This year the iDealwine team pulled out all the stops at the Hong Kong wine fair! We showcased our usual gorgeous wine selection as we have done for 8 years now. From whites to reds, everything on offer was greatly appreciated by the visitors. To give you an idea…
Champagne, Brut Blanc de Blancs Drappier NV
Loire Valley, Sancerre Les Romains Alphonse Mellot 2016
Savoie, IGP Vin des Allobroges – Cévins Quartz Ardoisières (Domaine des) 2017
Beaujolais, Morgon Corcelette Jean Foillard 2017
Burgundy, Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Barre Maison Louis Jadot 2012
Bordeaux, Château Haut Marbuzet, Saint Estephe 2001
Château Pedesclaux, Pauillac 2008
Château Sociando Mallet, Haut Medoc 2005
Château Fombrauge, Saint Emilion 2000
Roussillon, Rivesaltes Casenobe (Domaine) 1971
From Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th November the annual gathering between iDealwine and our Asian clients took place, also drawing in people curious to discover new wines!
Asian wine lovers almost emptied our stock from Bordeaux, a clear sign of their interest in this region, especially for mature vintages. Burgundy is definitely fashionable and the Jeroboam from Louis Jadot saw great success. This fair is also a great opportunity to talk to wine experts. Alphonse Mellot, Jean Foillard and our rare wine from Domaine des Ardoisières attracted even the best connoisseurs. Our selling point is rarity and we succeeded in surprising the audience!
What’s more, our Blind Tasting Challenge this year challenged dozens of wine lovers and we can see why:
Thursday: Rhone Valley, Chateauneuf-du-pape Le Vieux Donjon 1999
Le Vieux Donjon is a relatively unknown wine in France, rarely distributed. Composed mainly of Grenache grapes from old vines, this wine is extremely elegant and reveals notes of fresh red berries and refined, delicate tannins. The finish is extended with notes of fresh fruit and spices.
Friday: Burgundy, Pommard Clos Des Epeneaux Comte Armand 2000
Comte Armand is situated in the centre of the Pommard appellation, at the foot of the slopes, and this famous clos, that has been cultivated using biodynamics since 1988, is now run organically. The wine offered aromas of ripe red berries and violet blossom, with hints of the Pommard signature tannic in the finish.
Saturday: Bordeaux, Margaux Chateau Giscours 1999
Giscours’ wines are generous and rich in this mature vintage , the fruit flavour being well-integrated with tannins and offering a soft texture with high concentration body.
The Hong Kong wine fair is always a good opportunity to analyse the current economic situation. For 5 months Hong Kong has been shacked by a political and now economic crisis. Its economy shrank into a technical recession over the past 4 months. According to the SCMP (South China Morning Post), the economy shrank 3,2% in the third quarter of 2019. The wine and spirits sector is dropping down especially for the retail section. Importers and distributors have seen their turnovers drop by more than 50% in the past 3 months and this is still decreasing. The China-US trade war also affects the wine business. Mainland China investors and wine collectors usually travel to Hong Kong to pick up their wines to avoid Chinese government taxes (48%). Due to the current crisis, they don’t even come to buy or empty their HK warehouses. As a result, a few sellers can still do business with mainland China but there is stiff competition.
However, from January to October, iDealwine succeeded in pushing through this unforeseen crisis.
iDealwine, as a leading online auctioneer, has the main advantage not to have a direct impact on sales as people continue to order online. With 3 to 4 monthly auction sales, we give the customers a real incentive to buy and arrange shipment at the ideal moment. Rarity is also the main reason for our current growth (39% YTD versus 2018 in Asia).
The Hong Kong wine fair gave us the great opportunity to meet customers and ask them directly their personal opinions regarding the complex situation they currently face. Our HK office gathered key points and would like to share them with you!
Rarity is our strength and especially during a period of crisis, as people save money to spend only on rare wines. iDealwine works daily to source the wine from more and more collectors looking for unfindable jewels. A mainland Chinese customer shared his feelings with us, saying “It is really important for Chinese people to be powerful. And you are so when you own something rare. iDealwine gives me the opportunity to offer mature wines at fair price to my customers.”
The second explanation is the provenance and the expertise. Asian customers are afraid of fake wines, especially with the online market. New Penfolds fakes bottles were discovered beginning of November for a total amount of 850,000 RMB according to Natalie Wong, wine specialist in Hong Kong. After 20 years, iDealwine is linked with hundreds of European private collectors and has built a huge sourcing database. Clear and exact pictures of each wine and a strict clarity about the origin of the wines are reassuring. Also, iDealwine recently launched a new app to track the bottles scanning a QR code on the bottle. This is a way to give to people the right to know what they are going to buy.
