Vinexpo Asia: ‘trust and long-term presence make all the difference’
With almost three decades of experience in the region, Vinexpo Asia 2026 will help guide buyers and producers through a complex moment for the Asia-Pacific drinks trade.
There is an immediate appeal in Hong Kong, the city in which Vinexpo Asia began in 1998. It is an established market for consumers but, more crucially, has become Asia’s premier wine trading hub.
Yet when Vinexpo Asia 2026 heads to Hong Kong from 26–28 May, visitors can access much more than just one city. It serves as a show on the doorstep of Mainland China, Macau and Taiwan, as well as a hub for visitors from Japan, South Korea, Australia and Southeast Asia to connect.
With a combined population of more than 2 billion, these territories represent a huge opportunity for the drinks trade.
However, they require care. In the combination of mature customer bases, rapidly expanding emerging markets and the volatility of Chinese consumption, it is an unpredictable region, where expertise and experience matter.
“Vinexpo Asia has been engaged in Asia for nearly thirty years,” explains Grace Ghazalé,
director of international exhibitions at Vinexposium. “This continuity is essential in a transforming Asian market, where trust and long-term presence make all the difference.”
Breadth of offering
Vinexpo Asia’s role, in a transitory market, is partly to bring in the products and producers that match emerging opportunities. The show’s selection has to be ever broader to meet the region’s potential.
At the 2024 edition, more than 1,000 exhibitors, spanning 35 countries, met with more than 14,000 professional visitors from 60 countries. At this year’s event, a focused curation means organisers hope to exceed those numbers.
New for its 2026 edition, Vinexpo Asia is adopting the three-in-one approach debuted at this year’s Wine Paris. Within the show, Vinexpo Asia will be dedicated to wines, Be No will showcase non-alcoholic drinks and Be Spirits will shine a light on spirits, cocktails, sake, beer and cider.
The tripartite format means that buyers can more easily find what they are looking for. It also means that Vinexpo Asia has secured the participation of key national and regional bodies. For instance, Be Spirits and Be No will host a Japanese pavilion and a South Korean pavilion.
Elsewhere, collectives such as Business France, Wines of South Africa, and the California Wine Institute have confirmed their participation, alongside individual producers from the likes of Portugal, Chile, New Zealand and even North Macedonia.
With such diversity built into the show’s structure, it is hoped that visitors will be able to tap into the region’s key trends. Whether that is addressing increased alcohol consumption at home in China or a regional shift towards fresher styles, the organisers are working to ensure buyers can meet their customers’ needs.
“In 2026, says Ghazalé, “Vinexpo Asia is providing a structured framework for dialogue, market understanding and the development of commercial exchanges in Hong Kong, Mainland China and beyond,”
Serving as a guide
For Rodolphe Lameyse, CEO of Vinexposium, the challenges of the Asian market should not scare the wine trade away. They do, however, mean that the show has a specific role in guiding the industry through a changing outlook.
“Asia remains a key market in the global trade balance of wines and spirits,” he comments. “At a time when international trade flows are being redefined, Vinexposium continues to support the industry by strengthening its presence in the region through Vinexpo Asia, an event historically anchored in Hong Kong and focused on the future.”
The forward-facing approach is most evident in The Academy. A space for masterclasses, conferences and tastings, it has become essential to the Vinexpo Asia offering, leading the conversation rather than responding to past events.
Vinexpo Asia 2026 will feature more than 40 sessions, addressing both specific issues for Asian markets and wider international concerns.
Among the topics tabled this year are the latest ecommerce patterns from the region, economic shifts that ripple across the world and how to pair wine with Chinese food.
Even without tasting a drop, The Academy proves the worth of Vinexpo Asia. When those curated insights are combined with the sheer breadth of product on display, you can see why Vinexpo Asia 2026 is an essential date in the calendar.
Vinexpo Asia returns to Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from May 26–28.
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