Chinese wine attracts growing interest at HK Wine & Dine Festival

Chinese flavored wines drew strong interest from visitors at the Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival in Central over the weekend from Oct. 29 to Nov.1, with tea and coffee-infused cocktails releases among the most popular offerings.

“The innovation has turned once-conventional wines into newly popular, award-winning hits at this year's festival,” said Ken Cheng, 45, manager at a Hong Kong-based Chinese wines distributor.

Chinese wine booths drew many tasters at the festival as Chinese producers recorded a strong performance at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards in June, where they won 214 medals, including two platinum, 11 golds, and 100 silvers.

Cheng said younger consumers are increasingly pivoting toward fresh and distinctively flavoured vintages, adding that the growing demand for such approachable wines is reshaping the global wine market.

Ken Yuen, a local wine distributor representing mainland labels, said local consumers are exceptionally open to novel profiles.

“Our best sellers here are actually unique infused releases, such as caffeine-free coffee flavoured and tea flavoured wines that align perfectly with Hong Kong’s daily coffee culture,” Yuen said.

“Ningxia’s wine exports surged 180% year-on-year, with Hong Kong absorbing nearly half of that total. Winemakers attribute this rapid growth to local consumers’ exceptional openness to novel profiles,” Yuen added.

While distributors focus on expanding trade volume, boutique winery owners are also working to build international recognition for Chinese wines.

“Our original motivation for founding the winery was simple, giving back to the community and bringing Chinese-flavoured wines to the world stage,” said Rita Kung, a Hongkonger who co-founded boutique winery Mystic Island in Shandong and was one of the exhibitors. 

Kung said balancing the company's revenues and costs remains challenging; however, the desire to bring Shandong's locally crafted wines to the world has not wavered.

Kevin Lo, an air and sea logistics manager who visited the festival with his partner, said Chinese vintages are rapidly gaining mainstream attention precisely because of their flavor versatility.

“In terms of core flavor quality, there is virtually no difference between Chinese and European wines.” Lo said.