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| February 7th 2007 |
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| ProWein 2007 |
by Richard Grosche
Though only open to wine professionals, more than 30,000 visitors are expected to taste and sell wines at ProWein in Düsseldorf on 18–20 March this year. That is twenty times more than when the fair first opened its doors 13 years ago. |
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 ProWein has come a long way in its 13 years of existence. In its first edition in 1994, merely 1,517 visitors came to taste both German and international wines, meet winemakers and importers, and sell and buy the products of some 300 exhibitors from eight countries. By 2006, the number of exhibitors had risen to nearly 3,000, one-fourth from Germany and the rest from 45 foreign countries, and the number of visitors had grown to 32,125, of which 22% came from abroad.
Why go to ProWein?
During the spring and early summer of this year, wine fairs will seek to attract visitors and exhibitors from all over the world. Only the biggest and best-selling producers can afford to show up at all of them. After all, ex-hibiting at an international fair is a costly business. At ProWein, prices for space alone start at €137 per square meter; at Vinitaly, €169; at London’s LIWSF, £259 (€395); and at Vinexpo, €250. So who can benefit from ProWein? The answer can be summed up rather easily. If you are a German producer with more wines than you can move at the cellar door, have prices that make it possible to provide a minimum margin to gastronomy and trade, or an interest in exporting, then ProWein is the right place.
One special attraction of ProWein is the tasting zone were every year 1,000 wines, carefully chosen in several preliminary tastings, are displayed. This year’s topic in the tasting area is Riesling and related white grapes as well as red wine blends. For 90 percent of the visitors, the tasting zone is an ideal possibility to get informed about a certain category of wines.
German exhibitors comprise only one-fourth of the total number present, but cover nearly half of the total exhibiting space. So, for many foreign buyers, German wine is in the spotlight. This, however, has not impeded ProWein’s success with foreign exhibitors. ProWein, more than any other fair in a wine producing country, is of importance for international wineries as well. If you’re a producer from anywhere in the wine world and want to reach not only the major German importers, who travel to the world’s most important wine fairs anyway, then exhibiting at ProWein may be a good idea for you, too. Especially as you are likely to see not only importers from all of Europe, but also numerous German wholesalers and independent shop owners.
In last year’s computer poll of visitors, 78% said they were German, while the remaining 22% were split into 89% Europeans and 11% from outside the European community. Holland led the top 10 of foreign visitors to the fair, followed by France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The United States and the United Kingdom completed the list. And they were not all looking for German wines. When asked about their fields of interest at the fair (multiple answers were possible), 63% said German wine, 37% Italian wine, 32% French wine, and 30% Spanish wine. Austrian wine, which rounded out the top five, was chosen by 22%. As all visitors are registered |
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wine profession-als, long rows of punters at the stands are the exception, not the rule.
Who’s there and who’s not?
About half of the exhibition space is booked by German producers and importers. The biggest German exhibitor, and one of the most frequented stands at the fair, is the Association of Germany’s leading estates, the VDP. In 2007, the VDP will take 900 square metres of space. The VDP has come a long way in just ten years at Düsseldorf – and their growth can be seen as an indicator for the general development of ProWein as a whole. Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm, departing president of the VDP, sums up the fair: “In 1997 we were in Düsseldorf on 8 square metres; now we have 900 for the 116 participating wineries. The great development of ProWein has not only been beneficial for the reputation of German wines abroad and at home, but has also strengthened Germany’s position as one of the most important wine-trading countries of the world.”
For many specialised retailers and on-trade establishments, ProWein is the only big fair they visit regularly.
“ProWein is the most efficient fair for us”, says Michael Wolf from Weinhaus Wolf. “We have wines from all over the world in our portfolio, so we use the fair to meet our suppliers.” The smaller the retailer, it seems, the more important ProWein becomes. And while some visitors see ProWein “becoming more of a fair for the big producers and not the small wineries”, as specialised retailer Hans-Georg Lesmeister from Weinhaus
Lesmeister in Aachen puts it, some of the big players have proven the opposite.
Wein Wolf, one of Germany’s largest importers, only displays his portfolio at ProWein once every two years. “Together with the wineries we distribute, we have agreed to focus on Vinexpo in Vinexpo years and on ProWein every other year,” says managing direct Bernd Siebdrat.
The Racke group, producer and distributor of some of Germany’s strongest brands, has also chosen to skip this edition of ProWein and go to the LIWSF and Vinexpo instead. “For our international brands Espiritu de Chile and Golden Kaan,” the company notes in a press release, “we have chosen to go to London and Bordeaux.” In 2008, how-ever, Racke will be back at ProWein again to present new products. “New products are launched approximately every two years, and when we go to ProWein we go there with new innovations,” says the company. |
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