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 Countdown has begun towards the opening of the 14 th edition of the world's premier annual wine show, ProWein. Organised by Messe Düsseldorf, the show is expected to be attended by over 30,000 wine professionals during the 3 days from 18-20 March. This is twenty times more than when the fair first opened 13 years ago.
In its first edition in 1994, only 1,517 visitors came to taste both German and international wines, meet winemakers and importers, and sell and buy the products of some 300 exhibitors from eight countries. By 2006, the number of exhibitors had risen to nearly 3,000, one-fourth from Germany and the rest from 45 foreign countries. The number of visitors had grown to 32,125, of which 22% came from abroad.
During the spring and early summer of this year, wine fairs will seek to attract visitors and exhibitors from all over the world. Only the biggest and best-selling producers can afford to show up at all of them. Exhibiting at an international fair is a costly business. At ProWein, prices for space alone start at €137 per square meter; at Vinitaly, €169. London 's LIWSF, £259 (€395); and Vinexpo, €250 are even more expensive.
If you have a penchant for German wines which are getting popular fast in India due to the comfortable fit of Rieslings with Indian food, or want to interact with some of the other producers and check out what is happening in the WeinWelt, the show is for you. Germans are getting very fond of Indian food and Indian wines. The Indian wine producers can have some Europeans taste their wines too. Then there is technology available at the show and many exhibitors are interested in entering India through technical collaborations.
One special attraction of ProWein is the tasting zone where every year one thousand wines, carefully selected in several preliminary tastings, are displayed. This year's topic in the tasting area is Riesling and related white grapes as well as red wine blends. For 90 percent of the visitors, the tasting zone is an ideal opportunity to learn about some of their wines.
Many people mistakenly feel that it is a show of only German wines. German exhibitors comprise only one-fourth of the total number present, although they cover nearly half of the total exhibiting space. German wine is in the spotlight, of course. This, however, has not impeded ProWein's success with foreign exhibitors. One is likely to see not only importers from all of Europe , but also numerous German wholesalers and independent wine-shop and bar owners.
Last year, 78% of the visitors were German, while the remaining 22% were split into 89% Europeans and 11% from outside the European community. Holland led the top 10 of foreign visitors to the fair, followed by France , Italy , Austria , Belgium , Spain , Sweden , and Switzerland . US and UK buyers also visited the show. They were not necessarily looking for German wines. When asked about their fields of interest at the fair (multiple answers were possible), 63% said German wine, 37% Italian wine, 32% French wine, and 30% Spanish wine. Austrian wine, which rounded out the top five, was chosen by 22%.
The biggest German and about the most visited is the Association of Germany's leading estates, the VDP. In 2007, the VDP has booked 900 square metres of space. It has come a long way in just ten years at Düsseldorf; and their growth can be seen as an indicator for the general development of ProWein as a whole. Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm, departing president of the VDP, sums up the show: "In 1997 we were in Düsseldorf on 8 square metres; now we have 900 for the 116 participating wineries. The great development of ProWein has not only been beneficial for the reputation of German wines abroad and at home, but has also strengthened Germany's position as one of the most important wine-trading countries of the world."
For many specialised retailers and on-trade establishments, ProWein is the only big fair they visit regularly.
"ProWein is the most efficient fair for us", says Michael Wolf from Weinhaus Wolf. "We have wines from all over the world in our portfolio, so we use the fair to meet our suppliers." The smaller the retailer, it seems, the more important ProWein becomes. And while some visitors see ProWein "becoming more of a fair for the big producers and not the small wineries".
ProWein precedes 41 st edition of Vinitaly in Verona from 29 th March. Vinitaly is a very popular show with the Indian visitors. This year if you cannot visit Vinitaly for any reason, try attending ProWein. Or better still, if you or your guests have time, take them to both the shows, filling in the gap between the shows to visit vineyards in Germany, Italy or even France or Spain. But you must pre-register at www.prowein.de where you can find other details too.
Source: www.wine-business-international.com |
