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.

Pierre Legrandois is the director of sales at Links Concept in Hong Kong, China and Macau and overseas the importing of such brands like Louis Roederer, Dow’s Port, Paul Blanck, Conhca Y Toro and many more. Pierre talks to us about his company philosophy in how they work with the winemakers and how they see the explosive growth in the Hong Kong market:

More video interviews from HOFEX 2011 here.

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.