(Decanter) - Fine wine prices will be driven down with the Chinese government's crackdown on smuggling, Don St Pierre has told Decanter. In a wide-ranging interview as he takes up his position of executive chairman of ASC Fine Wines, co-founder Don St Pierre says if smuggling routes are closed, and buyers have to pay full duty on their wines, the prices will have to realign. Many high-end wines are passed through the zero tax zones of Hong Kong and Macau into China, to avoid the mainland’s punitive tax and duty rate of 41%.