Vinexpo

If you like wine, you may have visited Vinexpo. If you love wine, you did visit Vinexpo! I’m in the second group so from 27^th to 29^th of last May, I was fully booked. It was the eighth edition of the fair, but my first time there. And this year, apparently, the fair had doubled its size so it was being hosted in two separate floors of the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. One of them showing French wines only; in the other floor you could visit stands from many other countries, including Italy, South Africa, Portugal, Germany, Chile, México and Spain. And this is where I spent most of my time too.
The atmosphere at the fair was lively and cheerful from early morning (too much wine already?). Busy at times, but organized in a way that you could easily talk to the exhibitors and taste their wine in no rush. I can say all of the winemakers were very approachable, kind and willing to show their produce. This fair really has a different vibe to others; very entrepreneurial, very authentic: you could tell people were very ‘into wine’. They love it just as you do, and know it extremely well so it’s best place to learn.
Seminars and wine tastings were also organized throughout the three days that the fair lasted, which for me was a great opportunity to learn more about some types of grapes, like ‘Garnacha’, in Spain. I knew I liked this wine, but now I know where it comes from and how it’s made. Overall, an amazing experience!
Wine lovers, I’m sorry to say that we’ll have to wait until 2016 for the next one. In the meantime, small wine stores may be the greatest alternative to some learning and even tasting and Hong Kong certainly has excellent ones.