Whether he’s writing music or selling wine, it seems Andrew Llyod Webber can’t lose.

The auction for his wine collection which took place on Saturday in Hong Kong at the Mandarin Oriental was a smashing success as they might say in the opera community. By the numbers:

• The auction was 6 hours long.
• 100% of the 740 lots were sold.
• Sotheby’s expected HK$32 million, they got HK$43.3 million
• 53% of the buyers bid online.
• 97% of the lots got higher prices than expected. So that’s only 3% of so-so wine and evidence that Andrew has a good nose as well as a good ear.

Another amazing wine auction and some standouts were :

• 12 Bottles of Chateau Petrus 1982: Sold for HK$605,000 on estimates of HK$320-480,000
• 12 bottles of Chateau Lafite 1982: Sold for HK$459,800 on estimates of HK$240-400,000
• 11 bottles of Chateau Petrus 1982: Also sold for HK$459,800 on estimates of HK$280-420,000

Sotheby’s is back in April with more auction action.

Just when you thought fine dining was getting too political, the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong is assembling 25 chefs who cook for the world’s premiers, presidents and monarchs and, luckily for us, is inviting you to join them!

So, for those of you who have ever wanted to feel like the Her Majesty the Queen or Presient Sarkozy at dinner time, now’s your chance by joining this one of a kind event from August 17 – 21st only at the hotel’s ballroom.

Each table of eight will be hosted by one chef, affording guests an unmissable opportunity to learn the ins and outs of life as a chef to the world’s most influential leaders. Tickets for the dinner at The Connaught Room are priced at HK$12,000 + 10% per table of eight for a six-course dinner including wine.

Diners can book their tickets by telephone on: 2825 4871 or by e-mail at: mohkg-catering@mohg.com.

About the chefs attending the event in Hong Kong will be:

• Oliver Bartsch – Chef To The Prime Minister Of Canada
• Stefano Belardinucci – Chef Of The Quirinal – Italy
• Markus Burkart – Chef To His Majesty The King Of Sweden
• Cristeta Comerford – Chef To The President Of The United States Of America
• Rohan Fernandopulle – Chef In Charge Of The Official Receptions Of Sri Lanka
• Mark Flanagan – Chef To Her Majesty The Queen Of Great Britain
• Christian Garcia – Chef To His Highness The Prince Albert II Of Monaco
• The Great Hall Of The People (China) Is Represented By Two Chefs.
• Ulrich Kerz – Chef Of The German Chancellor
• Hilton Little – Chef To The President Of The Republic Of South Africa
• Jérôme Rigaud – Chef Executive Of The Kremlin – Russia
• Sirrka-Liisa Ruottinen – Chef To The President Of The Republic Of Finland
• Grzegorz Rzeszotarski – Chef To The President Of Republic Of Poland
• Rupert Schnait – Chef In Charge Of The Official Receptions – Austria
• Athanasios Skouras – Chef To The President Of The Republic Of Greece
• Khwankeo Vajarodaya – Grand Chambellan Of The King Of Thailand
• Bernard Vaussion – Chef To The President Of The Republic Of France
• Jesper Vollmer – Chef To Her Majesty The Queen Of Denmark
• Jaroslav Zahalka – Chef In Charge Of The Official Receptions – Czech Republic
• Gregor Zimmermann – Chef In Charge Of The Official Receptions – Switzerland.

Berry Bros. and Rudd, Hong Kong’s leading wine and spirits merchant, hosted an exclusive tasting to showcase wines from some of the world’s most exciting and acclaimed wine producers.

BBR brought 12 wine producers to Hong Kong especially to showcase their wines to more than 400 guests, including members of the trade and their direct customers. At The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, guests got to enjoy over 100 wines from the world’s greatest wine regions.

Guests Mr. Nicholas Pegna, Managing Director of Berry Bros. & Rudd Hong Kong and Jeannie Cho Lee MW, conversed with the 12 producers who, in some cases, had travelled thousands of miles to attend the one-off event, highlighting the significance that is now attributed to the Hong Kong market.

Vineyard representatives included: Franz Vènes (Massamier la Mignarde, Languedoc, France); André Ostertag (Domaine Ostertag, Alsace, France); Etienne Grivot (Domaine Jean Grivot, Burgundy, France); Jean-Charles Cazes (Ch. Lynch-Bages, Bordeaux, France); David Searle (Jaquesson Champagne, Champagne, France); Reinhard Heymann-Löwenstein (Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein, Mosel, Germany); Marco Pallanti (Castello di Ama, Tuscany, Italy); Jorge Moreira (Quinta de la Rosa, Douro, Portugal); David Hall-Jones (Surveyor Thomson, Central Otago, New Zealand); David Amadia (Ridge Vineyards, California, USA); Paul Bridgeman (Yarra Yering, Yarra Valley, Australia).

painting by Mark Keller

Pierre Legrandois, Chief Sommelier at the Mandarin Oriental give us some pointers on how to  navigate the wine list at restaurants. When you are taking your clients out for a business dinner and its up to you to order the wine, Pierre suggests the following:

1. Choose a wine according to the food of your guests. It shows you are paying attention, thoughtful and want to ensure an enjoyable experience.
2. When in doubt, 0pt for classic wines like Burgundy white like Montrachet &Meursault or a red Bordeaux.
3. Know the French Vintages: 1982, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003
4. Ask for a recommendation without mentioning your budget out right.

A good way to handle this is to mention to the sommelier that you like a certain kind of wine. For example, do you have Chateaux “this vintage” for “X price,” if you can you please recommend something similar?  Another way is to mention you would like a wine similar to “X” and point to the price on the wine list to your sommelier.  Its a gesture most sommelier understands.

Pierre Legrandois, Chief Sommalier at the Mandarin Oriental give us some pointers on how to enjoy wine during lunch. Many people don’t order wine during lunch for fear of the after effects when they still have to be at the office.  Pierre has some tips on how you can enjoy wine during lunch.

The trick is to order lower alcohol content wine from countries like Germany and Eastern Europe where most of the lower alcohol content variety of wine are made. Not all wine have the same alcohol content so choose the variety with less alcohol content if you don’t want to be impaired at your meeting after.   For whites, go for Sauvignon Blanc and Reisling and for red, choose Pinor Noir or Niebbiolo. For example a Reisling normally contain 7-11% alcohol while alcohol level in Chardonay is usually 12-14%.

So now you know, go ahead enjoy some wine during your business lunch, it might make it a little more amicable, just a little.

Chief Sommelier at the Mandarin Oriental, Pierre Legrandois gives us some tips about appreciating wine at the recent workshop organized by Hong Kong Land’s Boutique Boulevard: So Chic, So Central program.

Pierre’s wine tasting tips;

1. Look at the wine, especially around the edges. Tilt the glass  to see the way the colour changes from the center to the edges. Look for the colour of the wine and clarity. White wines become darker as they age and time causes red wines to lose their colour turning more brownish with small amount of dark red sediment at the bottom of the glass.

2. Swirl the wine in your glass. This allow oxygen into the wine and opens up its aromas.

3. Notice the wine’s viscosity- how slowly it runs back down the side of the glass while swirling. More viscous wines are likely to be more alcoholic and more full bodied.

4. Sniff the wine. Initially you should hold the glass a few inches from your noise. Then let your nose go into the glass, what do you smell?

5. Take a sip of wine, but do not swallow. Roll the iwne around in your mouth for a 3-5 seconds to expose it to all your taste buds.  You will be able to detect sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (meaty of savory). Pay attention to the texture and sense of weight or body of the wine.

6. Aspirate through the wine. purse your lips as if you were about to whistle, draw some air into your mouth and exhale through your nose. This liberates the aromas for  the wine and allows them to reach your nose where they can be detected.  The nose is the only place where you can detect a wine’s aroma.

7. Take another sip of the wine. If you are drinking red wine, introduce air with it. Slurp the wine (careful not to be noisy here) and note the subtle differences in flavour and texture.