Haigan Wong used to spend his holidays with his father in Portugal tracking down the country's finest wines. When he returned to Hong Kong from London in 2004, he rejected a career in law to begin Adega Royale, turning a passion for little-known Portuguese wines into a business. Now the 29-year-old imports, distributes and consults on many types of wine, but his passion for the Portuguese vine has not waned. When Wong pours a premium red, he sniffs, beams and then declares, 'The nose is just guzzling.'
Not many people know too much about Portuguese wine. How did you discover it?
As a boy. My dad was working there and I went to stay with him in the summer holidays. Because Portugal's culture is so much about drinking and food, that was [the level on which] my dad brought me in, but he didn't want to show me the boring entry-level stuff. We found some really good restaurants that had some really old wines. Not all of them were great wines because some of them had been badly neglected, but those good old wines were what got me going.
You've been filming a television show in which you introduce viewers to the pleasures of wine. Where is it set?
We went to Portugal, and we are going to Italy and Australia. It's a lifestyle show but the wine section is on how to choose wine, and drink it.
What do you love about Portugal's wines?