Auction house Sotheby’s said it has opened its first Asian retail wine

Auction house Sotheby’s said it has opened its first Asian retail wine store in Hong Kong in a bid to tap strong demand for high-quality and readily available vintages.

The new outlet in Hong Kong’s Central business district, which is the second Sotheby’s wine retail store after its first in New York opened in 2010, offers a wide range of wines to collectors, investors and wine drinkers, it said in a statement. The company also sells wine via a website.

Sotheby’s, which sold HK$1.4 billion ($184 million) of wine over the past four years at auctions in Hong Kong, said the selection ranges from investment-grade wines priced at up to HK$280,000 ($36,124) per bottle like as a 12L Balthazar of Château Haut-Brion 2000, to everyday choices such as Château Barreyre 2010 at HK$148 ($19) per bottle.

A global wine glut coupled with weak demand from major economies has driven wine makers to target China and other emerging markets to boost sales.

China consumed about 17 million hectoliters (449 million gallons) of wine last year, Paris-based International Vine and Wine organization OIV estimated, slightly lower than the previous year after a decade of rapid growth.

Source reuters