Speaking of wine writers in the Greater China Region, many will think of Ronny Lau (hereinafter Ronny). Ronny is “a master of all professions” and is known for a number of titles, e.g. chairman of Hong Kong Wine & Spirits Writers Association, the first Chinese Super Tuscan winemaker. He started to write about food and drinks in the 80s, shifted his career and entered the recording industry in the 90s, and established Hong Kong’s first music club in 1992. He has published six wine books and released two music-wine combination CDs.
Q: You are a well-established musician and wine expert. You make music and wine a perfect combination in many of your articles. How did you come up with the idea to combine these two?
A: In 2018, Warner Music invited me to make an album about wine. I didn’t want to just pick some songs that I love; instead I wanted to do it a bit more scientifically, so I went searching. And I found that Heriot-Watt University in Scotland had conducted a research titled Wine & Song, which preliminarily shows that music will affect the taste of wine. But the research did not tell us why, and the music-wine combinations it recommended had failed to come into being in our life. Then I tried to dismantle wine and music, and successfully located the mutually-interactive elements in them. Eventually I came up with my own Music & Wine theory. To illustrate, you can have Sparking wine go with Chill Out music. The combination of the two will make you feel the medium tempo is beating like bursting bubbles in your mouth, creating a happy party atmosphere.
Q: Can you tell us about your latest publication?
A: My last book was Drink before Drunk in 2015, and recently the publisher told me that reading is becoming a hit again, so I decided to write something new this year. I go to Italy 5 or 6 times every year, and I am currently working on a tourism & wine culture book, A Wine Tour in Italy, which is based on my personal experience of over 10 years, presenting all 20 regions of Italy with pictures that I took. This book will give you a tour to wineries that I have personally visited, recommend wines that represent the region where they come from, and introduce some popular local dishes and sites. Readers will tour around Italy while savouring 80 different kinds of wine.
Q: You have made an APP for your books. Does it help with the sales? What multimedia device do you think will create more added values to print books?
A: I will use Le Dialogue du Vin as an example. Since it is an audio book, the APP version does offer more convenience than the print version. Thus, the APP sells well, and it’s not just a promoting means for the print book; it is a best seller itself. I think whether multimedia should be used or not depends on the nature of the book. If it is just words, a digital version will not provide too much help.
Q: Can you disclose some of your publication plans?
A: Besides A Wine Tour in Italy, I am also publishing another book this year, 100 Favourites for 2019, to recommend my favourite 100 wines around the globe for the year, including grape wine, Japanese Sake, and whisky, etc., to my readers. Also, I am working on the third edition of Le Dialogue du Vin, updating some information and recommending more wines.