CHRISTY LEUNG CHRISTY.LEUNG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 22 September, 2015, 4:24pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 22 September, 2015, 7:20pm
This year's event will feature 340 wine and food stalls, a marked increase over last year's offerings. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
The annual wine festival returns to Central promenade next month with a new whisky-tasting attraction in the face of a downturn in tourism across the city.
The biggest-ever Wine and Dine Festival featuring more than 340 wine and food stalls will be staged at the Central Harbourfront Event Space from October 22 to 25. The event marks a 30 per cent increase in offerings compared to last year’s festival.
The organiser, Tourism Board, hopes the event will bring in more visitors this year as about 40 exhibitors pulled out of last year’s event. The 2014 edition was forced to relocate to a venue near the Kai Tak cruise terminal as a result of the pro-democracy Occupy movement.
READ MORE: Wine and Dine Festival to move to Kai Tak due to Occupy Central protests
“We are delighted to stage the largest-ever event this year,” said Peter Lam, the board's chairman.
“There will be more new zones to present wines from more than 21 countries and regions and a wide range of food selection.”
Country-themed wine zones feature fine wines and delicacies from Bordeaux in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain and the US.
In addition to wine offerings, there will be craft beer and whisky, including Japanese whisky, which has proved especially popular in the city in recent times.
The list of participating Michelin-started restaurants includes Le Chapon Fin from France.
Admission is HK$30 per head, while wine passes with different privileges are available from HK$100 to HK$1,000. A HK$100 wine pass offers five classic wine tokens and a plastic wine glass.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1860367/bottoms-largest-ever-hong-kong-wine-festival-hopes-boost
