Top drops from Bordeaux uncorked for festival
Wine connoisseurs are in for a treat. For three days, 150 people will get the chance to sample some of Bordeaux's finest wines - valued at about HK$1,000 per mouthful.
The tastings will be available to the first 150 people that buy a HK$300 grand tasting pass online via Cityline for each of the three days. They are being staged as part of this year's Outdoor Wine & Dine Festival, to be held on the West Kowloon waterfront promenade from October 28 to 31. More than 80,000 people are expected to visit the festival, staged by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, which will kick off a month of food and wine events.
'Our plan is to make the month of November a key 'wine and dine' promotional window, so that our tourism, retail and catering industries can ride on it to create offers and activities and make more business,' chairman James Tien Pei-chun said.
Some of Bordeaux's top wines will be provided for the three days of tastings. A six-litre imperial of 1983 Chateau Lynch-Bages will be opened on October 29, courtesy of the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Industry. On October 30, visitors will be able to try a 1983 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, supplied by tourism board member Peter Lam Kin-ngok. And the following day, Tien will open an imperial of 1995 Chateau Mouton Rothschild.
The Chateau Mouton Rothschild, which Tien acquired a decade ago, is worth HK$110,000 to HK$120,000. Lam and Tien are two of about 10 wealthy wine collectors in Hong Kong. The large bottles are rare - and more sought after - because they are produced in smaller quantities. An imperial is the equivalent of eight regular 750ml wine bottles.
Also bigger is the size of the festival area, which will be 40 per cent larger than at the event's debut last year.
There will also be 50 per cent more booths devoted to food and wine. New additions include a grand tasting pavilion, where premium wines will be available, tastings of the three imperials and a food and wine pairing session featuring dishes prepared by Michelin-starred chefs from Hong Kong and France. Admission is free, but tickets must be purchased for tastings.
