Wine Fairs scenario: Wine Paris is a global event, Vinitaly an Italian showcase, ProWein for Germany

France is at the center of Wine Paris, which has been crowned the most important International Fair, while Italy is becoming more and more one of the main players (this year participation doubled and predictions say it will grow even more). Vinitaly is Italy’s cornerstone, and a privileged showcase for Italian wineries that are more and more at the forefront in the global wine business. ProWein is being put to the test by French growth, as Italian (and French) exhibitors are expected to decline sharply, but it is a consolidated event in a fundamental market for many Italian wineries, such as Germany. This is the sentiment that came out loud and clear from the voices of hundreds of companies and producers, large and small, from many different territories at Wine Paris, who talked to WineNews at the Parisian Fair (they also expressed their great appreciation for the logistics that a large city like Paris offers, mentioning also few details to be improved, and for the online platform that allows companies and profiled buyers to contact each other before the Fair, encouraging meetings between supply and demand), which ended yesterday at Porte de Versailles. The wine world was looking for a boost to return to growth around the world, aware that quality is increasing everywhere, and that a thousand-year-old history must continue to look to the future. Moreover, they realized they must look beyond today's challenges and overcome the adverse winds, like geopolitical tensions that are undermining the entire economy, and consumption, health, the threat of a new trade war based on duties, climate change, and more.
Wine Paris, by Vinexposium is a candidate to be the center of gravity of global business (everyone says, however, that besides the important role of the fairs, is essential to hit the markets one by one, and to have strong and favorable relationships with distribution, catering and retail). It also will have the role of "influencer", lobbying towards global politics, as the “Voice” project, which is not only a magazine, but also a platform that collects contributions and visions from opinion leaders and players in the sector. It is “a voice of the sector for the sector”, Rodolphe Lameyse, CEO of Vinexposium explained (coming soon the video interview, together with the voices of Italian producers, on WineNews). “We are very happy with this edition of Wine Paris, as we saw that business is really being done, and there was great positive energy. It seemed that at least within the Fair grounds, for a few days, the great challenges that the sector is facing, and will continue to face, had been put aside to make room to do business, and to see the wine business restart. When we moved from Bordeaux to Paris a few years ago, this Fair was still a predominantly French fair. Today, instead, it is an international Fair where exhibitors and buyers come from all over the world. Italian producers are asking for more space (many companies participated, almost 1.000 exhibitors from Italy, and many were also on the waiting list, ed.), and we are already thinking about how to satisfy them, and everyone from all over the world. It must be something that is convenient for everyone, exhibitors and visitors. In general, we are considering everything that can be useful to create business and opportunities for the wine supply chain. “However”, Lameys explained, “we also want to be something more, a place where wine does its rightful lobbying action. Many Ministers, government officials and politicians, from France, Italy and the rest of the world have participated, which is a clear signal that we have also become a center of influence.
How is the wine market doing? Consumption in quantity is definitely falling, but values are stable, and that is good news. Of course, there are those people who are fighting the wine world, obviously, and many other sectors, like fast food, or other drinks. Yet, these are growing businesses, nonetheless, and perhaps we in the wine world need to learn how to lobby. In any case, the wine sector is strong, and must look confidently to the future. We really need geopolitical stability because the tensions existing today are bad for the economy. Plus, the sector needs to find, within, a bit of serenity and positivity”.