Grapes in Guangzhou | Second Food & Wine Experience at DoubleTree by Hilton this Saturday

By Jim Boyce | The inaugural Food & Wine Experience at DoubleTree by Hilton in Guangzhou last year drew more than 1000 attendees, says general manager Chris Roberts, and he expects even more for this year’s event on June 11.

“This year will have even more exhibitors and classes,” says Robert, who adds that consumers queued 25 minutes before classes last year to ensure they got seats.

Along with 11 classes on everything from wine to tea to beef, attendees will be able to sample from among 600 wines as well as try coffees, spirits, beers, chocolates, pastries, and more. The fair runs from 5 PM to 9 PM and costs rmb188, including buffet. For more details, including a list of class topics and a gallery of photos from last year, see below.

Roberts is no stranger to such fairs given he headed five Food and Wine Experiences at Hilton Beijing—an event that is nearing its twentieth anniversary but has lost some mojo over the past few years—and decided last year it was time to bring it south.

“I’ve been in Guangzhou for two and a half years, one and a half to open the hotel, and now we’ve been open for a year,” he told Grape Wall last year at this time. “It occurred to me last year that it would be a great idea to put on the event here.”

“I find Guangzhou is now far more advanced than Beijing was 12 years ago when I first arrived before the Olympics,” he added. “It’s more advanced as a food and beverage market, but, given its proximity to Hong Kong, it’s so far behind Beijing and Shanghai for wine. I find it’s a city for beer but not so much for wine.”

Here’s the gallery and event posters:

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