For the seventh year, Riesling Weeks has returned to Hong Kong in a big way. Nearly 100 outlets are participating in the month-long campaign and offering wine-pairing menus, free tastings and more until the end of June. Selected restaurants have even created special asparagus menus to celebrate another German summertime favourite.
Prior to the Riesling Weeks Kick-off Celebration, we hosted our first-ever Riesling Ride, where we toured some of the fine Hong Kong establishments participating in the campaign and enjoyed a new-found appreciation for asparagus. All Foodie Club members who joined our tour received complimentary tickets to the annual Riesling Weeks Kick-off Celebration, an exhibition of over 100 wines from 20 different exhibitors.
Hosted at the Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel in Wanchai, this walk-around tasting boasted a truly impressive selection of wines, and the lively atmosphere made for an experience that was both enjoyable and informative. While there were a number of sweet white wines (as many would assume German wines to be), we were pleasantly surprised by the large variety of dry, fruity white wine and red varieties on offer. Of course, we tasted many excellent variations of Germany’s most popular grape and the festival namesake, Riesling, but we also thoroughly enjoyed getting to know lesser-known German varietals such as Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder), Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder) and Silvaner.
From left: Foodie’s resident wine expert, Tersina Shieh, with the 70th German Wine Queen,
Carolin Klöckner
The Kick-off Celebration was officiated by the 70th German Wine, Queen Carolin Klöckner from Württemberg. Queen Carolin selected her favourite wines prior to the exhibition so that guests were able to sample the “Queen’s Pick”. Another fun feature of the Kick-off Celebration was the temporary tattoo station – nothing like getting an “I heart Riesling” tattoo to really get into the spirit!
We’re sad to say goodbye to Riesling Weeks, but until the end of June, be sure to check out some of the participating restaurants to enjoy their special offerings. You can see the full list of participating outlets here.
Grilled octopus with white asparagus tapas at Sueno
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