Pictures at Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair 2012

The Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair 2012. I visited the '5th edition' of this fair held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) between 8 Nov-10 Nov 2012. For me its an 'annual pilgrimage' to not just undertake business errands, but equally as important to go discover something new and something different in the 'wine world'.

Every year this wine event throws me a surprise or two; be it in offering me a wine varietal I have not tasted before, or in the particular use of a varietal to make a different style of wine, or even wines from a wine region I have not had the chance to taste before.

This year was no different. There were surprises to be found and a little more knowledge to be learnt from the world of wines. With wine exhibitors from more than 35 countries and more than 900 booths being readily occupied, one can safely proclaim that this is a 'big' event; one which is difficult to satisfactorily cover in 3 days.Visitors have to be selective and focus on a few areas to explore and discover wines from, and leave the other booths with more than a tinge of regret.

Like the previous years, wines from France, Italy and Spain took on a bigger floor space and presence than wines from other countries. Italy in particular seem to be making a concerted and innovative effort in promoting its wine and wine culture to the visitors by not only holding wine workshops, but also having a booth demonstrating how to cook pasta (which attracted a good number of visitors), and having another booth distributing a Chinese language version of 2012 Gambero Rosso Italian wines rating books, as well as a thick book on Italian Wines and Wine making (in English) which were distributed freely to trade visitors.

Photography being a hobby, distraction and often a delightful curse, I took the opportunity to capture some wine moments witnessed during the 3 days' event.

Here below are the links to the photo albums uploaded into the Facebook page of  'Spice in wine'.. I'll write about some interesting 'wine finds' over the next few weeks. For a start, the visuals first :)

Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair 2012, Day 1

Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair 2012, Day 2

Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair 2012, Day 3

Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair 2011

The Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair 2011 was hugh. This is my third trip to this fair. This time round it was held between 3-5 nov 2011 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Organized across 2 halls with over 900 exhibitors and covering a gamut of wines, liquor and wine accessories, it certainly had lots to offer to the over 18,000 trade visitors who took part for the 3 days. Wines from 24 countries were showcased (at least going by what I came across during the fair). The delegation from Italy occupied the largest exhibition space this time round.

Needless to say, the usual suspects from the new and old world countries were there. The ‘not so often’ seen ones came from places like Brazil, Korea, Slovenia, Georgia, Uruguay, Tunisia, Japan and Bulgaria.

I’ve uploaded pictures I took during this fair at www.facebook.com/spiceinwine (3 photo albums, one for each day); check them out to get a glimpse of the fair.

Its always a thrill to discover and taste new varietals which are not readily available in Singapore. A few I came across during this fair are:

a. Pecorino and Passerina from Domodimonti Natural Wine

b. Corvina as a single varietal wine from Piona

c. Susumaniello from Cantine Due Palme

d. Petit Manseng from Casale del Giglio

e. Erbaluce from San Cristoforo

f. Timorasso from Claudio Mariotto

g. Mavrud from Rumelia Wine Cellar, and

h. Tannat from Uruguay’s Pisano.

Other curious finds were the Japanese wines from the Yamanashi prefecture, and surprisingly italian varietals grown in Indian soil. My previous exposure to wines from India were those using french varietals alone. This time I had the chance to taste wines made from italian varietals as well. The Reveilo Wines from India made with grillo, nero d’ avola and sangiovese showed good flavours, balance and finish.

Among the wines from Brazil, its range of sparkling wines with good flavours and structure impressed me (both dry and off-dry styles); and Hungary had an eye catching pavilion which showcased its whites, reds and thrilled visitors with its Tokaji wines. Three other pavilions which drew people with their sweet wines were Germany, Austria and Spain (with its pedro ximenez , like the one from Bodegas Cruz Conde).

It felt good being at this fair (and the evening dinner sessions kept me feeling much better) :p I am certainly looking forward to the one next year :)