Later hours unlikely to boost bottle sales at Hong Kong wine festival: exhibitors

Later opening times are unlikely to boost wine sales by the bottle, exhibitors returning to Hong Kong’s annual Wine and Dine Festival have said, with new overseas participants believing that the city serves as an indicator for broader trends in Asian markets.

The festival returned to the Central Harbourfront on Thursday with over 340 booths, an increase of more than 10 per cent from last year, with over 30 countries and regions represented.

Operating hours are from 1pm to 1am on Friday and Saturday, compared with midday to midnight previously. Unlike last year, the festival coincides with the Halloween weekend this year.

BuonVino, a Hong Kong importer specialising in Italian wines, has been taking part in the event for more than a decade and was offering up to 60 different kinds of wine ranging between HK$200 and HK$1,000 (US$25.50 to US$127.5) per bottle.

“When the opening hours are late, extending beyond midnight, I believe it won’t encourage customers to buy by the bottle, but it does help with the overall visitor atmosphere,” company founder Tom Lam said.

“I’m hoping for business to match how we did last year. Of course any growth would be great,” Lam said, adding he was optimistic and the sentiment felt generally more positive with more people out and about in the city.

While transport costs had risen by up to 20 per cent since the conflict in the Middle East disrupted shipping routes, the increase in delivery times from about 1½ months to as many as three months was the main new cost to doing business, he explained.

Frederic Brochet, development director of the French GVS Group, is taking part in the festival for the first time. He brought 25 to 30 wines from different Burgundy areas, with bottles costing HK$248 up to HK$6,000 with Hong Kong distributor Pinewood.

“Hong Kong has always been [ahead of] the Asian market,” Brochet said. “What’s happening here is probably what’s going to happen in the future in overall Asia. It’s good to see how things are changing here so we can adapt.”

Being in Hong Kong also allowed him to learn more directly about preferences across different demographics and to test out food pairings with Asian dishes, which had become very popular in France, he said.

Cheng Qian, owner of the Chateau Huahao winery in China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region, said he was returning to the festival for the third year as it had been useful in raising brand awareness and providing direct access to consumers.

“An increase of five to 10 per cent in sales should not be a problem this year,” Cheng said. “Many of my clients reached out to ask whether I’m at the festival again this year and some had already visited to buy.

“Hong Kong drinkers approve of wines produced in China more, especially those from Ningxia, due to more exposure,” he said, echoing Lam’s view that the later opening hours were unlikely to encourage more bottle sales but should lead to more sampling.

Tickets for the festival are HK$40 per person and HK$20 each for children aged three to 11. Each tasting token costs HK$25. The festival ends on Sunday.