One week to go till London Wine Fair!

With just over  a week to go until the London Wine Fair opens its doors for the first time in three years, we take a look at what’s on offer. 

The three-day reunion of tasting and trading, will be packed with content, spreading over the three days at Olympia followed by a two-day digital event taking place two weeks later  (20-21 June).

This year more than 30 wine-producing countries will be represented, with many of the industry’s biggest names set to return to Olympia after a short absence. This includes Wine Australia – which has not shown at the LWF for over a decade but will be bringing 24 producers who are all new to the UK.

Distell, South Africa’s leading producer of wines, spirits and ciders, will also return after a long absence, while Argentina’s leading organic winery, Domaine Bousquet, will be taking a stand for the first time.

New exhibitors this year include Murcia & Galicia from Spain, the Portuguese Península de Setúbal region – with more than a dozen producers that are new to the UK – Armenia, Uzbekistan and Romania.

Meanwhile producers from Pro Chile, Georgia and France have also increased their presence – Georgia for example, has doubled the size of its stand, while the area dedicated to French growers has increased by almost 50%.

France will be well represented this year, as the annual Bourgogne and Chablis tasting will be coming to the fair on its first day (Tuesday 7 June). This will bring around 40 wine producers together to create a French pop-up marketplace and tasting venue, complete with food stalls, which will take up the entire west side of the Gallery and adjoining Gallery Suite rooms.

“It is a really big ‘show within a show’ for Bourgogne, which we’re thrilled about,” show organiser Tovey said.

The 40th edition of the show will also showcase the biggest ever selection of wines, beers, spirits and non-alcoholic drinks from England, Scotland and Wales in the show’s history. This includes more than 40 English & Welsh wineries across Drinks Britannia, Esoterica, Trading Floor, The Discovery Zone and WTAF, as well as British drinks represented in Club Soda’s ‘No & Low’ area – the first time there has been a dedicated section for this category. This year will see the first outing for several spirits and beer brands, including Lafferty’s Gin, James Martin’s Gin and Traquair House Brewery.

Importers due to take part include Enotria&Coe, who will be running masterclasses on 12 of their most premium producers, Hatch Mansfield, which will launch two premium agencies and Bibendum, who is returning to the show and will be doings some activity around its own 40th anniversary. UK agents Awin Barratt Siegel, Richmond Wine Agencies and Félix Solís, will also return to the Trading Floor.

According to show organiser Tovey, the result of having such a strong exhibitors list opens up opportunities for discovery and education, making it “the strongest [it has been] in many years”, with over 80 sessions at the physical show and 20 more at the digital event.

“Our strapline for this year is ’the most intelligent wine event of its kind’ – and I want that to come across,” she said.

As ever, the industry briefing room will be back to highlight the most important issues facing the sector, with key-note speakers and panel sessions, supported by the WSTA. Sessions will be held in the Education Zone (supported by the WSET), along with the Masterclass programme, which is holding walk-in sessions in addition to premium masterclasses in the Pillar Hall.

The LWF team itself has taken a stand in the centre of the hall to showcase its wine buyer award that was launched in 2020 but could not run due to the pandemic. Instead, the team have mined it for insight and information on what it means to be a great buyer.

“We’ve drawn from the successes, the winners and the high-quality judges that we had,” Tovey explains. “The buyers come from across the spectrum,  from independent merchants to supermarkets, all types of hospitality, online buying, and importers  – that has a huge reach and speaks to what the London Wine Fair is and why it happens.”

Meanwhile, the Discovery zone, sponsored by French wine-preservation system D’Vine, will be on hand to cover everything from wine technology to transportation and marketing, situated in the theatre, where up to five sessions a day will be held.

For the full line up, see here.