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ProWein 2013: Plus 500 exhibitors

In a few days' time, from 24 to 26 March, the international wine and spirits industry will be meeting in Düsseldorf again. Over 4,500 exhibitors and more than 40,000 visitors from all over the world are expected to come to this leading trade fair, ProWein. Two further exhibition halls will be available, so that ProWein will have space for over 500 additional exhibitors compared with the previous event, enabling experts from the retail trade and the catering industry to make exciting new discoveries.

New exhibitors, nations and products

Nearly all countries represented at ProWein – about 50 in all – will be stepping up their presence this year. Growth can be recorded, in particular, for organisers from France, Italy and Spain, though also from Australia, Chile, the United States and Eastern Europe. Wines of South Africa will be represented in Düsseldorf with numerous renowned wineries, including 21 new ones. All 13 German wine-growing regions will be showing their broad portfolio, and the Verein Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP, Association of German Quality Wineries) will be represented at ProWein with 139 members – more than at any other international event. The Chinese wine producers' group stand will be celebrating a première this year. In Hall 2 seven wineries from three Chinese wine-growing regions, including the country's market leader Great Wall, will be showing how much China has to offer as a wine country. Wines of Lebanon, too, will be featuring for the first time (also in Hall 2), as a joint stand, with eleven wine estates from four different regions. It will also be presenting a range of events on Lebanese grape varieties and wine culture. Other newcomers will be a joint stand of wine producers from Tunisia and a stand of English Wine Producers, represented at ProWein by five leading businesses from the south of England. They will include Chapel Down, one of the country's biggest wine producers and a newcomer called Hattingley Valley who will be presenting its wine for the first time at ProWein 2013.

A transnational exhibitor – and indeed also a new one – will be Primum Familiae Vini with its joint stand. Although most of the 12 members of this international association have been coming to ProWein for a long time, this year will be their first at the show together, as a group (Hall 4). A concentration of first-class quality will also be offered in the Champagne Lounge in Hall 7.1, with a large bar area and ten renowned producers, including Penet-Chardonnet Champagne and Champagne Michel Loriot. Hall 7.1 will feature a central platform for organic wines, with 100 international exhibitors and its own wine tasting zone.

New discoveries can be made by visitors not only among new exhibitors at ProWein 2013. Product innovations at this leading trade fair will also be revealed by companies that have been coming for many years. One new wine, for example, that will be presented for the first time is called Wild Senses, a red wine produced by Badische Winzerkeller from the Baden region in Germany. In the spirits segment the Hubertus Vallendar distillery will be presenting its new product line of South African products. Vallendar is one among nearly 400 exhibitors at ProWein that will be featuring spirit specialities from all over the world, including Tequila from Mexico, herb liqueur from Norway and Moutai from China. Most spirit suppliers will be located in Hall 7a, including a new exhibitor called the Tullibardine Distillery from Scotland whose single malt whisky will have its première in a new design at this year's ProWein.

More than 300 events on current trends and topics

The popular ProWein seminars and tasting sessions traditionally take place directly at the stand of each exhibitor who organises a given event. One new feature at ProWein 2013 will be the ProWein Forum, a central space for talks in Hall 7.1, where it will supplement the range of products and facilities offered at the exhibition stands. The total spectrum of more than 300 events will be very broad. As well as thematic wine tasting sessions, featuring specific grape varieties and regions, there will be numerous events on combining wine with food as well as talks on trade routes, market trends and terms & conditions of import and export. The final round of the Winestars World competition will also be taking place at the ProWein Forum. 20 finalists will be presenting their wines live before a jury of buyers from Germany, UK, Poland, Russia, the Netherlands, Ireland and the United States.

Helped by a powerfully eloquent improvisational theatre company, Moselwein e.V. will be presenting wines that grow on extremely steep slopes by the river Moselle, while the French wine growers' association Sud-Ouest IVSO will be inviting visitors to a Sommelier Poker.

New matchmaking tool

In addition to the many premières that are taking place at the exhibition centre, ProWein 2013 will also be offering visitors and exhibitors an innovative way to prepare for their time at the trade fair. The newly established Cooperation Forum on www.prowein.com (see: Companies and Products) is a place where visitors and exhibitors can ask questions and view offers, e.g. if they are looking for new cooperation partners. It means that ProWein can provide new business contacts even before the event, contacts which can then be followed up in more depth at the trade fair itself.

Revised hall structure

The hall extension of ProWein 2013 goes hand in hand with a new structure. The concept continues to be based on a proven system, arranged by product and service groups as well as by regions, although the assignment of countries to exhibition halls – nine by now – has changed in a number of cases. A clearly structured hall plan is available, reflecting the new distribution, and new signposts will be in place at the trade fair. The central connecting element between the new Halls 1 and 2 and Hall 3 is Campo Culinario as an addition to the catering facilities at the exhibition centre. The central wine tasting zone, for instance, has now moved into Hall 2, this time under the motto "Trendy and Leading Grape Varieties in International Viniculture". Visitors can directly compare wines and thus gain first-hand experience of the wide range of wines in each of the eight red and white grape varieties that are especially at the focus on a worldwide scale – for instance Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Shiraz. Thanks to QR codes, smartphone users can download details of wines directly to their mobile phones.

As before, there will be the FIZZZ Lounge in the Spirits Hall (7a), this time under the motto "Cocktails", and a special delicatessen show will be held again in the gallery of Hall 6, under the name "Wine's Best Friends".



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