Festival to feature 75 NZ wines

Guests participate in the 2014 New Zealand Wine Festival at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. / Photo by John Redmond

By John Redmond

For lovers of world class wine, the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Korea (Kiwi Chamber) will host two New Zealand Wine Festival events in Seoul and Busan.

The Seoul tasting will take place on May 30 at the Waterfall Garden of the Grand Hyatt Seoul, with the second of the wine extravaganzas being held at the Grand Ballroom of the Park Hyatt Busan on June 13.

This will mark the seventh-annual New Zealand Wine Festival in Seoul and third in Busan, offering enthusiasts more than 75 premium New Zealand red and white wines from more than 25 participating vineyards.

To complement the New Zealand wines, both hotels will provide guests with a world-class New Zealand-themed culinary experience coupled with the finest service, including a superb outdoor BBQ-style buffet in Seoul and an exquisite tapas buffet in Busan.

“The New Zealand Wine Festivals are our largest events of the year and offer the local community and our members a great opportunity to sample a vast array of high-quality wines from New Zealand,” said Simon Walsh, chairman of The Kiwi Chamber. “The Seoul and Busan events are fun, exciting and eagerly anticipated, while providing us an excellent occasion to showcase the best of what New Zealand has to offer.”

As a world-renowned wine producer, New Zealand continues to achieve global recognition for its innovation in wine production. With distinct grape-growing regions and well over 700 vineyards on the North and South Island, New Zealand offers consumers a wide variety of wine choices, including top brands such as Hunter’s, Cloudy Bay, Rapaura Springs and Kim Crawford.

“This is an important year for both the Korean and New Zealand business communities with the signing of the Korea-New Zealand FTA (free trade agreement),” added Walsh. “In particular, once ratified, it will remove the tariff on New Zealand wine.”

This year, both wine festivals will feature lucky draws with many outstanding prizes, including one economy return ticket to Christchurch, New Zealand for each wine event from sponsor Singapore Airlines.

Consisting of more than 250 members, the Kiwi Chamber was officially launched in November 2008. The Kiwi Chamber’s main mission is to support its members, New Zealand businesses in Korea and Korean businesses interested in the New Zealand-Korea commercial relationship.

The chamber also aims to provide an effective source of information, high-value events and advocacy.

The Grand Hyatt event will be from 4 to 8 p.m., and the Busan event from 6 to 10 p.m.

Tickets for each wine festival are 80,000 won for Kiwi Chamber and DINE@HYATT members, 100,000 won for non-members and 110,000 won for door purchases.

In the event of inclement weather, the Grand Hyatt Seoul festivities will be held indoors. For more information and registration, please contact chamber@kiwichamber.com or visit us at www.kiwichamber.com.