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 Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, China, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Malaysia, Moldova, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and the United States have already confirmed their presence as exhibitor participants at the WBWE which claims to be the biggest trade fair worldwide in terms of business transactions carried out at Exhibition.
Based on the number of registered exhibitors at present, the WBWE shows an increase of 15% in the number of participants compared to last year, in addition to a growth of 20% in the exhibition space. With over a month to go, still more exhibitors are expected to participate.
The 21 exhibiting countries represent more than 85% of the international offer for this wine sector, which continues to grow in quality and quantity every year. The WBWE displays a big range of bulk and bag-in-box wines. It represents appellation wines with a protected geographical indication (PGI) or even varietal appellation. One can find generic wines intended for blending, making sparkling wine or even wines like vermouth which use herbs, spices and flavours to change the personality of wine. This potential for multiple sales contracts and packaging agreements form the country of origin to the destination, make this international congregation rather unique.
Global Bulk Wine Market
The continued success and growth of the WBWE can be attributed to the fact that buying and selling of bulk wine has seen a quantum jump in the last few years in the international  arena, resulting in growth and thus has increased competitiveness and commercialization, with a rise in the volume of exports and an ever-growing variety to choose from.
According to the data provided by Spanish Observatory for the Wine Market (OEMV), bulk wine sector has undergone a huge evolution since 2000 when the global bulk wine sales was 20.34 million hL valued at € 1,231 million. Last year, the export reached 37.83 million hL with a value of € 2,715 million. There was a growth of 85% in sales. During this period the average value of bulk wine recorded an increase of 20% to €0.72 per liter. The share of bulk wine in exports grew in volume from 34% up to 37.7% . In terms of value, the share went up from 9% up to 10.5% from 2000 to 2014.
Italy biggest producer
The data currently available for the 2015 crops indicates that Italy, France and Spain are set to be the biggest wine producing countries for this vintage. Production in Italy is estimated at 48 million hL, followed by France with 46 million hL and Spain with 37 million. Additionally, there is another 5.5 million in must wine.
The greatest service provided by the WBWE is that it ensures that all exhibitors taking part with their different high-quality bulk wines can enjoy the best international showcase for their products. Attracting buyers from all over the world is an important factor to make it happen. WBWE is a key strategic event not only due to the timing, the location, or the summoning power it has, but also because of the 360-degree view on the bulk wine business, according to the organizers.
Conferences and Seminars
 Besides the possibility of tasting wines and interacting with the producers, it offers tremendous opportunity to learn about various world markets. As is the past practice, General Director of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), Jean Marie Aurand, will present an analysis of the International wine market in 2014, with an emphasis on bulk wine. The Show has the support of OIV because of the importance of bulk wine volumes and traditionally, the statistics are released at this platform. The Theme for the Conference this year is “New wine scenes: Changes in habits, marketing and commercial strategies”.
During the opening ceremony, the 5th WBWE Prize “Voice of Wine” will also be presented. Last year’s Award had gone to Wines of South Africa (WOSA). Another interesting and informative seminar worth attending will be by Rafael del Rey, director of the Spanish Wine Market Observatory (OEMV) on: “New bulk wine scenes: changes in habits, marketing and commercial strategies”
Bulk Wine Competition
The 5th International Bulk Wine Competition will be held on 22 November at Amsterdam RAI. The idea of this Competition came during the 3rd edition, with the aim of promoting a segment of wines that globally represents more than 38% of the international sales. This Competition seeks to dignify the consumption of certain types of wines that are packed before reaching the final consumer, as well as bringing to light their quality and plus points among distributors and the final buyer. This is also a way to reward the quality efforts of the bulk  wine producers.
Wineries from all over the world that produce a minimum quantity of 10.000 liters can take part in the Competition. The first and second sample will have a cost of 110 Euros, and from the third one each sample will cost 90 Euros. In addition, exhibitors in the 7th World Bulk Wine Exhibition will be offered a 30% discount on the total of the samples costs. Each wine sample must be presented with three bottles of 0.75 liters, with their comprehensive labelling and prepaid postage. Those interested can register on the following link.
Some of the members of the international jury who will be tasting the wines at the Competition are Anna Smolec (Chile) of Vitis magazine, Zoraida Lobato (Brazil) of Vinho Magazine, Réal Wolfe (Canadá), Advisor product development at Groupe Vini-Quatro, Subhash Arora (India) of the Indian Wine Academy and delWine, Esperanza Mendiola (Mexico), Journalist, Natalia Posadas-Dickson (United Kingdom), purchaser at Perfect Cellar, and Marc Dressler (Germany), University lecturer at Neustadt Weinstrasse.
Gourmet Area
As every year the visitors can enjoy the culinary creations inspired by the wine regions of the participating countries, using their wines and dish pairings. Chef Kike Piñeiro and his team will use a live cooking area near the entrance on your right, to create a unique gastronomical corner specially for the visitors.
The Vine and Wine
This new section was added last year on an experimental basis and it was such a successl that it has been added again as a feature this year. It offers a large forum of commercial synergies for the companies built around vine and wine. This is a meeting point where the wine sector could make the most of all the resources and technologies at its disposal, allowing the vine sector to reach its full potential in terms of profit.
This is a place where food and beauty companies can develop their products and activities, alongside companies from other sectors, as well as technology and service supplier’s companies, whose products are derived from, byproducts, sub-products and/or residues from the vine or the vinification.
The show has a particular appeal for Indian importers who are looking for value-for-money offerings. Many of the products already in the Retail are from some of these participants. The Show will keep you on your toes and unless you pre-fix the appoinments and decide on which seminars to attend, the time will fly past you. It’s suggested that if you plan your trip to other cities in US and Europe , it must include 2 days of detour to visit the 7th edition of World Bulk Wine Exhibition- 15 minutes from the Amsterdam Airport.
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Subhash Arora |