Here's cheers to a tippling new venture (hktdc.com)


Ron (left) and Peter Macfarlane toast an exciting future for Australian wines in the increasingly sophisticated markets of Hong Kong and China

Hong Kong wine lovers can now bunker down and enjoy a range of boutique wines from the Margaret River region in Western Australia, without ever leaving town.

A partnership between Ron and Peter Macfarlane in Australia, directors of the Margaret River Regional Wine Centre south of Perth, and Hong Kong-based expatriate Tony Mitchell, has led to the opening of a new wine marketing and distribution enterprise that sources boutique labels - even cellar door-only varieties - and makes them available in small or mixed-order quantities.

Called the Australian Wine Centre, the joint venture is situated within the Crown Wine Cellars in Shouson Hill on Hong Kong Island, a facility created in underground bunkers and believed to be the most advanced of its kind in Asia. The concrete-walled bunkers - built before World War II as an ammunition and weapons depot for the British forces - provided ideal conditions for storing wine. Crown Worldwide Group saw the potential and refurbished the bunkers to include state-of-the-art computer controlled equipment, creating cellars designed for serious oenophiles who can either store their own wines at the facility, or join as members and imbibe at the clubhouse.

Sophisticated market

Peter Macfarlane said that the venture taps into the "extremely sophisticated" wine-drinking culture already established in Hong Kong, which had been one of his company's biggest markets for years, accounting for 30 per cent of international sales. It is also a portal to the emerging markets of the Chinese mainland, where wine appreciation is a rapidly growing trend and initiatives such as Cepa (the closer economic partnership arrangement) open up new opportunities for Hong Kong-based companies.

A fact-finding mission to Hong Kong in 2003 led to the alliance with Mr Mitchell, a finance executive and wine lover, who was looking for entrepreneurial opportunity. The centre opened last October and has since hosted a range of special functions that showcased a range of boutique Australian wines never previously available locally.

Setting up the venture was made easier because of the Hong Kong government and business community's enthusiasm for new business, specifically small business, Mr Macfarlane said. Logistically, he added, Hong Kong is also the easiest port to ship to, and processing times are very good.

"The future of Australian wine in Hong Kong and China is a very exciting one, due to one factor: its quality," Mr Macfarlane said.

"Hong Kong will be our testing ground. This market will sort us out and make us fitter and better prepared to launch into the mainland. The fact that the level of contact between Hong Kong and the mainland is increasing all the time means that we will be able to get a clearer and more realistic picture when we do launch into the mainland. Our intention is to be connected with Hong Kong and China for a very long time."