Why Vinexpo deserves its place on the international trade fair circuit
By Richard Siddle
Imagine the start of a film opening up with our chief protagonist walking out on to the streets of Dusseldof to be greeted by a wet, grey March morning. You would immediately imagine you had stumbled across a moody thriller or serious Le Carré-style spy story.
Then suddenly the scene changes to a golden summer day as our star wanders past shoots of water leaping in to the sky with the splendorous backdrop of Bordeaux and the buzz of roadside cafés behind them. Now we think we are in the middle of a glamorous, exciting adventure story, played out on the romantic streets of Bordeaux with all the food, wine and escapism that goes with it.
So which one would you continue to watch?
Well it seems when it come to buying and sourcing wine, then Dusseldorf and Prowein in March is winning out against the lure of Vinexpo in June.
Whether it is the time of the year, the cost to be involved, or simply just word of mouth, the rise of Prowein continues unabated. It’s not as if Messe Dusselfdorf has done anything particularly different to suddenly become the most important trade fair for wine buyers around the world to go to.
The lay-out of the show is the same, the food is as basic as it always has been and, if anything the transport links have got a lot worse as it tries to cope with far more people wanting to attend.
Vinexpo, meanwhile, is doing all it can to re-invent the exhibition and make it more relevant both to buyers around the world and to producers in this post Prowein world.
It if often harshly viewed as largely a French wine trade fair, full of the big chateaux wanting to do business with its Chinese and Asian visitors. But then that would be as accurate as calling Prowein largely a show for German wine producers.
But if you drill down in the figures then Vinexpo is more than holding its own. This year’s Prowein attracted some 58,500 trade visitors from 130 countries who had the chance to see 6,500 exhibitors from around 60 countries.
At Vinexpo there might be a lot less exhibitors, with some 2,350 different producers expected, but the number of visitors is not that far behind Prowein with an anticipated 48,500 heading to Bordeaux this weekend. But crucially Vinexpo can claim to have a bigger international reach with some 151 countries represented in 2015.
Whilst Prowein might dominate in terms of European profile it is clear that Vinexpo still has a great appeal for global buyers, particularly from the US, north America and across Asia.
The focus at Vinexpo is also not just on what happens on the exhibition floor. It has a much better reputation for the quality of the debates, seminars and particularly high class masterclasses and special tasting events that take place. Not to mention the swanky black tie dinners at chateaux on the Right and Left banks.
This year promises to throw the spotlight on number of key areas including: climate change and Brexit.
It is not a surprise to see climate change back top of the agenda. You only have to look at the troubled harvests occurring the world over to see how much impact climate is having on the international wine trade. The first day of the fair on June 18 will see prominent speakers from both inside and outside the wine industry tackle the issue in a session entitled, Fire and Rain: Climate Change and the Wine Industry.
It will include talks from John P. Holdren, former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, Harvard physicist, and a leading international expert on energy and climate change; Miguel A. Torres Sr, president and managing director of Bodegas Torres in Pacs del Penedes, Spain; Gaia Gaja, co-owner of Gaja Winery in Barbaresco, Italy; and Kathryn Hall, former US Ambassador, international trade advisor and proprietor of Napa Valley’s Hall Vineyards – one of the world’s only LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold-certified wineries.
Following on Tuesday comes the Vinexpo Brexit debate which will look to shine the light on this complex issue in the week that formal Brexit negotiations start between the British government and the EU.
This will see two big hitters from the UK address how they see Brexit impacting on the UK market and how it can trade with the rest of the world, featuring Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association and Andrew Shaw, group wine buyer at Conviviality, the biggest wine distributor in the UK with the likes of Matthew Clark, Bibendum and Bargain Booze.
They will be joined by senior French wine figure, Jean Marie Barillère, president of the Union of Maison de Champagne and vice president of the Comité Champagne. With leading wine critic, Jane Anson, taking up the referee’s whistle in the moderating chair.
But ultimately Vinexpo is all about buyers and producers meeting, talking, tasting wine and doing business together. If you are still making your plans for Vinexpo and are particularly interested in reaching new producers in different markets, then you might want to take advantage of a great new service whereby Vinexpo will help arrange meetings for you.
Its “One to Wine” meetings service allows both buyers and exhibitors to set out the kinds of buyers or partners they would like to work with. Producers can even identify the individual buyers they would like to have a meeting with. The buyer, though, has the final say in who they want to meet.
It is a quick, easy way to bring the show closer to you and to really tap in to all the talent and new producers and markets available there.
Oh, and bring some sun cream, because it’s going to be hot. Which is not what you can say about Prowein in March.