. “Thanks to Covid-19, the retail market in Hong Kong has been quite boring recently, and people have been trapped in the city because of the travel restrictions. Businesses are looking for something new to really excite their customers, and natural wine provides the space for them to do so.”

Huneeus identifies his clients’ growing interest, and appreciates that they now have the flexibility to buy natural wines, which are often made in small volumes.

“Business has been tough since 2019,”he says. “It was a difficult year, with social unrest. By the end of that year, we were left with around 40,000 bottles of natural wine in stock that should have been sold. While we had to close our retail operation, the bistro and the cellar, and on-trade accounts dropped dramatically because of the Covid outbreak, our retail customers shifted quickly to our online business. That allowed us to sell more than 10,000 bottles between March and June 2020, also absorbing the same amount of new stock, mostly from Australia and from New Zealand.”

UP-AND-COMING REGIONS

He adds: “From Q1 of 2020 to Q2 of 2021, we saw a 35% increase in sales of our natural wine to retail consumers. During this time, our customers were able to explore more different styles of wine, for example a large number of orange wines. We are now importing from more than 10 countries, including many up-and- coming regions, such as Wales with Ancre Hill, or the US with Jolie-Laide – which had been unavailable for export due to high demand in their respective markets. In a way, Covid19 has allowed for these shifts.”

Huneeus cites Japan and Australia as being the most established markets for natural wine in Asia Pacific, as expressions have been around in those countries for 25 to 30 years. He believes that new markets, such as China, South Korea and Singapore, will see further growth in the category for the next five years.

Hong Kong sits roughly somewhere in the middle, but Huneeus sees immense potential in the region. “Hong Kong is a small and aggressive market, and the customers are certainly curious and open to natural wine, as shown in the continuous growth of our retail business.”

Having only been open for a year, Vinpit is one of the latest additions to the natural wine scene in Hong Kong. Amy Wu, cellar master and founder of the brand’s retail shop, has enjoyed natural wine for more than five years, and her background led her to step into the retail sphere.

“I’m a panelist for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants competitions. Over the years I have travelled widely to different fine dining establishments. My first natural wine experience was at Gaggan in Bangkok (No.1 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants from 2014 to 2018), and Chef Gaggan introduced me to a lot of natural winegrower friends once he knew I had plans to start a business.”

Wu’s initial plan was to open her natural wine business in Shanghai; yet due to Covid, she decided to set up the business in Hong Kong first to test the water. She says that most natural wines in the Hong Kong market come from France; yet her import focus lies largely in Central and Eastern European countries, such as Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. “The wines I choose are very fresh and handy for pairing with Asian dishes. Some of my shop’s selection are also featured on the wine lists of restaurants in the World’s 50.”

LOGISTICS FEES

The expensive logistics fees are inevitably reflected in the retail price of her wine. Fortunately, some of her customers understand the challenge and appreciate her selection. “Since my shop is situated in Sai Ying Pun, my clientele is mostly English-speaking and young (under 40 years old). Many of them already know natural wine, and they are eager to explore it further. As a retailer, of course it’s important to deliver the storytelling of the wine to the customers; educating people about natural wine has to be an ongoing process to really make the scene flourish.”

Wu remains optimistic about the development of natural wine in the Chinese market. In the near future she hopes she can resume her plan of expanding her business in Shanghai. “Right now, natural wine is still a very trendy, niche product in China, and a lot of Chinese distributors are not that knowledgeable about it. The good thing about the market there is that consumers are open to new things, and I’m confident of introducing these wines to the market.

“At the same time, Hong Kong will continue to function as the bridge to help spread the beauty of the wine.”

Reeze Choi, founder of local wine consultancy Somm’s Philosophy, sees an interesting evolution of natural wine in the market: “It is true that mature wine drinkers in Hong Kong are quite reluctant when it comes to natural wine, yet it has successfully attracted a group of young customers. Generally, they are under 30, and they think natural wines are attractive and cool, judging from the labels. Another group of customers that are drawn to the products are beer lovers. When they want to tap into drinking wine, they may prefer something fresh, and this is what exactly what many natural wines can provide”.

Choi says that natural wines can be a great way in to discovering other styles of wine for some of these customers.

“The friendly and easy impression of natural wine invites these young consumers to step into the world of wine, and then they continue to pursue a fondness for it by enriching their knowledge,” he said.

At the same time, he agrees that there is often confusion about the product: “As there is no law to govern the claims of the wine, it causes a lot of misunderstandings as there is so much jargon associated with it. From ‘sustainable farming’ and ‘low- intervention’ to ‘biodynamic’, ‘organic’, ‘no sulphur added’ – you name it. Each of these terms has a different meaning if we dive deep into it, but a lot of people in the market might have mistaken the true concepts behind them. I know customers are curious about the wine, so my job is to be faithful to the winemakers and to convey the genuine story.”

About seven years ago, Choi saw a budding interest in natural wine emerge in Hong Kong’s dining scene. The trend was largely supported by sommeliers from countries where natural wine had already set in as part of the culture. That was quickly picked up by a group of young sommeliers who obsessed about pairing food with natural wine.

However, in recent years, with people becoming more familiar with natural wines, they may think some of the wine profiles have similar characteristics, and as such they start to look for wines with greater depth.

QUALITY CONTROL

“Some people attempt to justify ‘faults’ in a wine as simply being the character of a ‘natural’style. I’m not sold on that at all,” says Choi. “After all, whether natural or not, the most important thing should always be the quality of the wine. This is what a lot of natural wine supporters in Hong Kong have started to realise now, and they are seeking out good natural wines that are clean, well made and under control.”

Covid has shaken up the dining scene in Hong Kong. Although a handful of the town’s favourite restaurants and bars have closed for good, at the same time this has given rise to opportunities for thrilling new openings. In some of these new dining establishments, natural wine has been a highlight.

Victor Petiot, sommelier at three- Michelin-starred Caprice, recently consulted on the wine programme of a new bistro named Nez. Located in Central, Nez aims to be an elevated French wine bistro with a comprehensive wine offering: “We want to showcase a wide range and to stage simple natural wines next to classic big names sourced from around the world,” says Petiot.

In choosing the wines he prefers to try before agreeing to put any on his list. “There are a lot of natural wines of very bad quality. And in general, I’m looking for fresh and easygoing wines. This is also a friendly bistro, so price is important. Half of the bottles on the list are under HK$1,000, but at the same time, classic réserve wines such as Cheval Blanc in large formats will be on the list too.”

Petiot touts Domaine de Bellevue from the Loire Valley as being one of his favourite natural wine producers, and recommends its Macération orange wine made with Pinot Gris, as the perfect pairing for the Bouillabaisse dish at Nez. “You’d be surprised by how this fresh, fruity orange wine enhances the freshness of the shellfish in the traditional French soup,” he says.

EXCITING WORLD OF WINE

Petiot has been in Hong Kong for five years, and he is impressed by the wine he can source there. “I used to work in Paris, and even though the wine scene there is also great, it’s mostly French wine that I used to source. The most exciting thing about working in Hong Kong is to come across wines from different parts of the globe. Because of the accessibility, the city is one of the best places for natural wine in the world.”

At Caprice, he is keen to share his passion for natural wine with his customers. “Even customers who are used to enjoying fine wines, are very open-minded about trying new things. I’ve included a number of natural wines by the glass, and every time I introduce the wine to them, I focus on the style and let them try the wine, before revealing the production method. After all, it’s the quality that matters.”

Renowned British chef Simon Rogan has demonstrated his ethos in sustainability in his Michelin-starred restaurant Roganic Hong Kong. This spring he opened The Baker & The Bottleman in the city, which features a natural wine bar.

The wine list of the bar has been placed in the careful hands of Pierre Brunelli MS, who wants to introduce a unique portfolio of natural, organic and biodynamic wine growers to Hong Kong. Brunelli explains: “The wine list is short, featuring only 60 bottles of wine, and 21 by the glass. As a firm believer of ‘less is more’, I want to make sure no one gets lost while navigating the wine menu. To me, wine should not be complicated; it can be fun and approachable. At The Bottleman, I have a juicy wine, an earthy wine, a spicy wine, etc. I hope this can help guests to feel less uptight, and to ask our team whenever they need help.”

Brunelli mentions Envinate Albahra 2019 as a particular favourite; “a very accessible but serious organic wine”. And he also espouses the merits of Johannes Zillinger Revolution White 2020, “an Austrian wine that blends three grapes with three different aging methods. The outcome is aromatic, clean and filtered.” He speaks highly, too, of Domaine des Ardoisières Cuvée Améthyste 2018, which is low in alcohol but “extremely intense with some great spices.”

Brunelli can see natural wine slowly becoming a staple part of Hong Kong’s dining culture. “I think it can become more accessible for customers – this is exactly what we wish to promote here.” The hand-picked wine selection at The Bottleman begins at HK$200 per bottle, featuring a diverse range of vintages from around the world, all the way up to the most expensive bottle, which is priced at HK$1,200.

“It’s great to work with natural wine importers in Hong Kong; they have a lot of great hidden gems to share,” Brunelli says. He plans to start importing wines that can’t currently be found in the city to help elevate his wine list to the next level.