Why South Korean winery’s cabernet sauvignon is sold exclusively in Hong Kong

Ted Ko, founder of winery Koyberpunk, explains how he makes natural red wine in Korea but doesn’t sell there, and why it’s worth the price

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Ted Ko, founder of South Korean winery Koyberpunk, the first to produce red wine in the country, sells his wine exclusively in Hong Kong. He explains why. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 7:15pm, 6 Aug 2024

Although South Korean winery Koyberpunk’s red wine is billed as the country’s first home-grown cabernet sauvignon, those wanting to try it must head to Hong Kong.

The natural wine is sold exclusively at eight retailers and restaurants in the city, including Danji in Wan Chai, Anju in Tsim Sha Tsui, Brut in Sai Ying Pun and Socio in SoHo. The winery produced just 1,200 bottles of its 2019, 2020, and 2021 vintages, and only the 2021 vintage is available for purchase now.

At Brut, the wine is sold for HK$980 (US$126) a bottle.

“It’s definitely not cheap. But in Hong Kong, there are a lot of people who enjoy wine for its unique charm, story and distinctive flavours,” says Ted Ko, 34, the founder of Koyberpunk, based in Yeongcheon, near Daegu in the country’s southeast. “The flavour profile of ours is unique and attractive. Whenever we do blind tastings, a lot of people think it’s pinot noir, not cabernet sauvignon.”

How this small-batch wine came to be available only in Hong Kong is down to Ko’s journey from South Korea to the city by way of the United States.

Ko in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. His wine is sold exclusively at eight outlets in Hong Kong. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

“There was a friend I met by chance whose parents ran a winery in [the US state of] Washington and said I could come check it out,” Ko, who was born and raised in South Korea, says.