The Biggest Trade Fairs is a series of articles which provides insights about the largest trade shows, conferences and expos for the world’s most influential industries. The first article will present the trade shows in the wine industry.

The wine business is one of the sectors which moves the international markets in a profound way. This is an industry which provides possibilities for wine producers of all scales alike to showcase their products. Wine trade fairs attract big audiences in terms of trade and public visitors including journalists, blog writers and influencers from across the world. This makes such an event a great marketing platform to leverage a wine producer’s exposure, engage in trade deals and onsite purchases. 11,000 companies have showcased their prime products to a total of a quarter million people in 2016 at Europe’s top 3 wine shows alone.

The organisers of such events make sure that the entire spectrum of the industry is covered in their program. This includes an exhibition part where presenters show their products separated into key topics which vary from products to services, packaging, software and other business solutions. Big fairs will incorporate smaller events such as tastings, dinners and dedicated awards to accompany them and further increase the publicity of the exhibiting businesses.

The Biggest Wine Shows around the World

European countries take the top three spots as the biggest wine producers in the world and occupy three out of the five top wine consumer countries. These numbers show the great impact this industry has on the European economy. So what are the biggest game-changing events in the world?

Vinitaly - Verona, Italy

Vinitaly is the biggest wine fair in the world in terms of visitors, exhibitors and exhibition area. The first edition of the expo was held in 1967 and since then the event has been a pivot for the wine industry in Europe. It's last edition in 2016 welcomed 155,000 people with a third of them coming from abroad.

The trade show focuses on exhibiting products and companies from Italy’s biggest wine regions with halls in the venue dedicated to each of the regions. Over 4,100 wineries from various scales from Italy and another 20 major wine producing countries present their wines divided into different categories. Smaller events run alongside and before the main show starts. These include an education program on Italian wine sorts and grape varieties; a wine competition; tastings of Italy’s hundred best wines; music celebrations across the host city of Verona and seminars held by keynote speakers from the sector.

A reported 2,600 media representatives attended Vinitaly 2016. This provides a great exposure boost for businesses who are represented at the expo.

Vinitaly takes place annually at Verona Fiera exhibition centre in Northern Italy.

ProWein - Dusseldorf, Germany

ProWein is the second largest international trade show for the wine and spirit industry in Europe. The exhibition and its adjacent events are held annually at Messe Dusseldorf in Germany. ProWein’s steady growth through the last five years, made it an appealing platform for businesses, investors and the general public visitors. Unlike Vinitaly, the Dusseldorf wine fair is far more internationally-focused. The halls of the venue are all dedicated to different Europe and overseas countries.

Additionally, three areas of Messe Dusseldorf are exclusively allocated to present various spirits, champagnes and beers. This slightly shifts the centre of attention of the event from wine to the general alcoholic beverage industry and provides a bigger variety of business opportunities.

In 2017, ProWein was attended by over 6,000 exhibitors with more than 4,700 coming from abroad. Major companies from France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, United States and South Africa all took part in the exhibition. A reported 55,000 visitors attended.

The next edition of ProWein will be held in 2018.

Vinexpo - Bordeaux, France

Vinexpo is France’s biggest wine show. Its focus is entirely on the wine industry with exhibitors showcasing wine products, services, technology and solutions for the sector. Vinexpo is held in uneven years (last edition was in 2015 and the next one will be in 2017) at the Bordeaux Convention Centre in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux in southwestern France.

Vinexpo plays a significant role in the popularization of the wine industry and culture in Asia and Africa. Over the past 13 years, the Vinexpo study has become a reference for sector professionals. The study, which covers 28 producing countries and 114 consumption markets, is the only analysis that can anticipate the evolution of global consumption, production and international trade of wines and spirits. This knowledge is intertwined in the extensive trade show programme, making the event a must visit by all companies involved in this sector.

ExpoVinis - Sao Paolo, Brasil

ExpoVinis is South America’s biggest wine show and a market entry point for businesses based outside of the continent. Additionally, half of all attendees represent Brasil, Chile and Argentine – the top wine producers in Latin America. This provides a variety of opportunities for international distributors to export overseas.

ExpoVinis is a lot smaller in size compared to its counterparts in Europe. Reportedly, 8,132 visitors and 120 exhibitors took part in the event during its last edition in 2016. However, 95% of all attendees were industry professionals and half of them were based in South America. This proves the trade show is a valuable source of contacts despite its smaller scale.

The event organizers are paying special attention to entry-level professionals. In the last few editions, the “Dr. Wine” project brought renowned professionals to provide free advice in assembling and evaluation of wine lists to companies. .

ExpoVinis 2017 will be held between 6 and 8 June at Expo Center Norte in Sao Paolo.

Good Food & Wine Show - Australia

Good Food & Wine Show is Australia’s largest and fastest growing consumer food and wine exhibition. The event is staged annually in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane and its last edition saw a total of 120,000 visitors combined. Launched in 2001, the Show quickly became internationally popular event. With several hundred exhibitors and over 120,000 visitors, the exhibition represents Australias market in a focused, business oriented fashion. The stats and figures from 2015 edition of the Good Food & Wine Show are also very promising. 98% of exhibitors report an increase in brand awareness and 82% of exhibitors report boosts of product sales.

Australia is part of the “New World” market when it comes to wines. International attention towards the Australian wines became more significant in the 70’s and naturally, the growing business and viniculture of the country evolved, creating the lucrative market, where local producers and buyers meet the international brands, looking to conduct profitable deals. In fact, Australia is one of the top exporters of wine in the world and the United Kingdom now imports more wine from Australia than it does from France. All the more reason to attend this event.

Conquering Asia

We have talked about the biggest trade fairs and events taking place in Europe, the Americas and Australia, however there is one market that is quickly dominating the global wine undustry. Yes we are talking about South East Asia. Japan and China are huge markets and naturally the biggest wine exhibitions in Asia are held there. South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand are also emerging as profitable business destinations for the wine industry. Check out our upcomming Part 2 of the biggest Wine events in the world with a dedicated section coveting the Asian Markets!