Can Hong Kong mature as a wine hub? French vineyard owner calls for new focus
Seventh-generation winemaker Erwan Faiveley encourages city to up logistical and storage services during first post-Covid fact-finding trip
Hong Kong could strengthen its position as a global wine trading hub by enhancing its logistics and storage services, according to a seventh-generation French winemaker overseeing a 200-year-old Burgundy estate.
Erwan Faiveley, owner of wine labels Domaine Faiveley and Billaud-Simon, also praised the Hong Kong government’s decision to axe its wine tax in 2008 during his first fact-finding trip to the city and mainland China since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The greatest thing they’ve done was cutting all taxes,” Faiveley said, calling on the city to now focus on boosting infrastructure to bolster Hong Kong’s wine trade.
“Having [them] facilitate more logistics around refrigerated containers and warehouses could be an opportunity.”
Faiveley’s visit came as trade figures showed a contraction in the current market.
After the wine duty was eliminated in 2008, import values soared, reaching a peak of HK$12.04 billion (US$1.55 billion) in 2016, according to the Census and Statistics Department.