Spanish wine is increasingly popular in Hong Kong, largely as a result of the popularity of Spanish cuisine.
Although recognised as a supplier of economical, easy drinking wines, the country is increasingly accepted as a producer of more serious red wines and easy drinking whites, and its cava competes with Champagne, Prosecco and the full range of New World sparkling wines.
Among the exhibitors is Codorniu, one of Spain's oldest wine companies and today the largest producer in the world of sparkling wine made by bottle fermentation.
Production of cava - originally intended as an alternative to Champagne and called Champana until the 1970s when the name cava, meaning 'Cellar', was adopted - began at the Codorniu Winery in the late 19th century. Codorniu produces about 60 million bottles per year. Sherry can be dry or sweet, but the world's best-selling brand, Tio Pepe - the first trade mark registered in Spain, in 1935 - is a dry fino-style made by Gonzalez Byass.
At the Spanish Pavilion, a range of the country's wines, brandies and olive oils will be available for sampling, including red wines from the Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions.
