Vincent Cheung Ting-kau's love of wine started on a slow boat to Marseilles. 'When I was about 18, I was on my way to university in England. In the 1960s, if you went to England you either went by boat or plane. By boat, you could go directly to England or take the French route via Marseilles. I thought the best way was the longest way,' he says.
'At all our meals on the boat, we had red wine and white wine - that's how I started. I was in tourist class; when they had leftover wines in first class, the waiters would take it and give it to us to taste.' From that humble start, Cheung went on to become a top collector of Bordeaux.
In the 1960s and 70s, even drinking wine was quite unusual in Hong Kong. 'People were still drinking VSOP and XO cognac; they were not wine drinkers,' Cheung says. 'I still remember when we went to Gaddi's, and the wine list was just one page.'
How things have changed. The wine list at Gaddi's at The Peninsula has grown from a page to a thick tome, as befits a French fine dining restaurant. Wine is now so common that most restaurants have decent wine lists. The abolishment of the wine tax two years ago has made it more affordable.
But Annette Pocklington, business development director of wine importer Fine Vintage, sees the growing interest of wine coming more from awareness. 'People are well travelled or overseas educated, plus with the internet you can learn about wine,' she says.
Asian wine collectors, like Cheung, are helping to boost Hong Kong's global standing. The number of mainland buyers at Christie's global wine auctions increased 180 per cent from autumn 2008 to autumn last year. Hongkongers are also willing to pay more than buyers in other major centres. At Christie's wine auctions in Hong Kong last year the average price per lot was HK$126,000 - almost five times higher than the average lot in New York. Some are speculating that Hong Kong is showing signs of surpassing New York as the largest wine auction centre in the world.