Korea's wine meme
One thing you hear often is how the growth of the consumer class in Asia is fueling the asset bubble in wine that took off after the much-touted 2005 vintage.
This is evident in Korea, where the idea of drinking wine is a relatively new concept for many. Its novelty appeal, combined with inflated perceptions of social status, have created a "mania" of sorts.Whether this has anything to do with the trend we saw in Seoul, who knows, but outside most bars or restaurants you will often find lines upon lines of empty wine bottles. Now, I admit that, while I do have sentimental tendencies and will save a bottle that holds a particular memory every now and then, this is different. I don't think they are showing off, because their bottle selection seems pretty haphazard across the board. It seems more like some quasi design-related thing that somehow caught on. It would be interesting to see how this trend plays out over the years.
