Hong Kong-- my new Home Away from Home

Winedamsel in distress:  Hit some speedbumps as I was setting up trip:  my main advisor & chaperon ended up in hospital with Swineflu and cancelled his trip.  What to do?  Winedamsel in Distress.  Friends-of-Nicole Network to the rescue!  What would I do without youz guys!   To those of you who so kindly put me in touch with friends of yours: mega ni hao ma! Hooked up with Jack Lewens of Winechap,  the dynamic young wine advisory company now operating in Hong Kong as well as London and New York (www.winechap.com) -- I'm happy to put in an unsollicited plug for them because I like their purpose and their ethos, and also because this is the second time they've come in and picked up pieces that others have dropped.  Thanks  to many of you, I hit the ground running: I’ve never landed in a new place (my first time in Asia!) and felt more instantly at home.  Ich bin ein Hong Konger!  I loved everything I saw in my short time there:  it had the buzz & buildings of the Big Apple, only on a petite scale...  quaint little skycrapers and narrow winding street... Honey I shrunk New York!Part of my good first impression might have been because I got to stay at the  the Mandarin Oriental, le Posh du Posh!  It certainly lived up to its impeccable reputation, and the attention to detail achieved legendary status... and made us feel like real country bumkins re service at La Verriere.  Learned a lesson or two!The wines: Started off with a small private launch at the Mandarin, as well as meetings with top local wine experts and sommeliers.  Hong Kong seems naturally receptive to Chene Bleu.  My own theory:  it’s a place where people have learned to reconcile tradition and modernity, and many different cultural influences, to create something where the proverbial Whole is greater than the Sum of the Parts.  That certainly resonates with our modus operandi at La Verriere & Chene Bleu, because we believe that those mixes don’t just give more options, but create an effevescent incubator for new ideas.  I also cherished the innocent-until-proven-guilty open-mindedness that is often associated with the U.S. and young forward-thinking cultures.   Nothing against Europe of course, which I love, but a nice breather from the "What? Your family hasn't been making wine for 300 years" attitude we sometimes encounter.Some professional highlights were meeting two absolutely sensational MWs operating out of Hong Kong: on Monday, Debra Meiburg, MW, a gorgeous, delightful blonde from California who has just finished an action-packed Wine TV series for Asia (roll over Jacky Chan!), and  on Wednesday Jeanne Cho Lee, the classy, stunning Korean MW who just published the show-stopping reference book Asian Palate, on the not-so-ancient art of matching Eastern food and fine wine.  On the restaurant scene, it's impossible not to mention the Capo di Tutti i Capi,  impressive sommelier Pierre Legrandois of the Mandarin Oriental, whose attentive professionalism leaves many in the dust.   Other highlights from meaningful wine meetings included the charming Patrick Frawley from Amber at the Landmark Mandarin, cool Richard So of the trendy wine bar Aedes,  incisive & perceptive Benoit of Robuchon, gracious Marc Brugaliere of UbiFrance, Sensible Sebastien from Sarment, cheeky J.R. Robertson & purist Giovanni Perna from fashionable Domani, and finally Richard-the-Hoot-Feldman, whose sparkling personality and Vassar credentials instantly endeared him to me.Hong Kong on the Rhone: This travelogue chapter in my blog is dedicated to wine-centric topics and people, but a Special Mention MUST go to the exceptional Jay Jhaveri, my new friend, who went out of his way to introduce me to interesting wine contacts and  reshuffled many commitments to take me around town.  Wow.  I never forgot those things and will be sure to return the favor.  In fact a number of people were so helpful and hospitable re Hong Kong that I'm thinking of hosting a special event at La Verriere just for them.  Already along with Nick Dumergue I'm planning the Asia Specific version of Extreme Wine in September 2010.