Toast this trend: Hong Kong's teaching wine shops(1)

The average Hong Konger is drinking more wine than anyone else in Asia. We consume 4.7 liters a year, according to a survey by International Wine & Spirit Research for Vinexpo. That's more than the Japanese’s 2.4 liter average and Singapore’s 2.1 liters. 

With the growing number of vino aficionados, a new breed of wine shop has cropped up across the city. Breaking away from the mainstream, they are run by true wine geeks on a mission to educate.

Whether it’s through formal classes or touch screen technology, these newcomers are changing the game.

Sex sells at Portrait Winery

This place strives to be the most down-to-earth tasting room in the city. There's no wine jargon or fancy labels, instead, founder Steven Jaray will plunk down glass after glass, asking you to sniff, swirl then gargle.

The cheerful Canadian insists that the only way to understand wine is to puff up your cheeks and swoosh it around in your tongue like you would mouthwash.

Making wine accessible to people is a priority for Jaray. He is near evangelical when it comes to teaching people how to pick a good bottle.

“People should be able to say to a waiter: 'No, that wine doesn’t taste good,'” he says. 

Portrait takes an unusual approach to labeling. Each of their bottles has a 1940s-style pinup girl on the label, each with a personality to match the wine’s flavors. Their Pinot Gris, for example, is represented by a sexy librarian.

“It gives people something to share and talk about -- it demystifies wine,” says Jaray.

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Portrait Winery sources its grapes from France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and the United States then crushes and ages them in their Tsuen Wan cellar. Free tastings of their wine and brandy available at their shop in Central.

Portrait Winery, 31 Staunton St., Central, +852 2526 8858 www.portraitwinery.com

Wine 2.0 at Amo Eno

Amo Eno is the only Hong Kong wine bar outfitted with LCD tables. Embedded in a marble countertop, the large multi-touch screens act as virtual sommeliers. 

The screens are perfect for wine neophytes who have no clue where to start as it helps you pick wines according to the flavors you like. 

“It shouldn’t be a requirement that you walk in and already know about wine,” says CEO of Amo Eno Bob Cranston. “We want to be inclusive and bring inexperienced people in.”

The shop’s walls are lined with Enomatic machines for wine tastings. The types of wine change weekly and up to 70 are available for tasting at a time. 

Also on CNNGo: Hong Kong wine bars worth savoring

Amo Eno serves gourmet comfort food to match their wines in a room at the back of the shop. Every Tuesday, they host “Wine Society” nights for themed tastings, hors d’oeuvres and wine talk.

Plans to upgrade their computer system are in the works. Soon they’ll be storing customers' wine history in their system and allow sharing on Facebook.

Amo Eno, Shop 3027, Podium Level 3, IFC Mall, 1 Harbour View St., +852 2954 9922 www.amoeno.com

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