Record Set at Hong Kong Wine Auction

Record Set at Hong Kong Wine Auction

Art and dinosaurs may not be moving at auction, but in a tough market, you can count on people drinking. Sotheby's nearly sold out its entire auction in Hong Kong Saturday, raking in HK$61.5 million (US$7.9 million) from 1,010 lots offered. Only five lots failed to find a home at the auction – and they were later sold privately. The result obliterated the presale estimate of HK$47.8 million.
Much of the action came because prices were relatively low, but there was plenty of room for upward movement. A 6-liter bottle of Chateau Petrus 1982 sold for HK$726,000 (US$94,000), setting a record. The buyer opted to remain anonymous.
A mere 1 percent of the lots went to buyers who were not Asian. Mainland Chinese were responsible for most of the buying, followed by bidders from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
Hong Kong has carved out a place for itself at the top of the international wine auction market and is now providing competition to New York and London. Sotheby's and Christie's have been holding auctions in Hong Kong since February 2008, when the government nixed duties on wine.
The wine auction kicked off a week of gavel-pounding for Sotheby's, preceding a five-day auction of art and gems consisting of 2,300 lots. The estimate for the festivities is HK$780 million.
Tags: chateau petrus, ChateauPetrus, hong kong, HongKong, sothebys, wine, wine auction, WineAuction
Filed under: Spirits, Auctions, Art

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Wine Bargains At Auctions?

Wine Bargains At Auctions?

Don't turn to Trader Joe's for a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck if you're looking for a good price on wine. The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports that more and more wine lovers are heading to auction houses like Christie's to shop - not for the ultra-expensive or rare bottles of wine, but for bargains. Many lots of good, ready-to-drink wines, perhaps "from overzealous collectors, who bought more than they [could] drink," sell for well under $100 per bottle.
When people consign their collections to the auction block, they almost always have several lower-ticket items in addition to the really expensive bottles of Chateau Petrus that the auction houses take one either because they must, or because they're hoping to attract new bidders. Whatever their reason for offering the wines, the budget bottles are a boon to wine fans who find cases of their favorite vintages for less than retail. The self-described "bottom feeders" say that it just takes a little research on the catalogue listings to sniff out the best deals, but to come home with some good wines at even better prices, it is worth the effort.
Tags: auction, auctions, bargain, cases, christies, deals, petrus, sothebys, wine, wine auction, wines
Filed under: Wine, Auctions

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How to Care for Your Fine Wine Collection

How to Care for Your Fine Wine Collection ]

Wine collections are growing, and so are their value, in many cases. Indeed, based on the results of a recent Sotheby's wine auction, held in Hong Kong in early October, the prices of collectible wines are breaking records.
One imperial (six litres) of Château Pétrus 1982 realized a world auction record price of $93,077, while a case (12 bottles) of Château Pétrus 2000 sold for $55,846. Three bottles of a 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, a winery in Oakville, California, sold for $27,923.If you have a wine collection, or if you are thinking of building one, here's how to care for your collection, according to the experts at Fireman's Fund Insurance Company's Wine Collector Management Services.
Keep an eye on your climate controlA temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit and a relative humidity of 60% to 65% are ideal for long term wine storage. The cool temperature slows the aging process, while the humidity prevents moisture inside the wine bottle from moving into the cork and eventually evaporating into the air. Keep in mind that ideal temperatures do vary somewhat depending on the type of wine you are storing. Attics and garages are not ideal places to store wine, as temperatures can fluctuate greatly in these locations.
Limit your collection's exposure to light sourcesA dark room is best for wine storage. Fluorescent light is not believed to be harmful.
Wines should be kept in a stable environmentVibration is harmful to wine, as it disturbs the sediment. Keep the bottles in a horizontal position.
Back up your power supplyYour wine collection could be at risk during a sustained power outage. A permanent back-up generator will help protect your investment.
Consider renting a storage spaceIf you lack adequate space to store your collection, professional wine storage facilities are available in most major cities.

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Best Wines for the Holidays

Best Wines for the Holidays

While some want to limit their choices to one type of wine, and others don't pay too much attention to the pairings beyond whether they like the wine or not, picking the wine to accompany a holiday meal can make or break the dinner for others. Red and whites both go with roast turkeys and either is a fine choice for Thanksgiving. Reds work better with hearty beef dishes. Forbes has come up with a few suggestions for the best wines to serve at a holiday dinner, which include: Beaune, Clos de Mouches, Premier Cru, Domaines Joseph Drouhin 2003 ($80); Guidalberto 2003 ($50); Rodney Strong Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 ($41); Hugel Gewurztraminer Jubilee 2003 ($41); Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noir ($20); and Champagne Alfred Gratien Brut Millesime 1997 ($99).
One of their other excellent suggestions is to serve the good wine first, before all the "holiday cheer" has gone to people's heads, and keep the selection simpler for larger groups.
Tags: best wines, christmas, dinner, holiday, holiday wines, thanksgiving, wine, wines

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CLIF Bar Wines

CLIF Bar Wines

CLIF Bar & Company, mostly known for organic and healthful CLIF bars and LUNA bars, is now in the wine business too. Based in Napa Valley their aim is to make high quality wines that remind people to slow down and enjoy life in a way that respects the earth. Sarah Gott joined their team last year as the resident winemaker, and all of their wines are sourced from Napa Valley and the North Coast with an eye towards organic and sustainable farming practices. Prices range from $12.50-$35.

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The Classicist: Keeping Warm With Pierre Ferrand

The Classicist: Keeping Warm With Pierre Ferrand

When fall and cooler weather arrive we look for something special to sip by the fire; this season we'll be reaching for a bottle of fine Cognac from Pierre Ferrand. Ferrand, considered "Premier Cru du Cognac", is lauded as a Grande Champagne specialist and is one of only a handful of Cognac houses in France that specializes in old Cognacs from the coveted Grande Champagne region that are not blended with lesser varieties. It is also quite a small house by most standards; as Ferrand President and Owner Alexandre Gabriel notes, "We are the jewelers of Cognac. It takes us a year to produce what the biggest company produces in a day." A core belief at Ferrand is the that to produce an exceptional Cognac you must first create an exceptional wine. To that end, Cognac Ferrand is perhaps the only house that has a full-time oenologist trained in making premium wine in Bordeaux. Cognac Ferrand is very vested in the vines and the vineyards and the wines used in the distillation of its Cognac come from the heart of the Grande Champagne, long considered the finest growing area. "To produce an exceptional Cognac, we treasure our grapes and treat the vineyard as a great vintner would," Gabriel says. "Then we distill it right, age it well and blend it with precision. Only then are we ready to bottle it. Quality cannot be rushed." The award-winning result is a complex, yet subtle, aromatic spirit reflecting a unique history and great attention to every detail of production. Pierre Ferrand Cognac is double distilled in small copper pot stills according to the traditional Cognac method – one cask at a time. It takes them 12 hours to produce just one cask with each pot still. At Ferrand's estate, dating from 1776, it then takes several years for the Cognac to reach perfection in Limousin oak barrels.

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