Christie’s International will restart its Asian wine auctions in Hong Kong after a seven-year break as record sales by rivals like Bonhams show the city’s demand for the collectible beverage is rising.
The 250-lot sale on Nov. 29 may fetch as much as 2 million euros ($3.1 million), the London-based auction house said. Christie’s will offer 150 lots of Latour, including a 1961 imperiale estimated at as much as HK$600,000 ($77,000), the first time a Chateau has auctioned wine directly in Asia, Christie’s said.
Hong Kong abolished duties on wine in February to help capture a slice of the market for trading and storing wine from London, where most Asian collectors keep their rare vintages. Since then, Bonhams and New York-based Acker Merrall & Condit Co. have held wine sales in the city that beat sales estimates.
“The change in the tax spurred our decision to return”, said Kate Malin, Christie’s Hong Kong-based spokeswoman. “The time is right considering Asia’s economy is where it is now”.
Asian wine consumption rose 60 percent to $7.4 billion from 2002 to 2007, according to Hong Kong’s trade development board. In the same period, U.S. demand increased by a quarter to $18.5 billion while Europe’s fell to $58 billion from $61 billion.
Hong Kong’s move to scrap the wine tax is spurring trade in the beverage. In May, about 8,000 people visited Vinexpo Asia- Pacific, a record for the region’s biggest wine and spirits show.
Christie’s holds biannual auctions in Hong Kong, its third- largest market after New York and London. Its May auction of antiques, gems and paintings fetched a record HK$2.4 billion. Wine accounted for about 1 percent of Christie’s global sales last year.
Separately, Acker said it will hold its second wine auction in Hong Kong this year in November. The sale, featuring star lots like an original wood case of 1989 Petrus in double magnums with a top estimate of HK$600,000, may fetch HK$50 million, Acker said. (Bloomberg)