Wine and Dine Festival kicks off at central harbourfront

The annual Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival kicks off at the Central Harbourfront, featuring more than 340 booths showcasing global wines and innovative culinary pairings.

Running for four days through November 1, invites visitors to explore world-class international vintages and unique local creations against the Victoria Harbour skyline.

The four-day Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival opened at the Central Harbourfront today.

The annual culinary event gathered more than 340 booths featuring global wines and gourmet creations, attracting large numbers of wine lovers and tourists.

Exhibitors stated they introduced premium products to meet higher consumer demand,

and expected visitor numbers to grow as the new Huanggang Port facilitates border crossing.

Exhibitor YUKI WONG: "We have been joining the event for more than 10 years. And this year because of the Halloween and the new port, so we expect to have 10 to 20% increase in the people visiting the fair and our business. Because I know that Chinese people their flavour they like omething sweet and more fruity. So we recommend them to try our Riesling.

Wine experts said Burgundy wines gained popularity over the past decade because they matched Cantonese cuisine well.

Master of Wine JEANNIE CHO LEE: "Burgundy wine's been really popular over the last 10 years in Hong Kong because it's a wine that people are discovering goes really well with Cantonese food. It's a wine that's more versatile. As you know, the whites are Chardonnay, and the red is Pinot Noir, and so it has very good acidity. It has a refreshing character, and so in a city like Hong Kong, where we love to eat, a lot of what we enjoy goes really well with Burgundy wine."

This year's festival is full of local twists, look what I have here, a 'salted fish cheese foam' cocktail inspired by Hong Kong culture, with crushed salted fish on top.