香港美酒佳餚巡禮

香港美酒佳餚巡禮 成績歷屆之冠
Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival – the Results out of expectation

由香港旅遊發展局（旅發局）主辦，中國建設銀行（亞洲）冠名贊助的「建行（亞洲）香港美酒佳餚巡禮」於十月三十日至十一月二日在前啓德機場跑道舉行，千多款經專業酒評師嚴選的環球佳釀、得獎和米芝蓮星級美饌，為旅客及市民帶來嚐味之旅。場地今年經過精心規劃，並首次於「國家展區」內再劃分六條國家美酒村／街，入場人士遊走當中即可嚐遍不同國家的美酒。活動入場費全免，旅發局更會本港多處增設免費穿梭巴士，方便旅客及市民往返會場。

四大亮點：
- 精心佈置打造城市中的花園：會場座落香港嶄新大型基建項目──啓德郵輪碼頭旁邊，並經過精心佈置化身成色彩繽紛的大型「花園」，入場人士可閒適地品嚐各式美酒佳餚，並於會場內盡享精彩的舞台表演，兼享視聽之娛。
- 特設以國家為主題的美酒街：「國家展區」將會首次於區內劃分出六條國家美酒村／街，除以往備受歡迎的波爾多紅酒村及歐洲法國街外，今年更有日本居酒屋街、展出阿根廷及智利佳釀的拉丁美洲街、意大利街和格魯吉亞街，旅客及市民遊走其中，可嚐盡環球佳釀。
- 提升品酒體驗：專業酒杯品牌Riedel將於「品味館」舉行「鑑賞紅酒杯課程」，參加者可獲得首次於亞洲曝光的特別版紅酒杯一套，學習鑑賞精選澳洲美酒。此外，旅發局今年更會限量推出兩款適合二人同行的「品酒證」，分別附送香檳杯或醒酒器，為品酒人士帶來更豐富的品酒體驗和選擇，價錢由港幣四百五十元起。
- 美食再升級：於世界頂級廚藝大賽凱旋而歸的「香港廚師隊」將與首度來港的法國米芝蓮星級餐廳大廚Crossover，炮製嚐味晚宴；入場人士亦可品嚐「美食之最大賞」多款得獎菜式，細味具代表性的中式佳餚。

觀眾人數及營業額創佳績
這項年度盛事一連四天共吸引了約十八萬人次較去年增加兩成九。除了入場人次數字理想，不系參展商戶均表示生意超乎預期，銷量比去年錄我明顯增長。其中，擁有多間米芝蓮食肆的帝苑酒店共賣出逾四千件羊扒，生意較預期多兩倍，更計劃來年參展時擴充其攤位數目。面首次參展的喜和企業有限公司市務經理盧靜文表示，生意較預計多一倍，四天活動共售出近五千支清酒，甚至連最頂級的「極品八大套裝」亦沽清。至於首次帶同日本政府宴客用的「辯天」清酒品牌到港的藤酒造店則表示，活動不僅有助其品牌推廣，也可讓更多香港市民認識山形縣。

-------------------------------------------------------------

Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival – the Results out of expectation

Organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and title-sponsored by China Construction Bank (Asia), the CCB (Asia) Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival had held from 30 October to 2 November at the runway of the former airport in Kai Tak. The four-day outdoor party also kicked-off a month-long culinary celebration in November.

Four highlights:
- A lush garden in the city: The venue, situated right next to the state-of-the-art Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, will be decorated as a colourful garden for the partygoers to take a breather from the hustle and bustle of urban life. Exhilarating performances will be staged to offer a “full body” experience.
- Themed wine streets/villages: The partygoers will find themselves exploring different parts of the world as they stroll along various themed streets/villages in the “Country Pavilion” zone, including a wine village dedicated to Bordeaux, an izakaya street, a Latin American street showcasing wine from Argentina and Chile, and streets for Europe & France, Italy and Georgia.
- An elevated wine appreciation experience: Riedel Crystal, a household name in the world of wine, will host a wine-tasting class in the “Tasting Room”. Participants will learn to appreciate Australian wine and take home a special-edition Riedel wine glass set which will appear in Asia for the first time. In addition, the HKTB will roll out two types of “wine passes for two”, available from HK$450, which will come with a pair of champagne glasses or a decanter to give wine lovers extra delight.
- A taste of Michelin and award-winning delicacies: The Hong Kong Culinary Team which won the championship at last year’s Salon Culinaire Mondial will join forces with a chef from a Michelin-starred restaurant, who is visiting Hong Kong for the first time from France, to create a “crossover” dinner. Also available at the festival are various reinterpreted traditional Chinese dishes which won the Best of the Best Culinary Awards this year.

The four-day event attracted around 180,000 participants, an increase of 29% over last year. In addition to the increased number of attendees, a great number of participating merchants saw significant growth in business compared to that of last year. The Royal Garden Hotel, which has a number of Michelin-starred restaurants, sold over 4,000 lamb chops, for example, double what they had expected. As a result, they are planning to increase the number of booths next year. Miss Jamie Lo, Marketing Manager of Kiwa Enterprises Company Limited, said that this was the first time they had participated in the event, and that their sales were twice what they had expected. They sold nearly 5,000 bottles of sake in the four-day event, including their premium selection. Goto Shuzoten introduced to Hong Kong for the first time their Benten sake – a brand usually served at banquets of the Japanese government. Their representative said they highly appreciated the event as it helped promote both their Benten brand and Yamagata Prefecture.