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| French wine: Enthralling Asians even today | |
Asians’ love affair with French wine enjoys a long history, but collecting wine is a relatively new phenomenon. There were pockets of causal wine drinkers in major Asian cities in the 1950s and 1960s, especially in western-influenced cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore. However, it was really in the early 1970s that the first generation of Asian wine collectors, who built up formidable collections by any international standards, emerged. In China, this first generation is referred to as ‘Old Carats’, those who rarely give interviews, don’t talk or brag about their wine collection, but who enjoy the finest French wines without pomp or ceremony.
It is French wine that enticed this first generation, and several decades later, it is still French wine that draws a growing number of second and now third generation of serious wine lovers and collectors. Whether it is Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Hong Kong or Singapore, French wines are the largest imported wine by country category in volume, and far ahead of other countries’ wines in value. However, conversations with serious Asian wine collectors, reveals a deep concern about the future of French wines, at every quality level.
From Hong Kong and Singapore, three knowledgeable wine collectors were selected to share their views on French wines in Asia. One common theme among the collectors is the vivid recollection of a specific French wine that turned them from a casual drinker to a serious collector. The turning point for NK Yong in Singapore was a 1968 Latour, for Edward Fung in Hong Kong, it was a 1978 Domaine de Romanee Conti’s Richebourg and for Anthony Cheng in Hong Kong, it was a 1975 Branaire Ducru. The following reveals their thoughts on the past, present and future of French wine in Asia.
Edward Fung
Edward Fung is a retired lawyer with over 25 years in the legal practice, specializing in the China market. Over the past two decades, his numerous trips and business dealings in mainland China enabled him to see first hand the growth and interest in wine. “China is incredibly complex and wine consumption is definitely increasing. Wine is very often being served at business banquets and meals. But this is mostly local inexpensive wine like Great Wall or Dynasty.” For this vast majority of new wine drinkers in China, wine is about Chinese wine.
However, in Hong Kong, this is different, admits Fung, who grew up and was educated in Hong Kong. “In the
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| | Fung: Asian market needs to be educated about wines |
1980s, when I started to collect wine, wine equaled French wine. There was nothing else really available here.” Like other first and second generation wine collectors, Fung relied on the Remy wine shop. He remembers, “In the late 1980s, I bought six cases of Chateau Margaux 1985. It was affordable and it cost me about HKD500 per bottle.”
During this time, Fung wanted to expand his knowledge of wine and took classes at the Hong Kong Wine School, where the UK Wine and Spirits Education Trust courses were being offered. “I wanted to learn as much as possible when I was starting to enjoy wine, so I took classes for 18 months,” says Fung. His knowledge and experience with wine was identified by Forbes Asia and in 1996, Fung wrote a monthly column for some time.
Fung enjoys having a small and focused wine collection that is easily accessible. Unlike the majority of his fellow Asian collectors, Fung keeps his wines close to home - in 15 Eurocaves that houses over 3,000 bottles. He also keeps wine in Singapore, where duties and cost of fine wines are lower, and also in Bordeaux. Storage is a major obstacle for collectors in Asia and Fung chose not to convert rooms because he doesn’t trust that air-conditioning will properly store the wine long term. “I find that wines kept in wine fridges age very well. Some friends I know converted rooms, but many have had problems, with wines aging unevenly or aging too quickly. So, I don’t take the risk.”
Fung’s concern with aging arises because of his buying philosophy of choosing only the best. “You have to understand the Chinese habit of drinking,” Fung explains. “We don’t drink wine at every meal. My wine loving friends, who are crazy about wine, or even myself, do not consume wine every night. Therefore, we can afford to spend more money on fine wine. When we do drink wine, we want to, and can afford to, have the best.”
‘The best’ for Fung are not just the first growths or the well-known labels. He says, “I trust my own palate. For example, I like 1990 Pavie very much, so I bought many subsequent vintages. However since 1998, I really don’t appreciate their change in style.” The wines that Fung enjoys are those with character and wines that evolves with time. “I think Leoville Las Cases is one of the most consistent chateaux. I try the younger vintages like the 2000 and I open it for 24 hours, tasting the glass every few hours and I trace its profile over the day. It breathes and it changes and evolves. That is what I look for in good quality Bordeaux.”
In his search for the best, Fung has explored other quality wine regions outside of France. But after decades of experimenting, Fung keeps coming back to his favorite region, Burgundy. “What changed me from a casual drinker to a collector was Burgundy,” says Fung. “I was fascinated by this wine that smelled to me of Chinese canned luncheon meat that I used to enjoy as a child with rice. It was incredibly savoury and I wondered, ‘How can a beverage made from grapes have such a savoury flavour’?”
When speaking about his favorite producer, Domaine de Romanee Conti (DRC), Fung’s eyes become dreamy and his voice softens. “I remember vividly the 1978 DRC Richebourg at the Drunken Flower Chinese restaurant in Melbourne. We opened the bottle and the whole room was filled with its fragrance.” Since that moment, Fung became an avid and loyal collector of DRC. His collection includes vintages going back to 1978 and nearly all the vintages from the different Grand Cru vineyards from 1985 to the latest releases. He is currently enjoying the 1991 La Tache, which he thinks is young, but still offers incredible pleasure.
One major hurdle that Fung sees for French wines is the language barrier. “It is a huge problem and a big challenge trying to memorize foreign names. Imagine (for a European), trying to learn all the Chinese names for every town in China. That’s what it is like when we try to remember appellation names and vineyards.” Now, with a growing number of non-wine specialists in China writing about wine, the descriptors and terminology used is confusing to consumers. “We need an entire generation of Chinese who enjoy wine and can describe wine in a way that is understandable and intelligent to the majority of the public. That will take time.”
Fung feels that French wine’s strengths are its reputation for top quality wines and its strong market image in Asia. However, the pricing of top wines is too high. As a new consumer base, Fung believes the Asian market needs more education. This can provide consumers with the confidence to go beyond reliable labels and take risks by choosing new producers and experimenting. In the short term, however, with demand outstripping supply in China, all imported wines and especially the highly regarded French wines will benefit. Even with the 20%-30% growth in production by the domestic wineries in China, Fung feels the market will ask for better wines more quickly than the domestic supply can keep pace with.
