Wine brand ambassador has his eye on the future
For Bordeaux estate's man in Asia, the glass is half full when it comes to the Chinese wine market - even if it's not what it was a few years ago
China's enthusiasm for wine may have faded over the past two years, but that doesn't bother the Asian brand ambassador for one of Bordeaux's "big five" wine chateaux - he's more interested in the long term.
"The problem in China is that people are short-sighted," said Thibault Pontallier, 28, who has been based in Hong Kong since 2010. "Our business is a long-term one. We want to find people to do business with for the next 100 years."
Pontallier's Chateau Margaux in western France was the first to send a representative to the city, which had a 40 per cent wine tax until it was scrapped in 2008.
In keeping with the family business model, the task of venturing out of their home country went to the son of the chateau's general manager, Paul Pontallier, who first tasted wine at the age of three when he dipped his finger in a glass. Having learned some Putonghua, the young Pontallier started out in Hong Kong, but he took an unconventional approach to marketing.
He made friends with his clients, and industry veterans, and explained face-to-face how the wine should be appreciated for its qualities - much like an artwork, he says, rather than a luxury handbag.
At the time, China's appetite for top French wines was huge.
"In 2010 to 2011, 30 per cent of our wines went to the mainland and Hong Kong. Now, it's 15 per cent," Pontallier said.
