Campus Digest

HKBU Wine Association comes third at Left Bank Bordeaux Cup world finals

14 Jul 2016

(From left) Members of the winning team John Au, Melinda Jing and Faye Chan and their coach Mr Fourson Kwok celebrate their success at the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup with two bottles of red wine, the award from winning the second runner-up prize (From left) Members of the winning team John Au, Melinda Jing and Faye Chan and their coach Mr Fourson Kwok celebrate their success at the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup with two bottles of red wine, the award from winning the second runner-up prize
(From left) Members of the winning team John Au, Melinda Jing and Faye Chan and their coach Mr Fourson Kwok celebrate their success at the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup with two bottles of red wine, the award from winning the second runner-up prize

 

A team comprising three members of the Wine Association of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), namely Melinda Jing (Master in Producing for Film, Television and New Media), Faye Chan (Master in Chinese Medicine) and John Au (Government and International Studies, Year 4), travelled to France to represent Asia in the final contest of the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup 2016 held at Château Lafite Rothschild in Bordeaux on 17 June. The HKBU team competed with the other top seven qualifiers from North America, Europe, France and Asia at the finals and successfully beat strong opponents like Yale Law School and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to win joint second runner-up prize with École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland.

 

The HKBU Wine Association was first formed in 2013 and took part in the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup the same year. In the Hong Kong preliminary round of the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup held earlier this year, they performed brilliantly and triumphed over six delegations from local tertiary institutions. The HKBU team has successfully won the championship title twice in three years, making it the second consecutive year it has claimed the top title in the Hong Kong round. The team joined hands with Huaiyin Normal University, China to represent Asia in the world finals held in France.

 

Organised by the Commanderie du Bontemps since 2002, the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup is one of the world’s largest amateur oenological tasting contests which includes two parts—multiple choice questions and blind tasting. At the finals, contestants representing different regions were required to put their wine knowledge to the test through identifying different bottles of wine, such as vintage and vinery. Apart from taking part in the competition, they were able to visit various wineries in Bordeaux to learn more about the techniques and culture of wine-making, and to participate in mutual exchange with oenological tasting clubs of universities and schools around the world. This year, the EMLYON Business School, France and the University of Oxford, UK took the first and second place in the world finals respectively.

 

With their abundant knowledge in oenology and professional wine tasting techniques, the HKBU team successfully took the third spot at the finals and was awarded a bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild 2005 and Château Duhart-Milonossaid 2005. The team was delighted with their outstanding accomplishment and said: “We are grateful for the tremendous support provided by the Commanderie du Bontemps (Hong Kong Chapter) and our patron Mr Jonathan Chong to the Association as well as the continued encouragement given by HKBU and the HKBU Alumni Association. We would also like to express our gratitude to our coach Mr Fourson Kwok for his guidance and the Wine Association members of the previous year for their support and legacy. We hope this award can serve as a token of appreciation and add to the University’s 60th anniversary celebration.”