About 25 years ago, fine dining in Hong Kong offered only a handful of options: Plume at the Regent Hotel, The Grill Room at the Hilton, Gaddi's at The Peninsula or Margaux at the Kowloon Shangri-La. Only there could you find a decent wine list. Back in the 1980s, it was Tsim Sha Tsui, not Central, that had the majority of fine dining options.
Wine groupies were rather limited among the Chinese at that time, and the majority consisted of lawyers and doctors who had studied in England, developing a taste for claret and Chablis. The wine was expensive but not prohibitively so for white-collar workers, and amassing a modest cellar did not require a fortune. Despite the relative affordability (compared with the cost of fine wines now), the image of wine was always elitist, associated with the expatriate community, the then governing British upper class and those who were fortunate enough to have studied abroad.
Even now, with many wines priced at under HK$100 at ParknShop and Wellcome, wine is still, in the minds of many people, a luxury beverage. It is easy to understand why: wine still costs more than beer and many other beverages; it is not considered an essential part of a meal as it is in other regions; historically, it has been associated with the elite; it possesses unique characteristics that allow it to age and increase in value; its understanding and appreciation are shrouded in complex jargon and facts. All this contributes to wine's image as a luxury, even if prices have become much more affordable.
Wine as part of a luxury dining experience enjoys its own special serving ceremony.
First there are the glasses and decanters to select. (Riedel makes a different wine glass for each major grape variety and region.) The correct temperature of the wines is crucial, and they often require a temperature-controlled storage unit until they are ready to serve. Ice buckets and other serving paraphernalia such as different types of wine openers (for normal wine, mature wines, etc) need to be prepared. Wine fridges, which allow wine to be stored without vibration, are another must.
The 'wine ceremony' is often entrusted to a sommelier, who is well-versed in the ritual. An experienced sommelier should first present the bottle to the customer for inspection, then skilfully remove the top part of the capsule. The next step shows the experience of the sommelier: how easily does he/she extract the cork from the bottle? Is it done in one smooth, effortless gesture, or is there a struggle to remove the cork? Next, the cork is presented to the customer for inspection and a small tasting portion is either poured for the sommelier to determine if the wine is in the correct condition to be served or the tasting portion is served to the customer for them to make that determination.