Hong Kong - a wine destination?

Most people visit Hong Kong to shop and eat.

My recent trip to this former British colony, sponsored by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, was to attend two major international wine events - the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair and Wine Future Hong Kong 2011.

Hong Kong hosts several wine events during the "Wine and Dine Festival" period of October and November. It is certainly a great time of the year, as the weather is quite mild and fine.

It's all very well hosting these impressive international wine events where thousands of "wine people" gather to showcase wines, exchange business cards, do business, make promises, and learn from specialists and experts. But a place for wine lovers? Napa Valley. Yes. Tuscany. Of course. And many fabulous wine regions in New Zealand. Most definitely.

Hong Kong just doesn't give you a romantic notion of rolling vineyards and picturesque winery restaurants. Because they don't have them.

When Hong Kong was unified with China in 1997, some predicted that the city will lose its economic power. Quite the contrary, and despite the economic crisis, Hong Kong has never been stronger with current 6.8 percent GDP growth and over $4.5 billion government surplus. This little corner of China is doing pretty well.

And they realised the potential of the wine trade, and abolished import duty on wine which has been as high as 100 percent at one stage. This resulted in the growth of wine imports by around 60 percent (compound annual growth since 2008), now over $1.3 billion in imported wine over the last 12 months. Hong Kong has also become the largest wine auction market surpassing the traditional super powers of London and New York.

It's a great opportunity for New Zealand wine producers, then. Yes. Trouble is that thousands of wineries around the world are trying to sell wine there too. So it won't be an easy ride. Yet, I can't help but think that this region (and beyond to mainland China) will become one of the most important places for New Zealand wine.

We've seen the rise of the New World (North America, Australia and New Zealand for example) since World War II. From non-wine drinking culture to drinking ports and sherries, then to mildly sweet wines, now wine of every style is enjoyed by so many New Zealanders. It has taken a few decades for New Zealand to become a nation boasting a wine culture. I suspect it will take much less for Hong Kong.

It is certainly early days for wine there. However, I caught a glimpse of an exciting future when we dined at one of those off-the-main-drag street cafés. It was a popular place as we had to wait a few minutes standing on the side of the road for a table. The food was cheap and excellent. Eating under the stars. Drinking cold lager. Couldn't be better.

Then I noticed a couple of tables of young locals eating their stir-fries and rice, not with beer, but with wine. They were talking loudly, laughing, and drinking wine. That I believe is the future of Hong Kong. Not just an important place for international wine events, but a place where wine lovers can enjoy great food and tasty wine, in casual surroundings, among friends.

Some of the great wine names were available to taste in Hong Kong but it was lovely to see these New Zealand wines too.

Misha's Vineyard Central Otago Lime Light Riesling 2010 $26.00

This is delicate, pure and beautifully framed, showing elegant aromas of floral and lemon/lime together with a hint of flinty notes on the nose, followed by a focused palate showing a linear mouthfeel and subtle sweetness.

Misha's High Note Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009 $45.00

This is a finely poised Pinot displaying perfumed aromas of red/black cherry, floral, cedar and spice with a hint of mushroom. The palate is ripe and juicy with excellent concentration and seamlessly woven fine-grained tannins. Quite stunning.

Sacred Hill Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 $22.00

Intensely aromatic displaying lime zest, currant and subtle capsicum characters. The palate is racy, juicy and very tasty. A great wine to partner elegant seafood dishes.

Sacred Hawke's Bay Merlot Cabernet 2010 $22.00

Smooth and comforting, this is a fruit-forward and supple red showing ripe plum and subtle spice flavours combined with an appealing juicy finish. A lovely casual red – great with pizzas and pastas, as well as barbeque food.

Wairau River Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 $20.00

It’s full of passionfruit, peach and herbaceous characters on the nose followed by an elegantly expressed palate with a lingering delicious finish.

Wairau River Marlborough Pinot Gris 2011 $25.00

A classic example of the variety showing peach, pear and floral notes with a beautifully textured palate. An irresistible wine.

Sam Kim is a senior wine judge and author of Wine Orbit magazine (wineorbit.co.nz). You can follow him via Twitter @wineorbit.