Raising the Bar

Hongkong

Long a hub for wine connoisseurs in Asia, Hong Kong saw its wine scene explode after the government abolished the sales tax on wine in February 2008. Suddenly, specialty shops sprang up in every corner of the city, and local supermarkets began to stock a decent selection of vintages to go with an increasingly gourmet level of products and produce.

Today, the city offers a number of creative ways to sample the nectar of the gods - from tastings in swank wine bars to special yacht cruises.

The new kid on the block is California Vintage, a wine bar that opened in mid-January and features 23 family-owned boutique wineries from the length and breadth of the Sunny State. The warm, open interiors of the bar can house up to 60 wine buffs and offers 80 bottles available for tasting by the glass or half-glass. If you want to learn more about each vintage, you can refer to iPads detailing each bottle's characteristics and the winery that produced it, or chat with Eric Fung, head sommelier and manager of California Vintage.

"You cannot taste the wine properly without pairing it with great Californian cuisine, and that is why we offer food pairings," says Jeff Ronan, partner and general manager with California Vintage.

With innovative West Coast quick bites and casually elegant dishes, the menu is designed to draw out the subtleties of the wine selection. The Fritz Sauvignon Blanc from Dry Creek Valley, for example, is a nice summer wine to go with goat's cheese, while a Yorba Zinfandel from Shake Ridge Vineyard has a welcome spiciness that helps cut the heat in chili-laden salsas.

Tucked away down a dim alley off Wellington Street, Tastings Wine Bar is a hot spot for intrepid wine lovers who are looking for their next favorite label. With 40 different bottles to choose from, Tastings stores its wines in Enomatic wine dispensers to ensure they are protected from oxidation - and that each glass is a winner.

It offers New and Old World varieties, plus champagnes, sparklings and grappa. If you get the munchies, there is a good selection of breads, dips, cheese and cold-cut platters to accompany the libations.

Fans of wine from Down Under will be thrilled to hear that Adelaide Cellar Door offers tastings from 40 boutique wineries primarily from Australia and New Zealand.

Along with its free monthly wine tastings, it runs lectures by wine masters from the various wineries it represents. Also popular is its wine-laced sailing adventures on a 64-foot Volvo 60 racing yacht.

Book your own private wine cruise or join its Chinese New Year sailing on Feb 4.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/23/2011 page15)