Winemaker Michel Rolland comes to Hong Kong

It is the opening day of Vinexpo Asia-Pacific and at the Rolland Collection booth, Michel Rolland is being mobbed by mainland visitors, who have recognised the winemaker and want to have their pictures taken with him.

"I know too many people here," he chuckles.

The amiable Frenchman in his mid-60s doesn't come to Hong Kong often, but when he does, many gravitate towards him.

Originally from Pomerol, Rolland has had an extremely successful career as "the flying winemaker" because, as a wine consultant, he helps hundreds of clients in 20 countries make award-winning wines.

Perhaps it has to do with his more than 40 years of experience in winemaking, starting on his parents' estate, Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, going to oenology school, and then analysing wine when he and his wife and fellow oenologist Dany bought an oenology lab in 1973.

"I did many years in the lab where I tasted all the wines coming in and learning how to taste and what tasting means," says Rolland. "If you want to learn, you have to meet people, but sometimes they teach you bad things, so you have to be careful. In fact, they are shaping your own experience because you can make choices, and you can say that's good, that's wrong, that's the experience. And you need time."