Festival capitalizes on Shanghai's 'day coffee, night alcohol' lifestyle

The inaugural Sunland Wine and Coffee Festival, held from June 12 to 14 at Sunland Park in Pudong, Shanghai, featured over 90 wine booths from more than 20 countries and 40 specialty coffee brands, along with all-day art performances and outdoor sports. 

By merging daytime coffee and nighttime alcohol scenes, the event highlighted industry innovation and market trends in Shanghai's "coffee by day, alcohol by night" lifestyle. 

Wang Meng, the head of the brand Freigeister and a dual-skilled barista and bartender, unveiled the brand's first commercially available coffee cocktail at the event. The unique drink features a base of tomato and blood orange — cooked to eliminate raw astringency — combined with espresso brewed from Ethiopian washed coffee beans, two types of gin, and white wine. The recipe was perfected over two days to achieve a harmonious flavor profile.

"Espresso has a bold, intense flavor that can easily clash with wine; either one overpowers the other, or the flavors feel disconnected," Wang explained. He noted that daytime coffee consumers and nighttime drinkers are largely the same group, making coffee-wine integration a promising model.

To meet diverse consumer needs, local brands have introduced innovative, differentiated products. Shanghai-based coffee brand The End of August created an alcohol-free cold brew called Iced Malt exclusively for the festival. This drink uses hop solids to mimic the sensation of mild intoxication and is topped with sea salt cheese foam, catering to non-alcohol consumers such as drivers, the elderly, and children.

Liu Tianci, the brand's owner, said that the drink was inspired by office workers often desire drinks with a wine-like taste but cannot consume alcohol due to reasons like driving. The drink has become the brand's best-seller at the event, attracting many consumers who sought it out after discovering it on social media. 

Wu Lingyong, founder of Changsha-based Moment Coffee, said that after one of its hit products received positive feedback at the Lujiazui Coffee Festival in 2025, the brand solidified its plan to expand to Shanghai. Its first Shanghai store, located on West Nanjing Road, is set to open at the end of the month. 

At the festival, Moment Coffee introduced two alcohol-infused coffee specials. "Young people rely on coffee to stay focused during the day and unwind with a drink at night," Wu said. "This has become a daily lifestyle."

An Italian wine brand making its debut at the wine-and-coffee themed festival showcased its nearly century-old Bellini cocktail. "To be honest, I have never heard of wine and coffee festivals in Italy," Tommaso Bianchin, business development manager of L'IDeA (Shanghai) Wine Co, Ltd, said. "It is a brand-new concept and absolutely worth promoting."

Bianchin praised the coffee-wine integration model. "Combining coffee and wine is a very interesting format," he said. "People can enjoy coffee in the morning or after lunch, and savor wine at noon or in the evening. This can attract visitors throughout the day."