The CorkscrewHong Kong university’s wine club heads to Bordeaux for ultimate taste test
Having won the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup’s Asia regional competition, members of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s wine club are now all set for the final, which will be held at famed Château Lafite Rothschild
At the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup’s Asia competition, which was held at the Grand Hyatt, in Wan Chai, in February, the coach of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) team asked me to give his group a pep talk ahead of the blind tasting. The team went on to win the contest and will be heading to Bordeaux, France, in June for the world final to compete against teams from Yale, Cornell, Harvard, Cambridge and other illustrious universities.
The competition started as a way to introduce a new generation to the wines of Bordeaux. In each city where the competition is held, it is sponsored by the local chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux, which can be traced to the Middle Agesand upholds industry traditions while promoting the wines of Bordeaux.
In Hong Kong, members of the Commanderie de Bordeaux volunteer their time at their alma mater’s wine club. Prospective student candidates are invited to join the wine club at the beginning of the school year, and those who show the most promise are chosen to participate in the Hong Kong round of the Bordeaux Cup. This year, five institutions took part: Chinese University, City University, Baptist University, the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education and HKUST. The chosen students, in addition to juggling their normal course loads, must also find the time to attend a weekly wine tutorial.
The competition tests candidates in a number of areas – an in-depth knowledge of Bordeaux and Sauternes is key, as are the minutiae of who’s who at each chateau, its labels and grapes. The area where the most expertise is needed, however, is the blind tasting.
