Wealthy Chinese drink to their success at Hong Kong wine auction

Hong Kong has overtaken London and New York as Sotheby's largest wine market after the auction house this weekend sold $7.9m of rare vintage to deep-pocketed Asian collectors.

One mainland Chinese connoisseur splashed out an eye-popping $93,077 (€63,563, £58,436) for a bottle of 1982 Chateau Petrus Imperial, in another example of how wealthy Chinese are setting records in markets from wine to property.

The weekend auction fetched almost 30 per cent more than Sotheby's estimate, taking total wine sales in the Chinese territory this year to $14.3m. New York and London - the traditional leading fine wine trading centres - recorded sales of $10.5m and $8m so far this year for Sotheby's, but they could surpass Hong Kong later this year when they hold more auctions.

The collector who bought the Chateau Petrus, which has never before been sold at auction, secured the six-litre bottle after heavy bidding by Asian investors, who represented 99 per cent of the buyers.

Sotheby's and its rival Christie's started regular wine auctions in Hong Kong after the city abolished wine duties in early 2008. Since then, Asian collectors have helped propel strong sales despite the global financial crisis, with Chinese buyers in particular fuelling the expansion with their growing wealth.

Crown Wine Cellars , a Hong-Kong company that uses a British-built second world war bunker as a wine cellar, says business from mainland China has risen 300 to 400 per cent over the past 18 months

"While Hong Kong people are still the biggest fine wine buyers in the world, we are seeing a sharp rise in interest from mainland China," said Gregory De'eb, general manager of Crown.

"China will overtake Hong Kong eventually as the world's largest buyer, although no one knows how soon."

Boris de Vroomen, co-chairman of the Hong Kong Wine & Spirits Industry Coalition, said mainland buyers now accounted for about 30 per cent of wine sales for local merchants, up from zero just a few years ago.

"The interest is spreading very fast in China. The wealth is huge there," said Mr de Vroomen.

The wine sales marked a strong start for Sotheby's autumn auction, which will see more than 2,400 lots go under the hammer. Sotheby's is expecting that the artwork and antiques sales will reach $140m.

In a packed room yesterday, Tranquil Landscape, a Chinese painting by artist Li Keran sold for $941,000, contributing to the day's total of $23.4m.