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- New user... from Asia
Hi.
I have chosen to settle down for a long while in Asia (Singapore) and I am currently trading wine here, mainly from my own countries (France/Italy) and other old world countries.
And I have to say, wine countries such as France, Italy, the States and many more, can thank this part of the world for not beeing shy to open some serious bottles!
I have had the chance to drink more fine wines here in two years, than 10 years back in Europe! And all this during the worst economical crisis of all time... so imagine when good times will be back ;o)
Anyway, for those of you whom want to ask question on the trade in this part of the world, feel free to leave me a message...
And if you have a few minutes to spare of your busy day, you can also find me on my blog.
http://www.questionofwine.blogspot.com
Cheers
Quentin
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3027 - Reply by Philip, Aug 3.
Quentin - welcome to the site. One of our board members actually lives in Singapore as well. Hoping I can come up with an excuse to go visit him
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24 - Reply by blog4wine, Aug 3.
Philip,
great to have a link to Asia. How do you find the trading to China? I have a few "brothers" living there and I find it interesting how China is slowly becoming an open market for the West.
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1738 - Reply by Gregory Dal Piaz, Aug 3.
Welcome Quentin.
I'm looking forward to the addition of your perspective on the world of wine!
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- Reply by Quentin4, Aug 3.
Hi Blog4wine,
In my opinion China is still a real tuff market to deal with. But it is clear that the elite which represents 1% of the population (meaning 15 million people!) has the spending power, cultural education and will to learn and discover wines. Sadly, at the moment only the most famous wines make it through; because the Elite in China do not like to loose face and when they go to a dinner with friends or clients, they will bring a first growth no matter what.
since HK was handed back to China, there has been a real push towards the development of the industry. Wines imported to HK now, are duty free and tax free! Therefore, many wines are imported to HK and then transported through to China.
This will probably help the supply of new wines into the China, but considering the gigantic size of the country, it will definitely take time to be a friendly and open market...
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1135 - Reply by dmcker, Aug 3.
Any opinions on counterfeit issues regarding name-brand wines (e.g. the Bordeaux first growths you mention) in China?
How are duties, etc., in Singapore right now?
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- Reply by Quentin4, Aug 3.
There has been some issues indeed on the matter. I am not too sure what are the actions taken by the gouvernment, but there is a definite awarness of the problem and collectors are a lot more careful these days. One of the reason, ex-chateau prices have climbed in recent years.
With regards to Singapore, the duty for wine is around S$7.5 per bottle (US$ 5.2) and the gouvernment tax, called GST, which is 7% of the value. The Singapore market is one of asia most organised and friendly, but it only represent a small % of the 4.5 million people living here. And the competition is high, because they are already hundreds of suppliers covering the market...
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1135
- Reply by dmcker, Aug 4.
I've had hundreds of bottles (maybe even four figures? ;-) ) of wine in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia over the years. I've found that well more than half of them have been subject to damage, even in Singapore, though Singapore is head and shoulders above the others with regard to wine variety and condition. How do you find consciousness about this now in Singapore and elsewhere? Usually it forces me to drink beer or distilled spirits, though I definitely want wine with my Italian in Singapore... ;-)
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- Reply by Quentin4, Aug 4.
It is a problem indeed and it mainly comes from some big importers and their storage facilities. Wine is a very fragile product and you can imagine that after spending 3 weeks on a boat at sea and beeing store with no aircon at 90 degrees fahrenheit for another week or two, it end up in a really bad shape on your restaurant table. Including Damaged labels, dried corks, etc...
Singapore, like Japan and HK and some other countries now, are getting a lot more conscious of this problem and do as much as possible to limit transport and storage damages.
We, as many now in Singapore, for example, use refregirated containers to import the wines, which are then stored in a state-of-the-art cellar with 365 days a year, temperature and humidity control. It has a cost of course, but ensure the wines are handled the best way possible until they reach the restaurants or the private collector's cellar.
So I guess, if you come back to Singapore, you should see a difference when ordering wine in a restaurant and maybe not have to drink beer or spirit with your Pasta ;-)
Cheers!
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30 - Reply by basilwino, Sep 15.
Hey! Selamat Datang Quentin. Nice episode on Bottoms Up. I am so glad you are in Singapore. Maybe now my family can drink decent wine. In all my time there, the wine selection had been pretty crappy. It was either "left overs" from the producing countries, damadged, or super pricey "brand name" wines. Nothing that the average drinker could enjoy. Most people tried wine and quickly decided it was not for them especially with great beer around. The spirits selection was okay.
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- Reply by Quentin4, Sep 15.
Selamat Datang! Thanks for the kind words. I am glad to be part of the changing trend of wine drinking in Singapore and Asia. Feel free to contact me if you are looking for wines :o)
thanks,Quentin
