EXHIBITIONS: 2011 trade fair listings

This year’s line-up of global wine and spirits fairs promises a wealth of invaluable information and exciting opportunities. By Rupert Millar.

Once again, just as the last of the fairs dies away it’s the end of the year and the time has come to start planning for them all over again.

While the memories of trudging, foot-sore, through teeming halls may still linger, there is no denying that the likes of ProWein, LIWF, Vinexpo and Vinitaly provide the trade with some of the best opportunities to keep abreast of the changing marketplace, discover wines, set up potential business and generally catch up.

And why limit yourself to the big fairs? Both the Rhône and Russia feature on the events circuit in 2011, each presenting their own unique opportunities to find new products and business contacts.

Millesime Bio
24-26 January 2011
Exhibition centre, Montpellier, France

Exclusively catering to organic and biodynamic producers gives Millésime Bio a different slant to the usual exhibitions. With simple presentation, no one winery given precedence over any other and all mixed in together, visitors have to taste and explore by themselves encouraging conversation and discovery.
www.millesime-bio.com

Découvertes en Vallee du Rhone
1-6 March 2011
Various locations, Rhone Valley, France

The biennial Inter-Rhône event, Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône, returns for its sixth incarnation this year. Spread over a week, with 15 different fairs taking place in the Rhône’s different appellations, it is a good chance to taste the region’s wines in situ. The event offers each visitor the possibility to easily build strong professional connections with different winemakers, and benefit from their thorough Rhône Valley wine knowledge. Over 700 producers will be presenting more than 4,000 wines to the visitors who, while largely French, hail from 25 different countries. Tastings begin on Tuesday 1 March in Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie and head south, finishing in Châteauneuf-du-Pape on Sunday 6 March.

www.decouvertes-vins-rhone.com

ProWein
27-29 March 2011
Exhibition Centre, Dusseldorf, Germany

This is undoubtedly one of the biggest purely trade fairs of them all. Providing the best chance to network and take the pulse of the drinks trade at the beginning of the year, ProWein has been variously described as one of “the last true commercial trade fairs”, while “the professional, well-organised manner of the fair allows us to concentrate on what’s important and present wines to a wide array of serious international buyers”.
With more than 30,000 visitors over three days, from all conceivable corners of the world, ProWein has been going from strength to strength. Visitor numbers have risen tenfold since 1994 and show no signs of stopping. This year will see the usual high-profile names involved in talks and seminars and the “Tasting Zone” will be comparing the effect of oenology on wine styles from around the world.
www.prowein.com

Vinitaly
7-11 April 2011
Verona, Exhibition Centre, Italy

The 45th Vinitaly is already fully booked in terms of exhibitors, over 3,000 from 110 countries. With a history of attracting upwards of 47,000 people out of 150,000 visitors, who also descend for the food fairs held around the same time, Vinitaly prides itself on communication and new ways of introducing buyers and producers, which last year led to an “online matching” web platform where the two groups could liaise in the run-up to the fair. This year will seek greater links between wine and gastronomy and catering, with 5,000 top Italian premises listed in the main guides.

With 2011 being the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, the Wine and Spirits Exhibition will be celebrating with the “Unity of Italy Bottle”, an initiative designed to highlight the diversity of Italy’s wine regions.  
www.vinitaly.com

VDP Weinborse
17-18 April 2011
Rheingoldhalle, Mainz, Germany

This annual fair is a chance to comprehensively taste the latest releases from Germany’s VDP estates, some of the best of the country’s top producers. 165 producers will be on hand to present their wines and talk to members of the press and representatives from the on- and off-trades. In comparison to the bigger trade exhibitions, the Weinbörse offers a “more intimate” setting and is far more focused in its scope.
www.vdp.de

London International Wine Fair
17-19 May 2011
ExCeL, London

As London is a crucial hub for the international wine trade, so LIWF benefits from attracting a very international audience of buyers. For importers, producers, merchants, restaurateurs, wholesalers and sommeliers, the event offers the opportunity to meet with suppliers and winemakers and do business.
Building on the success of 2010, the Wine Intelligence Theatre will return, and the Industry Briefings Theatre will tackle many of the key topical issues and debates surrounding the trade. The show will be strengthening its commitment to social media, building on the 2010 launch of the Access Zone. Other highlights include the LIWF Top 100, and a wide variety of masterclasses and tastings hosted by exhibiting winemakers.
www.londonwinefair.com

Distil
17-19 May 2011
ExCeL, London

Distil, now in its fourth year, is dedicated exclusively to spirits from around the world, from vodka to Pisco, and whisky to Tequila. With a revamped layout, grouping spirits by category, the show will provide an opportunity for anyone involved in the purchase of spirits, from buyers to bar managers, looking to expand their knowledge and portfolios. The event will be packed full of interesting features, with education firmly at the forefront of the agenda.
www.distil-london.com

Vinexpo
19-23 June 2011
Bordeaux Exhibition Centre, France

Vinexpo returns to Bordeaux in 2011 after a successful sojourn in the Orient. The last time Vinexpo was held in France it attracted a truly impressive 46,621 visitors from 135 countries. It is France’s leading trade fair with over 2,000 exhibitors and its potential for brand building and contact making puts it among the ranks of the most influential events out there.
www.vinexpo.com

TFWA World Exhibition
18-23 September 2011
Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France

Brought forward from its usual October position due to Nicolas Sarkozy declaring Cannes as the venue for the G20 summit in early November, the TFWA is the travel retail market’s chance to shine. With a long day of workshops, networking and meetings followed by nightly parties on the Riviera, the World Exhibition is certainly among the most extravagant and glitzy of the year’s fairs. The Spirits Business Travel Retail Masters will also be awarded during the event.
www.tfwa.com

Fine Wine Fair
21-23 October 2011
Chelsea Old Town Hall, London

Following on from the success of the inaugural fair in 2010, the Fine Wine Fair returns to the Chelsea Old Town Hall on the Kings Road in London with its focus still firmly on providing the consumer with the chance to discover, taste and buy quality wines in a relaxed, unstuffy atmosphere. Innovations such as “personal wine shoppers”, a consumer mini-magazine, themed food and wine rooms and an online charity auction attracted thousands of wine lovers to an event that has managed to maintain its dedication to quality on both sides of the exhibitor and visitor equation. Ongoing social media engagement ensures that the FWF community following continues to grow throughout the year.
www.finewinefair.org   

Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair
3-5 November 2011
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

This will be the fourth edition of what is becoming something of a highlight of the Far East’s trade events. A testament to its growing success is the fact that visitor numbers jumped by 19% last year over 2009 with 14,000 trade buyers in attendance. Leading Pacific markets such as China, Japan, Australia and the US all saw increased levels of trade visitors. Italy will be the partner country for 2011, taking over from Australia. Among the 700 exhibitors from 30 countries taking part overall, the Australian pavilion at the 2010 fair housed nearly 70 companies so Italy has been presented a real chance to promote its wines in what is now an increasingly important and influential marketplace.
www.hktdc.com

Drinks Industry/Russian Wine Fair
17-19 November 2011
Moscow Exhibition Centre, Russia

Somewhat under the radar, but now in its 11th year, the Drinks Industry/Russian Wine Fair has managed to build itself up as a credible business platform for both its domestic and foreign participants. Designed to orientate new companies and products in the Russian market, it is an ideal event to find wines and spirits from countries that, while present at other trade fairs, are usually playing second fiddle to more famous names.
France, Australia, Chile and Spain are all represented, as are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, Armenia, the Ukraine and Russia. Furthermore, roundtable discussions on the region’s markets and seminars with introductions to some of Eastern Europe’s most obscure wine regions are all available, hosted by both Russian and international experts.
www.drinksindustry.ru