Initiative for storage would be world-first Hong Kong is exploring the possibility of becoming the world's first city to establish a standard for wine storage facilities as part of its push to become Asia's wine hub. It recently signed Asia's first memorandum of understanding with France on wine-related business, a move aimed at making the city the region's centre for wine. Sources said a collaboration between the Productivity Council and the Trade Development Council would hopefully be implemented locally and then extended overseas if it were successful. Boris de Vroomen, co-chairman of the Hong Kong Wine and Spirits Industry Coalition, said that setting up the standard would take time and it was important to ensure the certification could be measurable. He said the industry had contributed its expertise to the initiative and he expected more details to be announced soon. 'This is a good initiative. Hong Kong will be the only place to have such a standard.' Mr de Vroomen said London has great storage facilities ensuring the right conditions and temperature, but no standard had been set. 'Their expertise was built over time,' he said. 'But we do it differently. We set up a standard as a certificate and guarantee for consumers.' The standard will be set up primarily in Hong Kong, he said, but 'if it works well, it can go international'. The Trade Development Council said the need for certification of storage facilities emerged during talks with the industry. The council then passed the request to a technical body, the Productivity Council, which is examining the issue. Mr de Vroomen said Hong Kong had a great demand for storage facilities, especially when local wine consumers began to ship more of their collection back to the city. He said most of the wines were stored in London. 'In fact, 40 per cent of the wines in London are owned by Hong Kong collectors,' Mr de Vroomen said. 'These wines were only shipped to Hong Kong when they wanted to consume them. But after the zero wine duty was implemented, more wines were shipped to Hong Kong.' The government scrapped its tax on wines this year. He said Hong Kong had risen to third in global wine trading, behind London and New York. The Productivity Council declined comment. How to keep your wine Temperature: around 13 degrees Celsius Relative humidity: around 65 per cent Light: Keep the wines away from the Sun and minimise their exposure to any light source, as light affects the nature of wines just as much as temperature and relative humidity Vibrations: Store the wines in a stable environment; avoid any unnecessary vibration
