Independent Wine Centre

Hong Kong Hub	Counterfeits in the grape wall of China
Watch for the rise of fake wine	The Australian
Simon talks about the booming Greater China wine market	Chinese Food and Wine Pairing
Pinot Noir - Fashion or Fad?	Outrageous Food
Gourmet Crab	Best-Kept Secrets
Pinot Chine	Master Class
Simon Tam speaks to The Times South Africa Bacchus in Hong Kong	HONG KONG Wine Market Still Blooming
Wine - The Good Life Article: A Match Made in Heaven?	Wine Not?
Hong Kong Wine Round Up	Uneconomic Bubbles

25 September 2006: Hong Kong's Wine Tax

"...nowadays 95% of wines are sold through 7-Elevens and supermarkets"

Hong Kong's wine tax is currently 80% - that's the highest wine tax in the developed world. It's not at all consistent with the government's policy of promoting Hong Kong as a wine hub and an international city.

Wine is a highly transparent product - compared to Australia, London or New York, Hong Kong is a very expensive place in which to do business. Our tourism, hospitality and convention/exhibition business is a substantial part of the government's revenue - wine is served in hotels and restaurants and at all kinds of conventions and exhibitions. Tourism is, after all, what we sell, and the high prices aren't good for Hong Kong's image.

I think the government needs to realise that the high wine tax was initially based on a perception that wine was a luxury product. But nowadays 95% of wines are sold through 7-Elevens and supermarkets - and not just in Central, Mid-levels or Repulse Bay. It's here to stay; it's part of a healthy lifestyle and it works well with food. So I think the government should review the situation.

Part of the problem is that our current Treasurer is a wine buff - his collection is worth about US$1 million. So if the wine tax was reduced, he'd benefit, and that could be seen as a conflict of interest. However, we need to look at the bigger picture - it's about Hong Kong's economy and international image, not just one person.

To be fair, though, it needs to be said that even if the wine tax were reduced from 80% to 40%, that wouldn't automatically mean that wine prices would drop by half. The tax is only part of the cost of a bottle of wine - Hong Kong is an expensive place to do business, and other costs include labour, storage and distribution. But the government could help by making wine more affordable.

25 September 2006: VINEXPO 2006

"...this was the first time that VINEXPO had partnered with a local identity to present something as unique as a food-and-wine pairing event featuring Asian food"

On May 23 and 24, 2006, Simon Tam presented two food-and-wine pairing seminars and lunches as part of VINEXPO Asia-Pacific 2006. On May 23, the theme was Thai, Japanese and Malaysian food; on May 24 it was Chinese food. (These seminars/lunches were for registered VINEXPO participants only.)

VINEXPO is the world's largest wine exhibition, and it happens every second year outside of Bordeaux. The most exciting thing about VINEXPO 2006 was that it was being held in Hong Kong for the second time, so it was a significant investment.

Wine-makers from around the world came here because they look to Hong Kong as the gateway to mainland China. And they weren't just buyers from France and Australia - they came from Eastern Europe, South America...

The most significant thing from the Independent Wine Centre's perspective was that this was the first time that VINEXPO had partnered with a local identity to present something as unique as a food-and-wine pairing event featuring Asian food. It was a real acknowledgement of what we've been doing for the past 12-13 years. They recognised the potential that it has in introducing people to local foods and culture, and the impact it will have on the success of the future wine market. It was also about educating the international wine market - in the East and the West - that wine works very well with Asian food. In fact, our philosophy at the IWC has always been to bridge the gap between East and West - that's my life: I was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Australia.

I'm also passionate about bridging the gap between wine-makers and chefs (after all, I'm qualified in both fields). Wine-makers like to talk about how great a bottle of wine is, and chefs like to talk about how great a piece of fish is, but nobody talks about how well food and wine work together. There's a huge gap between wine people's knowledge and food people's knowledge, and in the history of wine books and cookbooks, there's never been a merger of the two. So I'm currently working on an idea for such a book, and even a TV programme. We always have to be one step ahead, and this is a logical next step for the IWC.