Asia Uncorked: Evolving Tastes in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan

Buying for Asia

There has long been an Asia Buyer at BB&R, but the decision was recently made to have an Asia-based candidate take on the role. This position involves sourcing fine wine for our Private Account Managers across Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. The objective for the Asia Buyer is a simple one: to understand better than ever what our Asian collector base needs and to procure exactly that. This was the task that fell to me at the start of this year.

Whilst there are no doubt consumption trends which apply to all three of these locations, it would generally be remiss to group the Asian markets together as a single block which moves as one. The industry structures, demographics and underlying consumer tastes of each are all different.

Hong Kong is Asia’s most established, diverse and competitive fine wine market; succeeding here requires a combination of fair pricing, exemplary customer service and best-in-class access to the most classic fine wines which have lined the cellars of its informed collectors for years. Singapore is a younger market, in which collectors have comparatively fewer local options when it comes to sourcing fine wine; the diverse and burgeoning wine market of the city state nevertheless means that collectors’ preferences can develop quickly, demanding from BB&R a dynamism and agility of product offering. Japan is a wine market full of both proven and still untapped potential; collectors here follow their preferred Champagne houses, Burgundian vignerons or Bordeaux châteaux with a remarkable fervour, release after release.

Underpinning all is an expectation of the high standards, impeccable provenance and integrity associated with buying from a family-owned business.

What works for Asia

Hong Kong’s wine market began with an obsession with Bordeaux. The category continues to entice collectors, with the first growths of the Médoc and cult estates such as Pétrus invariably performing well. For younger vintages, competitive pricing which leaves room for appreciation is critical; a reasonable premium for back-vintages is otherwise workable, on the proviso that provenance is flawless (as promised by BB&R). The same generally applies to Burgundy, with particular promise for the wines of new producers at release.

Take a 4-hour flight southwest from Hong Kong to Singapore and you arrive in a market with a great appetite for eclecticism, just as much as the classics. Be it grower Champagne, Burgundian newcomers vinifying lesser-known appellations or high-scoring releases from producers in regions such as Sicily’s Etna, there is enormous potential to engage open-minded and clued-up collectors with the wine world’s newest offerings. This by no means suggests that longstanding collectors’ favourites have no place here, but wide-ranging purchasing habits here certainly reflect the youth and dynamism of the Singapore market.

Lastly, a 4-hour flight in the opposite direction will take you to Japan; here, we see an altogether different collector landscape. In this earthquake-prone series of islands (rendering in-market wine storage risky, at the very least), BB&R’s ex-UK model is an even more appealing proposition. It is here that we see the greatest enthusiasm for the most blue-chip and elusive of Burgundy, Rhône and Champagne producers, some of which are not readily available locally. The emphasis on process and refinement synonymous with Japanese cuisine is reflected in wine preferences and results in a seemingly endless desire for Champagne; this has become an essential fixture in our Japanese collectors’ cellars.

What the future holds

Asia remains a region which will play a vital role in BB&R’s continued success on a global scale. Aside from continuing to curate the collections of some of the continent’s most esteemed collectors, new ventures at BB&R also stand to receive considerable attention from this sector of our customer base. The best example of this is the significant engagement of customers in our newly-launched wine auctions and we anticipate this enthusiasm to grow further.

As BB&R reaches new audiences from its established Asia offices and offers an ever-busier auction and events calendar, opportunity abounds and there can be no time to stand still.