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DECEMBER NEWS Growing Tastes and Opportunities Hong Kong's wine consumers provide audience for wine industry suppliers H ong Kong, China—Asia's wine trade enjoyed a taste of everything from North Carolina scuppernong to tomato wine from Quebec's Charlevoix region at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair held in early November. While wines of Spain were the focus of this year's event, the breadth of offerings brought from Australia to Zaragoza, and encompassing absinthe to Zinfandel, underscore the growing interest among the local trade—expected to number more than 20,000 this year— and consumers, who descended on the fair Nov. 9. With the annual trade in wine through Hong Kong now totaling 38 million liters valued at $765 million, of which 14.5 million liters worth $154 million are reexported, the opportunities for companies to service the market are also growing. Wine bars such as California Vintage on Hong Kong's Wyndham Street have opened their doors catering to younger wine drinkers—both ex-pats and a growing number of local and mainland Chinese tipplers, for whom wine is a chic new experience. Other companies are targeting the growing number of consumers who are making wine a regular part of their lifestyle in Hong Kong. When the government dropped tariffs on wine in 2008, Hubert Li, managing director of Hong Kong Wine Vault, saw an opportunity to provide wine-storage services to collectors. His company provides storage space for 800,000 bottles and is about three-quarters full. "A lot of people picked up the new hobby and bring back wines from elsewhere," Li told Wines & Vines. "And that wine has to go somewhere." The import—and re-export—of wine through Hong Kong has created business-to-business opportunities. King Lai is the managing director of Leo Design and Packaging Solution Ltd. in Hong Kong, which provides packaging products to the wine trade. "The whole packaging business is growing," Lai said. But manufacturers also face economic pressures that could limit new entrants keen to capitalize on the increasing opportunities. Philip Chiang, general manager of Hong Kong-based Beeline Industries Ltd., which operates a factory in neighboring Guangdong province, said manufacturers face higher costs, narrower margins and conditions that poise them to be less competitive to cost-conscious clients. While he was at the fair seeking new opportunities for his business, he is taking the challenges seriously as he looks to the future. The minimum wage in Shenzhen, which neighbors Hong Kong, is set to rise 20% in 2014, for example. —Peter Mitham © 2013 StaVin Inc. For over twenty years we've searched the world to source the very finest oak known to wine. Our hikes through numerous forests in countries on two continents have yielded findings some winemakers consider treasure. Such travels have shown us the rewards of perseverance, and the importance of variety. Because even the most delicious wines don't always taste the same. ® StaVın Inc, P.O.Box 1693, Sausalito,CA 94966 (415) 331-7849 f (415) 331-0516 stavin.com Win es & Vin es D EC EM B ER 20 13 23