Wine a Day

It is Hong Kong food and wine year this year. One big event was the recent Wine & Dine festival which took place over 4 days from 30 October and 1 November. It was busy. It was chaotic, however what isn’t in Hong Kong? With a population of 7 million and many millions visiting each year, it was always going to be well attended. I am not sure if the festival organizers realized how well attended however. The admission was free, however to sample the wine you needed to buy tokens. This usually came with a bag filled with information and advertising, as well as a glass for tasting. These bags were sold out before 4pm on the second day when I arrived. So the organization could have been better.

The exhibitors were diverse. Many were wine importers in Hong Kong offering a variety of wines from around the world. Others specialized in regional wines from one or two countries. Then there were some stand along wineries represented who were trying to build a reputation in the huge Hong Kong market. I found that the wine producers who made the effort to attend were very well frequented, so I think their investment of time and money to be there was well worth it.

French wines were in the majority at the festival. This was a little surprising to me because of the proximity to Australia, New Zealand and the growing Chinese wine producers. However because the majority of stalls were for importers, this was to be expected I guess. Also, because the grounds where set up in two sections, Old World and New World, so there was more space for French, Italian, Spanish and German exhibitors compared to the smaller section for all the new world countries.

Hong Kong is more of a beer and spirit drinking culture, the demand for wine per capita is not high. The large ex-pat community would consume far more wine per capita than the local people. But there is definitely a growing taste for wine among the Hong Kong people. It is seen as a status symbol as well as something to compliment your evening meal. Because Hong Kong has long been seen as the gate-way to China I was surprised there were not more individual wine producers there. Maybe because this is the first event of the kind held in Hong Kong, it may have been a bit of a set into the unknown.

I think the organizers have seen it as a success and plan to hold further similar festivals in future. This would be an ideal way to introduce wine on a more personal level to the massive market in Hong Kong.