Rare Italian wines to be auctioned in HK

Vinitaly International and US auction house Zachys are to host an auction in Hong Kong dedicated to Italian wines later this month.

Taking place at the JW Marriott on 25 May, the auction will feature some of Italy’s finest wines with ex-cellar consignments from the likes of Marchesi Antinori, Tenuta San Guido – Sassicaia, Biondi Santi, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Castello Banfi and Poderi Luigi Einaudi.

With the Hong Kong auction scene growing in value and the fine wine market branching out beyond Bordeaux, Stevie Kim, managing director of Vinitaly International remarked that: “This is the right moment for Italian wine in Asia.

“In light of the scandals of counterfeit French wines, market diversification, drop in Bordeaux prices and an increasing consciousness for fine Italian wines in Hong Kong and China, the sentiment for new taste patterns is favourable.

“Chinese consumers are learning quick, are inquisitive and become increasingly interested in the richness and breaths of Italian wine, alas still little known in Mainland China. This initiative together with our traditional participation at the “International Wine and Spirits Fair” (7– 9 Nov.) is the right direction to give more visibility to our great Italian producers. It is also another good reason to be selling one more bottle of Italian wine.”

Other top lots include three bottles of Acinatico 1928 from Gaetano Bertani, from a stock of wines that the family hid from German soldiers billeted in their house during the Second World War and which were only re-discovered in 1984.

Four bottles from the collection went on sale in New York in 2001 and made US$9,200. This is only he second time any of the wines have come up for sale.