ProWein closes 25th edition with record attendance

ProWein has closed its 25th anniversary show in Düsseldorf, reporting record attendance of 61,000 visitors from 142 countries.

“When we launched ProWein 25 years ago, none of us could have imagined just how incredibly it would develop,” said Hans Werner Reinhard, managing director of Messe Düsseldorf.

“It’s taken a massive amount of hard work and strong support along the way from our partners to grow this exhibition step for step into the world’s largest and most important trade fair for wine and spirits. And we’ve got many things planned for our future as well.”

A total of 61,500 wine and spirits professionals (2018: 60,500) made journey to Düsseldorf with more than 80% involved in purchasing decisions – a record high. 

Visitors travelled from 142 countries (2018: 133 countries), with Germany representing the biggest contingent of visitors, followed by the Benelux, France, Italy and the UK.

Over 6,900 exhibitors of wines and spirits registered for this year’s ProWein, from 64 different nations. The largest exhibitor nations at ProWein 2019 were Italy (1,654) and France (1,576), followed by Germany (978), Overseas (600), Austria (335), Spain (661) and Portugal (387). There were also an additional 400 spirits exhibitors.

Business France was among the organisations attending as a partner of ProWein, which helped shine a special spotlight on France as a wine producing nation.

“France is very proud to be attending as a partner here on this 25th anniversary of ProWein,” said Santiago Diaz Herrenschmidt, head of wines & spirits trade department at Business France. “It represents as an essential annual rendez-vouz for the wine, spirits, beer and cider industry. There’s nothing better than being at ProWein! Santé – and we’ll see you again next year.”

Monika Reule, managing director of the German Wine Institute, added: “From an exhibitor standpoint, this year’s ProWein ran very well on the whole. There was particular interest expressed by industry visitors from both Germany and abroad in the 2018 vintage which – from all I’ve heard – absolutely lived up to its high expectations.

“Despite the relatively early timing of this showing, the white wines were already noticeably ready to drink, with intense fruitiness. Beyond this, the exhibitors I’ve spoken with made a point of mentioning the strong professionalism shown by the visitors.”

ProWein 2019 also gave a strong platform to the topic of craft drinks, with the “same but different” special exhibition home to over 100 selected providers from the craft spirits, beer and cider industry.

“There’s nothing out there like ProWein’s ‘same but different’ special exhibition, and it is by far the most important premium industry-only forum to reach the selling markets in Germany, Europe and abroad,” said Raphael Vollmer, who manages Siegfried Gin together with Gerold Koenen.

“The conceptual design for ‘same but different’ – the way the stands look, the way it’s integrated into ProWein – is unparalleled. We were here for the premiere a year ago and will absolutely be booking a stand again next year in 2020.”

FURTHER DATES

ProWein 2020 will take place from 15–17 March in Düsseldorf. One year later, in 2021, ProWein will run  from 21–23 March, with an expanded hall layout. The extensive renovation of the Düsseldorf fairgrounds will allow ProWein to incorporate the modern South entrance and its new and adjacent Hall 1.

ProWine Asia will run from 7–10 May 2019 in Hong Kong. The next ProWine China will run from 12–14 November 2019 in Shanghai.