The FICB has two members in these territories, the “Hong Kong Wine Society”, and the “Cofraria dos Enofilos de Macau”. En route to the Japan wine discovery tour, our president Marc Lesk stopped off in Hong Kong to meet them.
Edward Smith, current President of the Hong Kong Wine Society, and Vernon Moore, Chairman Emeritus, welcomed him to the Hong Kong Club, a historic institution that dates back almost two centuries. An astonishing Riesling from China’s Ninxia province, “the starting point”, a Portuguese Vinho Verde (Soalheiro Alvarinho Revirado) and a Maranges Premier Cru “clos des Loyères” 2003 were served during the meal.
This association counts around a hundred members, all great wine lovers and enthusiasts, and organizes a themed tasting every week. During the painful period of Covid, we reported on the ingenuity with which it managed to continue its tastings.
It is very close to the neighboring Macao Wine Guild, which sponsored it when it joined the FICB.
Many members of the Cofraria dos Enofilos de Macau are active in the wine trade, consumed in the hotels and casinos that welcome tens of thousands of visitors every day. The brotherhood regularly organizes tastings with representatives of its members’ partner wineries.
The President of the FICB was welcomed by President Filipe Cunha Santos, and invited to a dinner, attended by several members of the brotherhood, at the Sofitel Macao, whose manager Vinzenz Rosa de Paulo is also a member of the brotherhood. The dinner, given at the end of a golf tournament, was particularly well attended, and was enjoyed with wines from a vineyard in the Narbonne region of Languedoc, , domaine Grand Fidèle, presented by its owner Hermina. We also met wine lovers from Shanghai, which opens up interesting prospects.
These two brotherhoods are therefore particularly active in the tasting arena, and we are considering the possibility of them organizing a joint FICB tasting challenge in the future. To be continued!
Thanks to both brotherhoods for their warm and friendly welcome.
