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| Hong Kong – the door to Asia or China?
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| By Rajiv Singhal |
| In 2008, the Hong Kong SAR Government scrapped all duty-related customs and administrative controls on wines and brought the import of wine under special clearance measures (CEPA – Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) in a conscious effort to develop the territory into a wine trading and distribution centre for Asia. |
| This was also the year that the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair was launched as an annual international promotional event by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), a statutory body that was established in 1966 as the international marketing arm for Hong Kong based traders, manufacturers and service providers. |
| Organised every November, the fair has usually attracted a horde of visitors from India – who took benefit of the HKTDC "hosted buyer program", which identified prospects with various levels of generous support. Not surprisingly, as the levels of support were weaned off (maybe the low quality of the visitors played its part), the number of visitors from India dropped (I reckon, dramatically, though my request to the organisers for the number of India visitors did not get a response). |
| This was already the 8th edition of the fair. I took advantage of a commitment for one of my group company's to fly into Hong Kong (wouldn’t miss any opportunity) for what would be my own first visit to the fair. |
| On one single level (Level 3) of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, two halls (3B-E & 3F-G) hosted the 1060 exhibitors from 32 countries/ regions (source HKTDC). The fair had a reasonable focus on spirits. The first two days of the three day fair were for trade buyers and on the last day, the fair was open to the general public. |
| Portugal was the Partner Country, drawing on its history of centuries of being the first wine nation to introduce European wine to Asia. Nuno Vale, Director of Vini Portugal, thought that the special aromas and flavours of Portuguese wine, which derived from almost 250 indigenous grape varieties, could find interest in Asia. He hoped that this partnership would give more visibility to Portuguese wines in Asia. |
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The Wines of Portugal pavillion |
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| France and Italy cemented their status as very sought after wines in this part of the world, with a large presence at the fair, covering the halls 3F-G. Producers from Sud de France were showcased under the regional umbrella. The famous French duo, Bettane+Desseauve organised a special branded pavilion for their carefully picked French wines (with some exceptions – the boutique Italian wine Il Caberlot being one) and were part of the masterclass program presenting French wines. The various consorzios focussed attention on the participating Italian companies. The country pavilion of Spain was well animated by Wines of Spain and ICEX, Wines of Germany showed that the country had more to offer than just Riesling and Austria reminded the visitors of the gem in European treasure. |
| A large contingent from Australia was anchored under the banner "Wine Australia for Australian Wine" presenting their wide capabilities specially in fine wine of great distinction and provenance. Australia has been at the fair since inception, and Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark thought that Australia was exceptionally well placed to tap the opportunities emerging in Asia, specially China where a lot of their marketing dollar is being spent. The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia and HKTDC signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen collaboration in all trade promotion aspects around wine and food.
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| It was delightful to see the Indian flag flying with the presence of the Cecilia Oldne and Shardul Ghogale representing Sula and Sumedh Mandla and Sumit Jaiswal representing Grover-Zampa. They were rather pleased with the business opportunities that the fair presented and had had a steady stream of interest.
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| Time was the enemy, so I thought I would focus this piece on some not-so-ordinary wines that I could identify, and thanks to various people for the pointers. |
| Arba Chardonnay from Kazakhstan. The wines are organic and reflect mineral, zesty, crispy but very well balanced characteristics. An award winner at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition. |
| Zlatan Plavac Barrique from Croatia. The Plavac Mali grape closely clones Zinfandel, and the wine has complex tannins and is full-bodied dominated by cherries and red fruits. |
| Liesecco Frizzante from Liechtenstein. Produced in the vineyards of Her Highness Princess Marie of Liechtenstein. This sparkling wine appeals to the sweetness seeking and balances spicy foods with fruitiness, but served chilled. |
| Tbilvino Rkatsiteli from Georgia. A very old grape varietal from the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia. This white wine has crisp green apple notes that does finish a tad sourish. |
| Cavall from Tequila country, Mexico. Made with passion in a unique micro-climate under Stephan Derenoncourt. An interesting blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, it needs some more time to be appreciated. |
| The Press support could have definitely been better organised (even though I was pre-registered I had to go to the rather apologetic minimal facility Media Room on the ground level, far far away from the exhibition itself to get my badge, only to discover that I needed to register again!!). The press team was unable to offer much except "did you check the website?"… So I regret that some notable features might have missed my attention. |
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Chinese exhibitors scattered in different areas |
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| China, which had many exhibitors scattered in different areas of the fair, was the dominating giant. The interest in markets in other countries, including India, did not seem to figure on the exhibitors' agenda. I hope that in the coming editions of the fair, a wider focus on Asian markets will be possible, to save the international (even Asian) grain of the fair. |
| Unlike the other visitors to the fair from India, Rajiv Singhal did not travel to Hong Kong as a guest of the HKTDC. |
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