More wine shops, but choice is still limited in Hong Kong
Like many experiments carried out on a grand scale, Hong Kong's open wine market has certainly raised some anomalies. For instance, the casual observer trapped in one of Sai Ying Pun's traffic jams might have noticed a sign announcing the arrival of Massandra, Crimean wine.
No disrespect to that Ukrainian powerhouse, which has been producing wine for more than 100 years, but those who associate Crimea more with cannon fire than cabernet would be forgiven for thinking Hong Kong has become overrun with oenophiles.
There are now twice as many wine shop chains as there were in 2011
In recent years, Hong Kong has been a veritable petri dish for wine retail - there are now twice as many wine shop chains as there were in 2011. But we are still wondering how representative a few unorthodox bottle shops are of the middle of the bell curve.
In Hong Kong, retailer, importer and wholesaler are usually different arms of the same company. This doesn't always result in drastic consumer savings, as even businesses that haven't invested in a bricks-and-mortar shop keep a marked-up retail pricelist for non-trade customers.
Many businesses settle for something in between, recasting 38th floor offices in industrial buildings as showrooms, with beckoning leather sofas.
While this network for the in-the-know is relatively unique to our market, and certainly worth exploring, where do you look for bottles that can't finance a sumptuous tasting parlour?
Street-level retail has been dominated for years by one name - Watson's - but more than a few challengers have sprung up of late. Sadly, most competitors contribute minimal diversity, and have identical lists that never stray far fromthe letter B.