Wine vendors and restaurants keep spirits high

Vendors at this year’s Wine and Dine Festival have expressed confidence in business, with some expecting double-digit growth.

The event runs until Sunday at Central Harbourfront with over 300 stalls offering food and drink.

One of those making a reappearance at the festival is MyiCellar, which specializes in Kweizhou Zhenjiu.

Co-founder Tomy Wu said his company expects a 30 to 50 percent increase in business amid the growing popularity of Chinese baijiu.

“More and more people know about Baijiu, so we expect revenue and sales to increase quite significantly, compared to last year,” Wu said.

“We expect that in the long run, sales will increase, because the lower tax rate is beneficial for mid-range and high-end products. Most likely, we will also use the tax cut to reduce the price of products.”

For the first time, the festival has exhibition areas on the United Kingdom, Australia, Chile and Thailand.

Tracy Cheung, senior brand manager of Edrington Hong Kong, is optimistic about the company’s debut at the festival.

“We hope there will be many customers interested in the products because this is the first time we have a ‘UK Pavilion’ at the Wine and Dine Festival, and it is also the first time we are participating in this big festival,” Cheung. he said

“We expect 1,000 to 2,000 cocktails a day.”

Unlike in the past, this year’s festival lasts five days instead of four.

Zachary Chan, co-founder of Hong Kong Liquor Store, which has been involved with the festival for about a decade, said the longer event will help.

“We should be able to do better sales than last year. This year, we have some new products that we’re promoting at our booth. We got whiskey and gin from different places. We’re going to do a lot of cocktails. I think that’s one of the growth areas is that a lot of people are looking for cocktails. That’s one of the focuses we’re doing this year,” Chan told RTHK.

“With the extra day and everything, we expect to do 15 percent more than we did last year overall.”

Forum Restaurant, which last participated in 2017, expects business to grow by 30 to 40 percent.

Executive chef Adam Wong said the boost could come from people choosing to stay in Hong Kong to spend.