Wine in Hong Kong

Wine in Hong Kong is expensive stuff. I did not realize that before I moved here, but after arriving here, I think I might have to put a stop on my habit of drinking good wines. The wine prices are especially hard to swallow after having just took a trip to Spain, where good wines are all over the place and comes with a very decent price (compare to the US , for Spanish wines).

For example, a bottle of Duckhorn 2003 Merlot sales for about $45 in the US, but here, I saw it selling for roughly $90, about twice the price as compare to the US. Also, bottle of nice New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc will sell for about $40 here in Hong Kong, while in the US it will go for about $15-$24, depending on the winery. This makes drinking wine at restaurant rather expensive as well, but I guess the % of markup in price is not as steep in Hong Kong as compared to the US. In the US, the markup can often go about 200% as compare to retail price, while in Hong Kong, I felt it is only about 50% markup, or otherwise drinking wine in restaurant would be way too expensive. I guess I now appreciate the US wine market and prices much more than before, and sort of miss it too. I guess next time I am back in the US, I need to remember to buy some bottles back, and ask everyone that visits me to buy some bottles.