August - September 2015

121 146

121 Aug-Sep15
Where do you grow your grapes? Sai
Kung? Yuen Long? Lamma?
This is always the first question people
ask, and the truth is that the grapes are
sourced from some of the best regions and
vineyards on the planet. Urban winemaking
is not geo-limited in its birth thanks to the
ability to flash-freeze fruit right at the source,
so that when it arrives in my hands it still
exudes the land from which it came. Five
years ago, I was fortunate to produce a
special wine fromSouth Australia born from
the vines that also gifted us a wine you may
have heard of: Penfolds Grange.
Like any other winemaker in the world, I
opt for the best fruit available to me at the
time – the only difference being it comes
from a far wider variety of possibilities. The
spanner in the works is that I have to get
the fruit to Hong Kong before I can begin to
get my hands dirty. By sourcing harvested
whole bunches that have been “snap”- or
“blast”-frozen, I can maintain the bunches
without rupturing the molecular structure
of the berries. This early stage is pivotal for
the style and quality of the finished wine.
What challenges do you face that
other wine producers might not?
Outside of the grape logistics already
mentioned, this city presents its own unique
challenges. Some are the same as every
Hong Konger’s personal battles, such
as trying to get barrels and refrigerated
containers into small elevators, or finding a
person to help troubleshoot, which is near
impossible.
This leads me to spend a lot more hours
doing things diligently, making sure the
winery is sanitised regularly (humidity is
the devil), servicing equipment regularly,
and checking that every trick I learnt as
a winemaking apprentice is applied. This
is the kind of stuff that keeps one up at
The Urban Project wines,
2015
• January release: “Sampan” –Cabernet
Franc/Merlot red blend
• Aprilrelease:“Rickshaw”–Chardonnay/
Sauvignon Blanc white blend
• August release: “Kai Tak” –Merlot (100
percent)
Other urban wineries
If you’re travelling, Eddie suggests you stop in at some of the following venues:
San Francisco: Bluxome Street Winery |
New York: City Winery |
London: LDN CRU |
Portland: Division Wine |
Vancouver: Vancouver Urban Winery |
For more information, visit the Flying Winemaker website at flyingwinemaker.asia or
the store at 6/F, Yu Yuet Lai Building, 43-55 Wyndham Street, Central.
night – especially when you know you have
close to 40,000 kilograms of grapes sitting
on your doormat.
Having a chance to overcome so many
challenges was great as it pushed every
button I had inside me to make the best
wine I could. It also made me determined to
gobsmack critics and non-believers. Believe
me, I took every chance I could and with the
help of a brilliant team we succeeded.
What have you produced recently
under The Urban Project label?
This year, I’m releasing four of my favourite
wines made in Hong Kong under a
uniquely local label. The Urban Project
has already seen two releases in 2015 and
the third launch is on 1 August. With only
approximately 1,000 bottles of each being
sold, they are a Hong Kong-lover’s dream –
but they won’t last long!
What would you do differently if you
opened another urban winery here?
An urban winery should not only be a
business where great and unique wines
are produced; it should also be a damn fun
place to hang out and learn a bit about the
trade while enjoying crafted, small-batch
wine varieties. This urban-winery-plus-wine-
lab-plus-tasting-bar concept is what I would
love to spearhead next here. Hong Kong has
some great wine bars but people here are
itching for that next-level venue.