CEOs pick favorite wines to give, receive and drink

For some businessmen, wine is much more than just fermented grapes. Doubling as a drink and status symbol, it tends to go hand in hand with doing business, providing a delightfully disarming charm to conversations between corporate suits and bringing out the best in the “three-fork” dinner in front of them.

It’s not entirely absurd to think that CEOs and other high-ranking executives of leading companies have probably had more top-quality bottles poured for them than an average Korean would manage in a lifetime as they swirl their way around the world of business meetings and dealings.

So their personal list of the top wines to give, receive and drink could be meaningful. That’s why The Korea Times asked them about it. You’re welcome.

One of the noted oenophiles of the Korean business scene is Michael Hellbeck, chief operating officer (COO) of Standard Chartered Bank, who also serves as chairman of the Seoul-based Foreign Bankers Group.

Hellbeck, a German who confesses a love for the French style of elegant and understated wine, prefers Pouilly Fuisses from standout Burgundy house Louis Latour and the cabernet sauvignons from Napa Valley brand Clos du Val. 

Both of his choices go great with food. Pouilly Fuisse is a French wines that is possibly underrated, Hellbeck says, and Louis Latour’s versions are often noted for their sublime balance of fruit and floral notes.

The “cabs’’ from Clos du Val serve as evidence that wines coming out of California shouldn’t always be assumed as one-dimensional fruit bombs. Clos du Val’s reds provide complex layers of flavors, with black fruit, spice and vanilla melded together with oak and the right acidity.

Hellbeck, who previously worked as the chief of Deutsche Bank’s Seoul branch, is living proof that wine lovers enjoy talking and reading about wine as much as drinking it. A dinner with him will easily drift from Seoul’s cut-throat financial services scene to the vineyards of Europe.

Of course, wine lovers in Seoul will always gripe about paying a premium for wine due to a complicated distribution structure and heavy taxes, and Hellbeck is no exception. One of the few good things he remembers about the dismal late-1990s was being able to buy top-quality wines easier as his wages were paid in dollars at a time when the value of the local currency was sinking. 

Former British American Tobacco (BAT) Korea General Manager Stephan Liechti enjoys the chardonnays from rising New Zealand winery Cloudy Bay, according to company sources. The Swiss-born executive loves the white wine made in the country’s iconic Marlborough region for its refreshing fruity flavors and acidity as well as the slight fizzle. 

Liechti has frequently ordered the wine during business dinners, and naturally, more of his employees have begun to share his affection for it. 

“He is a big fan of Cloudy Bay, and after drinking it for some time, I could totally understand why,’’ said a BAT official.

LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, who has a private cellar with more than 10,000 bottles, has many favorites. He has recently been drinking cabernet sauvignon from Katnook Odyssey, an Australian winery, for meetings between company executives, LG sources say. Koo often invites guests to his personal wine cellar in Gwanju, Gyeonggi Province, and shares some of his best bottles.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee is known to enjoy Sine Qua Non B20, a California syrah. It was the wine of choice for his 70th birthday party at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul last year.

His personal affection for the drink led to LG entering the wine retail business, establishing LG Twin Wine a few years ago with an eye toward importing the best New World products from non-European regions like Australia, South America and the United States. However, the subsidiary was forced to close under pressure from the government, which has been pressing big corporations to leave industries traditionally occupied by smaller companies.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo prefers merlots from Napa Valley maker Buccella and reds from Bordeaux house Cos d’Estournel. His son-in-law Ted Chung, CEO of Hyundai Card, says he experiments with new wines all the time, making it hard to pick a favorite.

Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) CEO Yun Yong-ro and Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) CEO Kim Yong-hwan also stand out as wine lovers. 

Yun, a bureaucrat-turned-banker, will often compare banking issues to wine. He recently compared KEB, the country’s sixth-largest lender, to a good wine that will require a long time to peak and will need to be decanted carefully before being served. 

This was after KEB, formerly owned by American buyout firm Lone Star, moved under the wings of Hana Financial Group, and Yun used the metaphor to explain that the transition will take time. 

Korea Eximbank’s Kim also has abundant knowledge about wine. He is known to be a fan of Chilean vintages. Some say his frequent overseas business trips contributed to widening his experience. 

HSBC Korea CEO Matthew Deakin seems to be a fan of bubbles over still wine and prefers champagne. 

Citibank Korea CEO Ha Yung-ku has said he prefers makgeolli, traditional Korean rice wine, and declined to comment on his favorite wine. However, he served a red to reporters at a dinner party in the summer of 2011, to celebrate the remodeling of the lender’s branch in Apgujeong, southern Seoul. <Korea Times/Kim Jae-won, Bahk Eun-ji>

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