We turned our HOFEX 2011 booth into a Winebuzz TV studio and invited the movers and shakers in the Hong Kong wine scene to talk about how they see the current status of wine culture in Hong Kong and what the future looks like.

Marvin Tang the head distributor for the Aromaster wine aroma kit in Hong Kong, Macau and China dropped by the booth to talk to Winebuzz.hk about how no matter the inroads that western wines are making into China the majority of wine sales are for the Chinese rice wine called “baijiu.” We also take a look at the Aromaster and if you watch carefully you can enter a contest to win one below:

We’re giving away one FREE Aromaster kit to the lucky Winebuzz.hk reader that has ‘Liked’ our Facebook page AND can drop a comment below telling us which are your 3 favorite HOFEX 2011 videos that you’ve found the most interesting (full list here) and we’ll randomly pick one winner to recieve the Aromaster kit worth HK$2,798.

Mr. Tang has also graciously offered Winebuzz readers a 10% discount on the Aromaster kit from now till the end of May 2011. Email us for details on how to get it for that price.

More on the Aromaster kit here.

More video interviews from HOFEX 2011 here.

We turned our HOFEX 2011 booth into a Winebuzz TV studio and invited the movers and shakers in the Hong Kong wine scene to talk about how they see the current status of wine culture in Hong Kong and what the future looks like.

Jordi Chan the head sommelier at The Mira hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui talks to us about how he sees the Hong Kong wine scene from the view of one of the most popular hotels on Kowloon side. Besides his sommelier duties at The Mira, Jordi also participated in the Hong Kong International Wine Challenge that was organized by HOFEX and the Hong Kong Sommeliers Association. See our video interview with him below:

More video interviews from HOFEX 2011 here.

As the wine scene continues to show explosive growth in Hong Kong, so too is the need for more localized measures and groups to continue the development and promotion of wine culture in Hong Kong. So we are happy to see the formation of a new organization called the Hong Kong Wine Judges Association.

Their intentions are to promote the wine appreciation culture by conducting wine competitions with constructive insights by experts and critics. The founding members of the group consist of professional, experienced wine specialists from different segments of the industry – namely sommeliers, winemakers, journalists, educators, lecturers, executive chefs and merchants. A few of the honorary judges include Master of Wine Debra Meiburg, Nelson Chow the Chairman of the Hong Kong Sommelier Association and Wilson Kwok a French Wine Expert, Wine Judge & Critic.

Peter Kwong is one the founders and chairman of the group and he states that the goals of the HKWJA are simple: to maintain close contacts with wine judges locally and from around the world to explore possible collaboration in advancing wine judging standards.

You can also join the group by invitation or nomination by one of the other members so if you want to help shape Hong Kong’s wine community, best to try and meet with some of these people:

Founder & Chairman : Mr. Peter Kwong
Wine Educator, Judge & Columnist. Peter has won many awards and held the record for the highest world ranking for a Chinese Sommelier since 1997! With his years of educator experience, he trained many hospitality professionals & elites. Recently, Peter was appointed Chief Judge of many Hong Kong & China Wine Competitions to enhance wine assessing level!

Vice-Chairman & Director of Training & Development : Mr. Johnny Leung
Young Winemaker & Winery Owner. Graduated from Switzerland in Hotel Management, Johnny studied winemaking technology in New Zealand and he is the only Hong Kong born Chinese in this unique identity. Johnny promotes wine culture to young drinkers by bringing in many creative aspects from winemaking!

Vice-Chairman & Director of Member Affairs : Mr. Sammy Leung
Three times Hong Kong Sommelier Champion & Wine Educator. With extensive F & B experience in 5-star hotels, Sammy enjoys wine since the very beginning of his career. He has his own principles of Chinese & Western food & wine matching. He is very good at customer’s buying behavior and wine contribution in restaurant sales.

Director of PR & Communications : Ms. Rebecca Leung
Wine Columnist, Wine Educator & Wine Program Host. Rebecca turns her wine-loving passion into her career. She is one of the most active wine specialists in town by writing many columns, conducting events, and representing the Chinese community as wine judge in many regional & overseas international wine shows.

Director of Event Co-ordination : Mr. Ricky Cheung
Executive Chef & Food Columnist. Well known for his creativity, fun & friendly image as an outstanding fine-dining restaurant owner. Ricky has trained and nurtured many renowned chefs from his years of hotel experience. He has been co-hosting F & W radio program to share his cooking tips!

Director of Training & Development : Ms. Alice To
Instructor, School of Hotel & Tourism Mgmt, HK Poly U. Alice is a professional in hospitality training as well as research. In love with wine for years, tasting wine, visiting vineyards and collecting wine journals are some of her hobbies & expertise.

Director of Event Co-ordination : Mr. Eric Kwok
Wine Merchant & Radio Co-host. Eric was in hotel management and tourism by training, graduated in Switzerland and won many Sommelier awards locally and in overseas. He is now the key driver of a prestige wine company, active in wine events and travel a lot to wineries to bring in good treats for all the wine lovers.

Director of External Affairs : Ms. Agnes Wong
Wine Market Promoter. Agnes is a professional and affluent wine market promoter, who is being very active in the wine market lately. She participates heavily in promoting wine culture and education, and is an excellent communicator between the professionals and the novices.

Treasurer : Ms. Amy Au Yeung
Wine Market Promoter. Amy is an absolute wine lover, apart from the wonderful aroma and palate, she is also deeply in love with the romance of wine history and appreciation. Amy is delighted to apply her marketing expertise to the colorful Hong Kong wine scene.

While their site at www.hkwja.org is under construction, stay tuned to Winebuzz for their first official event.

The Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival 2010 enjoyed amazing weather this year and of course the wine drinking community has grown in leaps and bounds since last year so they all turned up to make this the most successful festival yet!

Kudos to the Hong Kong Tourism Association for putting together such a wide reaching event and we most certainly hope to see you all there next year. Here’s a few photos of the event:

Opened in 2007, 8th Estate is Hong Kong’s first winery producing wine from grapes shipped frozen from other countries and made in Hong Kong.

We recently caught up with 8th Estate owner, Canadian Lysanne Tusar and 8th Estate’s master winemaker, Edward McDougall, as they were preparing to release their second batch of wine.

The winery is located in Ap Lei Chau, and unlike any winery anywhere else in the world, the grapes fermentation, aging and blending takes place in a high-rise warehouse 30 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of the densely populated city of Hong Kong.

The winery is fully equipped with stainless steel fermenting tanks, pneumatic grape pressing machine and oak barrels to store and age wine.

Visitors can taste wine at the cellar’s wine bar and there is an outdoor area with an amazing seaview that’s perfect for events or just sipping your wine outdoors. We highly recommend the tour as it is quite something to be tasting wine from a barrel in a Hong Kong wine cellar and Eddie’s passion and knowledge about wine making is contagious.

Lysanne and Edward talked to Winebuzz.hk about the 8th Estate and what they will be releasing this summer.

Winebuzz.hk: Why did you decide to set up a Winery in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong in 2007 was set to become the wine hub in Asia and we saw that there was a lot of interest in Hong Kong in wine. We wanted to bring the whole wine making process closer to home so that people can appreciate and experience the process closer to where the wine is being produced. The government has been very supportive in terms of promoting us and our wines are served at official functions and to visiting dignitaries.

What types of wines do you make at 8th Estate Winery?

We have white, red and dessert wines from grapes brought in from Washington D.C in 2007.

Whites include a Gewurztramier, Sauvignon Blanc and Chadonnay. For the reds, there’s Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Heritage, our own blend of Merlot, Carbernet Sauvignon and Carbernet Franc.

What types of wine will you be bringing out to market this year?

This year, we will have our Italian Nebbiolo and Sangiovese ready late this summer.  Our Australian Reisling will also be ready early autumn.

Where can people taste your wine?

Our wines can be bought directly from our winery here in Ap Lei Chau or via our website. Our 2007 wines have sold out at hotels and restaurants that were serving them.

Can the public visit your winery and taste the wines for themselves?

Wine lovers can visit the winery for a taste of their wine and guided tours are offered every Saturday from 2-5pm. Check our website for the latest info.

• Unit 302, Harbour Industrial Center, 10 Lee Hing Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong.
• Tel: 2518 0922
• www.the8estatewinery.com

There’s nothing wrong with Hong Kong’s wine economy – in fact, it’s soaring! In the first nine months of 2009, HK$2.71 billion in revenue was brought in, representing a huge jump of 41% from 2008. The sales totals from fourteen wine auctions in the past year have reached HK$496 million. With numbers like this, Hong Kong could become the world’s second-largest market for wine auctions.

Famous auction houses like Christie’s International and Sotherby’s are definitely interested in Hong Kong’s wine market. Christie’s has noticed a demand for the highest-quality wines in the city, and Sotheby’s reports that Hong Kong has moved past London to become their second-biggest market. Many wine-centric businesses in the city have been upgrading and expanding to meet the huge demand.

The Hong Kong government is highly supportive of the growth in the wine market, lessening duties on imports to enrich the growing economy. Rita Lau said the government is helping the industry develop, in partnership with the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency, a certification scheme whereby wine storage facilities meeting certain required standards will be accredited.

“The scheme is expected to be launched before the end of the year. It will first cover wine storage facilities, with possible extension to other logistics facilities such as vehicles later,” Mrs Lau said, adding that the government is working on various fronts to enhance the further development of Hong Kong as a regional hub for wine trading and distribution.

Read more:

• China Daily
• Bloomberg

Whether you know it or not, there’s a lot of information on every single wine label.

From that little piece of paper alone, you can learn many things about what you’re about to drink. Many wines, for instance, will have an Appellation d’Origine Controlee, which shows the region where the wine was made. Often, not just the name of the winery but the name of the wine seller (or champagne house) will also be displayed. This begins to tell the story of the wine, and every vintage tells its own tale.

Decoding the information is important. Often, the wine label will say where the wine was bottled – if the work was done at the winery or an outside merchant, for instance. If the label does not specifically name where the bottling took place, it’s likely the work was done through a merchant.

The label on a bottle of wine or champagne will also display what style it is – if it’s “Blanc,” for instance, it’s made from chardonnay grapes. By learning how to read a wine bottle, you’ll know exactly what sort of grapes made the vintage, if the bottling was done at the winery itself and at which vineyard the wine was made.

For more information on reading wine labels, use these resources:

• The Wine Buyer
• Wall Street Journal
• Wine Lovers’ Page

Here is a 60-second look at how to tell the difference from Old World to New World ones:

and Must Love Wine teaches you about Italian wine labels:

This weekend in SoHo you couldn’t walk 2 feet without running into the Wine and Dine Carnival. Its great that SoHo can shut down the traffic like this for a weekend so you everyone can enjoy a really cool street vibe. The Venetian Macao brought over street performers, kids were doing street art, magicians, singers, musicians and many street booths selling different kinds of arts and crafts.

Mainly we were there for the wine and there were a few places selling wine but the deals were good inside the restaurants, lots of people in the streets and a good environment for all. Hope to see SoHo do it again soon while the weather is nice.

Import duties have been abolished and the UK has officially overtaken France as the biggest wine exporter to Hong Kong. This news has surprised a few, but that doesn’t mean Hong Kong has lost its signature taste for fine French wines.

The twist? London is actually a major hub of fine French Wine – and no one would deny Hong Kong’s appetite for Bordeaux. So, despite the fact that the UK is not a major wine-producing region, Hong Kong imports from Britain showed a huge annual increase during the first seven months of 2009:

Imports from Britain showed an annual 146% increase during the first seven months of 2009 to almost US$80 million from Jan-Jul 2009, which was around US 69.5 million for the whole of 2008. UK has increased its share of this wine market from 20% to 33%, while France’s has slipped from over 35% to 31.6% at around US $72 million for the comparable period. The fine, expensive French wines are exported from the UK, explaining the phenomenal increase in dollar value.

Australia, in third place this year, has an 8.7% share totalling US$ 21 million followed by the US, Chile, Switzerland and Italy.

What’s responsible for the steep increase? Abolishing import duties made the fine of course, expensive French wines we love so much coming to Hong Kong duty-free. We call that cause for celebration: let’s make a toast with our favorite Bordeaux – to fatter wallets!