A Toast To 70 Spectacular Years Of Depth and Breadth

3 Days of Sheer Gustatory Indulgence

Singapore, 15 JUNE 2008 – Homegrown wine and spirits company, Hock Tong Bee Pte Ltd - CornerStone celebrated her 70th anniversary with 3 days of revelry from 13th to 15th June 2008, featuring charity wine auctions, vintner’s master classes and some rare vintages complementing two spectacular dinners in Amara Sanctuary, Sentosa Island.

The celebration kicked off with a service in loving memory of the late founders of the company, Mr Ang Soo Seng, Mdm See Hoe Khuan and Mr Aloysius Ang, in the CornerStone Building on 13 June 2008, 10am, followed by a luncheon paired with CornerStone Sparkling Brut.

Great wines were featured in those three days with master classes and winery features hosted by vintners and key local wine personalities, like Curtis Marsh and Keith Kuo. Comparison sessions of verticals and horizontal tastings are some of the key highlights.

Guests were treated to in-depth master classes and tasting of more than 50 wines. Their best congratulatory wishes were signed on double-magnum bottles as a keepsake for the company.

The evenings of 13th and 14th of June were dominated by exceptional wine dinners, focusing on new world and old wines on separate occasions, each with 11 to 13 wines to accompany the food.

Those three days featured more than 200 wines from over 30 wineries, with some rare vintages.

From the cellars of more than 30 family-owned and independent wineries, shall exceptional vintages be specially air-freighted for this once-a-lifetime event. The president & CEO, Mr Frédéric Drouhin showcased the rare Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche 2000 of Maison Joseph Drouhin at the dinner on 14th June. This wine is worth at least S$600 per 750ml bottle and there are not many places in the world one can get it from. Winemaker/owner extraordinaire, Mr Hubert de Bouard, also featured his Château Angélus 2003.

Featured in the Langton’s Classification, the Howard Park Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 and Sally’s Paddock 2005 paired beautifully with the food. Furthermore, the Taltarni Pyrenees Estate Shiraz 1993, aged to its peak, brought sheer pleasure. The end of the evening was sweetened with Peller Estates Vidal Ice Wine which was awarded the BEST ICEWINE TROPHY at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London, UK for 2007.

In aid of The Asian Women's Welfare Association (AWWA), the charity auction was one of the key fund-raising segments, held during the dinners. AWWA was established in 1970 to empower the disadvantaged through programmes for the elderly, disabled & families. Bidders did their part for charity while staking their claims on rare wines like Jeroboam bottle of Pol Roger Vintage Brut 1993 which went at $2000, a magnum bottle of Dow’s Vintage Port 1977 $1200, a magnum bottle of Paul Jaboulet Aîné La Chapelle 1997 ($1000), double-magnum bottle of Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 1999($650), bottle of Château Angelus ($2500)and the list goes on.

Various vintners increased the stakes by volunteering to sign the bottles auctioned, taking photos with successful bidders and Mr Frédéric Drouhin of Maison Joseph Douhin even went to the extent of offering château visits to them in his properties in Burgundy and Oregon.

AWWA (Asian Women Welfare Association) benefitted from the charity wine auctions hosted by Mr Clinton Ang (managing director of Hock Tong Bee Pte Ltd - CornerStone), raising $22,095. In total, Hock Tong Bee Pte Ltd – CornerStone donated $28,000 in aid of AWWA’s cause.

It was a celebration which marked the milestone of this home-grown company with high aspiration and provided attendees a peek into her past which paved the way for her future to provide our markets with great fruits of Mother Nature.