Hardy Rodenstock (left) and James Tien Pei-chun (right), chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce, each holding a bottle of the “Thomas Jefferson” wine. Tien was one of sixty people, including many well-connected Chinese and Japanese businessmen and officials, invited by Rodenstock to a weeklong 1998 Château d’Yquem Festival. Most of the guests were wealthy, new to wine, and not particularly knowledgeable about it.