Wine auction smashes Asia record in Hong Kong

Wine auction smashes Asia record in Hong Kong
AFP - Sunday, June 1 05:01 am

HONG KONG (AFP) - A wine auction in Hong Kong has raised an Asian record of more than eight million dollars, organisers said, highlighting the region's growing passion for fine vintages.

US auction house Acker, Merrall and Condit sold more than 64 million Hong Kong dollars (8.2 million US) worth of fine wines in an all-day auction that finished late Saturday, the company said in a statement.

The highlight of the auction was a case of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 1990 which sold for 1.89 million Hong Kong dollars, setting a new world auction record for the particular wine.

The sale smashed pre-auction expectations of 50 million Hong Kong dollars, and broke the previous record for any wine auction ever held in Asia, the auction house said.

"(The) sale was a landmark event in the history of the wine market in Asia," said John Kapon, Acker Merrall and Condit's president and auction director.

"We are thrilled with the result, which is a testament to the strength of the wine market in Asia and Hong Kong's leading role as a regional hub of fine and rare wines."

A spokeswoman for the event said the sale had been dominated by Asian buyers.

The auction was the second major sale in Hong Kong since the government removed duty on the importing of wine earlier this year, as it tries to outdo Singapore and Tokyo and become Asia's wine hub.

It came just days after Vinexpo Asia, where producers from across the world came to Hong Kong to try and tap into the booming regional market for wine, which exhibition organisers said is expected to grow at eight percent a year until 2011, compared to one percent growth worldwide.