At the end of the day it’s about enjoyment

WINE hit the headlines again this week with the news that Andrew Lloyd Webber had sold part of his wine collection for more than $5.6m (€4m).

The AFP agency reported how every one of 746 lots at auction found a buyer, with a dozen bottles of Chateau Petrus 1982 fetching $77,564. According to Sotheby’s, the most expensive lot in the sale was a case of Chateau Petrus 1982, which sold for €57,000 or almost €800 per glass.

So far, so rich and famous. But the really remarkable thing about the sale is its setting in Hong Kong, the new venue of choice for the sale of upmarket vintage wines.

Sotheby’s sold about $52 million worth of fine wine in Hong Kong last year — more than twice as much as their wine sales in London and three times as much as New York. It’s a reminder of the growing wealth and power of Asia, and of China in particular. There is nothing new in this. The engineering and dotcom millionaires in Asia are doing just as the wealthy traders of 17th and 18th century Britain and Ireland did when they created the Bordeaux tradition to their tastes. What they and we have in common is decent glass of wine to enjoy in good company. And when we raise a glass to Mr Lloyd-Webber and the anonymous purchasers of his collection, we will be doing so with more modestly priced but, I would argue, no less satisfying wines. There’s no better place to start this week than with Karwig’s who are offering a hefty 25% off their fine Australian wines. Let’s take a look at four of them.

* Karwig Wines, Kilnagleary, Carrigaline, Co Cork. Phone [phone] or visit www.karwigwines.ie.