Is the fine wine gap widening?
The gap between the US and the east in terms of fine wine buying is widening, following Hong Kong's recent success in staging two record-breaking auctions last month.
Writing in the Financial Times, Jancis Robinson argued that the efforts of auctioneer Acker Merrall & Condit have meant that a "considerable quantity" of fine wine has migrated from US cellars to Hong Kong and China.
This can present something of a problem for buyers, who are reluctant to invest in fine wine that has done a lot of travelling - both because of the potential for fakery and the possibility that it has been or will be damaged in transit.
Mark Bedini of Fine + Rare Wines told the newspaper: "We never sell US or other non-European sourced stock without it being clearly highlighted on the offer, or included in the wine description."
According to a recent article on decanter.com, the US market has been decidedly lukewarm toward Bordeaux en primeur 2009 so far, in spite of the acclaim the vintage has received.