Even white wines from Macon-Village can age beautifully if made by a good producer like Domaine de la Bongran. This 1999 Cuvée Levroutée was still fresh and vibrant when I tasted it last year during a picnic in Tai Po.


"Why start another wine store?"

This is something we've been asked a lot recently, both quizzically and skeptically. "After all," people usually say, "aren't there already enough wine stores in Hong Kong?"

It's a fair question. And, to be honest, it's true—there are hundreds of places to buy wine in Hong Kong. But here's a short answer to why we decided to join the party: Almost all these stores sell exactly the same wines, and they source their inventory from exactly the same few wine importing companies that dominate the Hong Kong market. These corporations have the financial clout to push their brands across town, and every wine store is guaranteed to have the same distinct yellow label of Trimbach, the bright red seal of Guigal, or the same gold foil that spruces up each bottle of Moët. We want to sell something different—we want to sell unique, handcrafted wines that aren't available all over Hong Kong. 

This doesn't actually mean that I feel availability is bad per se. Moët has its uses, and Trimbach and Guigal make fantastic wines. Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile is one of the great Rieslings of the world, and Guigal's Cote Roties can be stunning. The fact that we can go to almost any store and pick up a consistently good wine is a wonderful thing.

But is that it then? Is Trimbach the best producer in Alsace, and is Guigal the best producer in Rhone? What if I get bored and want something else? 

Before I began working in the local wine industry a few years ago, I only bought my wine from supermarkets and retail shops such as Watson's, which mainly sells wines that they themselves import. Most retail shops in Hong Kong work in a similar fashion, as this helps them manage the city's insane monthly rental cost. Since these ground level stores have the greatest retail presence, their stocked wines are usually from large wineries and are very typical of their respective regions. These are very fair stores to learn what New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc should taste like, or what a classic Barossa Valley Shiraz is like.

But what these retail shops and supermarkets honestly lack is adventure. These stores are financially motivated to promote whatever wines they themselves import, or whatever wines are already universally recognized and that will basically sell themselves. It really doesn't make sense for a neighbourhood retail store to stock Chenin Blanc from Montlouis-sur-Loire when honestly almost nobody is going to buy it without a strong recommendation from a store clerk. It's just so much safer for the consumer to get a generic Chardonnay from Australia for dinner or an expensive, critically acclaimed Pinot Noir from Burgundy—rather than a tart and excellent Poulsard from the Jura which would be both interesting to try, delicious, and more affordable.