The week in pictures: Hong Kong

Erwan Faiveley of Burgundy’s famed Domaine Faiveley was in Hong Kong hosting a media luncheon organised by its local importer Altaya. While speaking to the media, Faiveley who has been at the helm of his family estate for 13 years, eloquently summed up the relationship between vinification and terroir, saying that time tends to polish the tannins and emerge the terroir, meaning that whatever the vinification was, after 10 or 20 years the vinification fades and what’s left in the glass is the terroir. The domaine is one of the largest grand cru site holders in Burgundy with 10 ha out of 25 ha in total.

Unlike other Domaine Faiveley wines, the Joseph Faiveley Volnay (far left) bears the name ‘Joseph’ as some of the fruits came from local growers instead of Faiveley’s own vineyards, said Erwan. The Domaine’s grand cru wine, ‘Clos-de-Cortons-Faiveley’ (far right), is the family estate’s flagship wine made from single vineyard bearing the same name that it owns in its entirety. According to Erwan, it’s one of the only two grand cru sites that bear the name of the owner (the other being Romanée-Conti). A court in Dijion granted the family the right to use the name ‘Clos de Cortons Faiveley’ in 1930.

Local wine importer Cottage Vineyard hosted a dinner with Marco Polo Hotel celebrating Modena’s cuisine and wine at its Italian restaurant Cucina last week. The dinner highlighted the matching of chef Andrea’s revisit of the classic Modenese dish created by the late Modena-born Tenor Pavarotti  – Piccatina balsamica alla Pavarotti (roasted veal loin served with parma ham foam and whipped potato) – with the Tenuta Catagallo ‘Il Fondatore’ Limited Edition Chianti Montalbano Riserva 2015. The wine is aged for one year in new French barrels and only 2,500 bottles are produced, according to the importer.

Chinese restaurant Hutong has launched seven new dishes turning a spotlight on seven different types of Chillies sourced around China, highlight each chili’s flavour and heat intensity. Pictured above is a dish featuring southwestern China’s Sichuan peppercorn, that sends a tingling numbness across your palate.

The Hong Kong affiliate of Pernod Ricard has launched a job swap programme called ‘Talent 4 Talent’, which gives its employees the chance to exchange jobs with anyone across their global network for six months if they can find someone to swap with. Previously Hong Kong-based Vivienne Chan was the first to swap with her counterpart Fintan Collier. The programme, according to the company, is meant to address gender imbalance at senior management level in Pernod Ricard by enhancing mobility among employees.

At a recent wine dinner, Herley Wan of local importer Wine House served a Bruno Giacosa Spumante Extra Brut 2011, made by the late vintner using 100% Pinot Noir in traditional method, in honour of the late Barolo and Barbaresco legend.