Wine lovers were presented with a dilemma when the duty on wine was lifted earlier this year: they had to decide where to keep vast collections that had hitherto been stored in France, Britain or the United States.
Most Hong Kong flats and houses lack the temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms needed for storing precious bottles in optimal conditions and the only other option, says architect David Wong Ying-kit, were the war-era bunker facilities on Shouson Hill used by Crown Wine Cellars. But 'if you have 10 cases, [they're] stored on racks with everyone else's wine', says Wong. 'The problem with that is you can't access the wines, can't see them, can't take them out whenever you want.'
Wong and three partners decided to establish facilities which give customers private storage space with wooden wine racks to hold each bottle separately. Hong Kong Wine Vault, which opened last month, operates over two floors in an industrial building in Wong Chuk Hang. When construction is complete, at the end of next year, it will have 30,000 sq ft of space spread over five floors, with tasting rooms and fully fitted kitchens, so customers will be able to host dinners cooked by outside caterers. The facilities are cooled to a constant 13 degrees Celsius, with 50 per cent to 70 per cent humidity. Customers can rent rooms ranging from about 47 sq ft in size, which will store about 900 standard bottles and cost HK$2,850 per month, to 77 sq ft, storing 1,250 bottles (HK$4,600 a month).
'We can fit out rooms according to the customer's requirements and they can be ready in about two to three days,' says Wong. 'We ordered a container of wooden wine racks from the United States. They arrived in kit form. It was like putting up Ikea furniture. We ordered three types of rack: for single bottles, for magnums and champagne bottles and ex-bin - a shelf in the middle for all sizes of bottle.
'It's basically like self-storage facilities: the customer can go anytime. They have an access card to enter the premises and for each wine vault, there's a face recognition system.'
Wong plans to store his own bottles at the Hong Kong Wine Vault - when they arrive that is; the majority of his collection is being shipped in. 'I have about 2,000 bottles in total but I have only about 300 bottles in my two wine fridges at home - the rest are in transit. So now, I have access to only about 10 per cent of my wines, which can be frustrating. It will be very satisfying to have all my bottles in one space.'