Henry Tang
Former Chief Secretary and Chief Executive contender Henry Tang is a wine connoisseur who auctioned off some of his rare wine collection in March last year. Steering well clear of politics, he shares his enthusiasm for wine, drinking and socializing with Andrea Lo.
My interest in wine pretty much began during university. I went to college in the States when the drinking age was only 18. On the weekends, of course, we would go out with friends and drink some alcohol.
For me, beer was kind of like Chinese medicine. Whisky, I couldn’t take a lot of it. So I started developing an interest in wine.
The interest started as a curiosity: why could a bottle of cabernet sauvignon be bought for a dollar at the supermarket, but
also cost $10 or even $100 in a wine shop? Why would the same grape have such a huge variation?
I started looking into the details of winemaking. Whether it’s a $1 bottle or a $50 bottle, you can only harvest it once a year. You press it, ferment it and make wine with pretty much the same process.
I think when most young boys are growing up, they’re not really sure what they really want to do. And neither was I.
With my children, I always tell them: I’ll support your pursuits, as long as they are productive and positive.