Prowein from May 15 to 17, Slow Wine Fair in Bologna from March 27 to 29

Prowein has been postponed to May and, as anticipated by WineNews, the Sana Slow Wine Fair (a new big event by BolognaFiere and Slow Food, already with over 600 wineries) has officially been postponed in the “slot” left free by the Germans, at the end of March. As can be expected, changes in the international trade fair scenario are occurring by the hour. Just a few hours after the news of the rescheduling of Prowein, the world’s most important wine fair, to Dusseldorf from May 15 to 17 (while Vinexpo Wine Paris remains confirmed on the calendar from February 14 to 16 in Paris and Vinitaly from April 10 to 13 in Verona), confirmation has arrived in these hours of the postponement of the Slow Wine and BolognaFiere fair (which, instead of making its debut on February 26, will be staged from Sunday 27 to Tuesday 29 March 2022, i.e. the old dates in Dusseldorf): the event (organized by BolognaFiere and under the artistic direction of Slow Food, with the collaboration of FederBio) has therefore decided to postpone it “in order to facilitate its safe running and the participation of national and international operators who are showing great interest in this new event. Wineries from all over Italy and abroad will be coming to Bologna: Albania, Argentina, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, France, Germany, Macedonia, Montenegro, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the United States. A tour of the world together with great wines that respond to the principles of the Slow Wine Coalition and are inspired by the Slow Food Manifesto for good, clean and fair wine: environmental sustainability, protection of the landscape and the cultural and social role of wineries in their territories”.
“Sana Slow Wine Fair will be a valuable opportunity for a fast-growing sector that combines wine culture with aspects of sustainability, ethical production and biodiversity”, says Gianpiero Calzolari, President of BolognaFiere. “These are priority issues for producers and consumers, and we can boast 30 years’ experience in organizing Sana, the most important event dedicated to the world of organic and natural products. Given the current health emergency, the postponement of Sana Slow Wine Fair no. 1 will facilitate the arrival of operators and enthusiasts and allow us to welcome them safely”.
Giancarlo Gariglio, Slow Wine Coalition coordinator, adds, “to allow maximum participation by all the delegates who are part of the Slow Wine Coalition, the conferences on the three themes of the Slow Food Manifesto for good, clean and fair wine will be organized online in the week leading up to the three days in Bologna. To inaugurate Sana Slow Wine Fair, in the presence of BolognaFiere, a plenary assembly in which the themes discussed during the conferences will be presented, a synthesis of the revolution in the world of wine that the Slow Wine Coalition wishes to carry out. The three days dedicated to professionals in the sector - March, Sunday 27, Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 - remain confirmed. They are ideal for restaurateurs, wine shop owners, importers, distributors, chefs and sommeliers to meet, learn about and do business with some of the best Italian wineries and a very select group of international companies. Wine lovers will be able to attend the Sana Slow Wine Fair on March 27, to taste the thousands of labels on offer and talk to the producers. The nine Masterclasses are also dedicated to all visitors. Under the guidance of producers and experts, they will be able to learn more about the production philosophies behind the great wines being tasted”.
In the meantime, however, the postponement of Prowein, as well as helping to move the Sana Slow Wine Fair forward to a period that is likely to be quieter, has also had the effect of arousing a certain amount of discontent in England, where, from May 16 to 18, in its “traditional” period, the London Wine Fair will be held, thus overlapping its own event with the German one, which is now an absolute reference point at international level in terms of size, number of exhibitors, visitors and markets represented. “This is an extremely aggressive move by ProWein; a direct attack on both the London Wine Fair”, said the UK event director Hannah Tovey, “and the UK drinks market. The London Wine Fair has been a fixture on the wine trade agenda for more than 40 years and this move will be extremely disruptive for our industry. The decision was made by without taking into account many of their exhibitors or their UK visitor audience. We have made numerous attempts to contact them (the Germans, ed.) since last week when rumors of a date change began to circulate. They have not had the courtesy to respond. This”, continues the official note from the UK trade fair, "amounts to a huge upheaval for the wine industry, at a time when we all long for a return to normality. We are all aware of the impact that Covid-19 has had on wine fairs. The 2020 London Wine Fair was postponed until 2021, which then took place digitally. At the time, our main concern was to support our exhibitors, all of whom were offered a refund for their 2020 stands and we believe we conducted ourselves with the utmost integrity. After the last two years of disruption, the drinks events industry should be working together to facilitate opportunities for the wine trade to do business”. The London Wine Fair, however, the note concludes, will take place as a live event at the Olympia between May 16 and 18. It will also take place digitally on May 9 and 10.
“We have discussed the few date options for 2022 with the associations and exhibitor representatives”, states ProWein’s website from today, “and have reached a joint decision. Under the current circumstances, the period May 15 - 17, 2022, allows the greatest possible planning security for all parties involved. Exhibitors can now concentrate on the new date and align their trade fair preparations accordingly. There will also be no immediate overlap with other trade fairs at this time of year. Based on numerous statements by experts, we assume that the situation will most likely calm down by early summer 2022 as a result of the current measures in almost all European countries. With Caravan Salon, A+A and Medica 2021 we have already shown that successful trade fairs are possible even in times of Coronavirus with the greatest possible protection for all parties involved. ProWein is well booked and we expect further commitments for the new date”.