Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival returns to harbourfront in full form after years bottled up by pandemic
- About 300 stalls are offering food and drink, showcasing dishes from 17 countries and regions and fine wines from Italy, France, mainland China and elsewhere
- Tens of thousands attend opening day of event, which runs until Sunday, and coincides with ‘Night Vibes’ campaign
The Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival was back in full swing for the first time since the city dropped pandemic restrictions, as tens of thousands of tourists and locals flocked to the Central harbourfront on Thursday.
The festival runs until Sunday and features about 300 stalls offering food and drink, showcasing dishes from 17 countries and regions, as well as fine wines from Italy, France, mainland China and more than 30 other places.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po kicked off the event, telling the crowd: “Not only is Hong Kong back in business, we are back in the business of pleasure […] Obviously we have a lot of catching up to do.”
The full-scale, in-person format of the annual event was paused for four years because of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and the 2019 anti-government protests, forcing organisers to hold stripped-back versions instead.
The festival this year is being held during the government’s “Night Vibes Hong Kong” campaign to boost spending after dark, with the event finishing at 11pm on two of its four evenings.
The Tourism Board predicts about 140,000 people will attend the event over the next four days.
Among the wines being displayed were ones from the Ningxia region of mainland China and which is trying to market itself as the country’s answer to the French Bordeaux region for grape growing.
Christelle Chene, international affairs director at the Xige Guanlan Group, said: “To make great wine, you need to have great terroir.”
