Page 32 - Sphere No.12 (Aug 2004)

SPHERE 30
with their money. The interesting thing
about letting customers sit around and
reflect is that they spend more. And if
they don’t buy today, they will come back
and buy tomorrow. People who are com-
fortable with a brand usually buy the
more expensive line of products.”
FromLabel to Table
So where does all this leave the customer
who only wants a suitable bottle to go
with his dinner but doesn’t have a clue
where to start looking?
Alongside the grape variety and price,
Watson’s Wine Cellar also labels every
bottle with essential food-matching tips
and, if available, the vintage’s official
tasting “score”, marked up to 100, by
wine guru Robert Parker and Wine
Spectator magazine, two of the best-
known arbiters of fine wine.
In another industry breakthrough,
Watson’s Wine Cellar is taking wine
retailing hi-tech with interactive “Wine
Kiosks”, which are easy-to-use computer
screens linked to a data bank. Every bot-
tle has a barcode, which the computer
identifies to screen a host of information
about the particular vintage. They offer
an individual food-matching tip.
“As far as I’m aware, nobody else in the
world does this,” says Liversedge. “It
takes a great deal of effort to keep the
system updated, but it’s worth it if you
want to give the best service.”
Most revolutionary of all, however, is a
function for the completely lost and con-
fused. No idea what you want, except
that it should go with your Thai salad or
English roast beef?
Simply select your cuisine type on the
kiosk’s touch-screen, click on a sub-sec-
tion of dishes within it, and the comput-
er delivers a list of suitable wines, com-
plete with a “dollar-rating” from “$”
to “$$$$$”.
From the data bank, it emerges that
German Rieslings and Semillons can com-
plement a traditional Cantonese menu.
For an Indian curry, try Beaujolais,
Burgundy or Cote du Rhone, especially
Pinot Noirs.
“The pairings are constantly being
increased,” says Liversedge.
E xtending wine retailing to an invest-
ment level, Watson’s Wine Cellar
this year started offering wine
futures, also known
as en primeur, over
the counter for
around a hundred
top 2003 Bordeaux
vintages.
While the
wines are not
scheduled for
bottling until
2006, customers
can purchase the
rights to cases
in advance.
Just as with buying futures in coffee,
sugar or pork bellies, the main advantage
of buying en primeur is the price.
Prestigious wines can easily double in
value by the time they come to market.
A wine priced in shops at HK$1,000
a bottle, such as Chateaux Clerc Milon
for example, sells en primeur for
under HK$300.
Wine futures are also exempt from
government tax, which is 80% in Hong
Kong. Although tax is payable if the
wine is eventually delivered, the savings
are still substantial and customers can
alternatively store their vintages in
European cellars.
They can also trade the futures cer-
tificates at any time before the
delivery date, and the market value
constantly changes.
Wine futures
are limited in
their availability.
Even Watson’s
Wine Cellar
doesn’t know
exactly how many
cases it will be
allocated by each
chateau, so a
first come, first
serve policy has
been adopted.
“When we are informed of our
allocation, and calculate how many
cases we can spare, customers are
contacted for payment in order
of the time they reserved the wine,”
explains Jennifer Tse, cluster manager
of the new Watson’s Wine Cellar store
in Central.
Leading chateaux only offer futures for
a limited period, usually between April
and July, ahead of the following
year’s harvest.
“We only just started with futures
this year but the market is already
popular,” Ms Tse adds. “For wine
enthusiasts, it’s an interesting form
of investment. For me, it’s a bit like being
a stockbroker!”
• More than 2,000 varieties of
wines in stock.
• Approximately 500 French wines,
100 Champagnes and sparkling
wines, 300 Australian wines,
and 200 American wines.
• More than 500 wines are exclu-
sive to Watson’s Wine Cellar.
• The oldest bottle in the Fine
Wine collection is a Chateau
Lafite Rothschild 1903 in a hand-
blown bottle with original label
and cork. Price: HK$22,880.
• Most expensive is a jeroboam
(5-litre) of Chateau Haut Brion
1989, priced at HK$99,990
and rated 100 points by
Robert Parker.
• The second-most expensive
is a magnum (150cl) of Chateau
Mouton Rothschild at HK$79,800.
FACT FILE
R E T A I L
TASTEFUL I NVESTMENT