Over 6,500 exhibitors from 60 countries were represented at ProWein in 2017, with 58,500 trade visitors from 130 countries up from 55,700 and 126 countries last year. The show organizers, Messe Düsseldorf confirmed that one in two visitors attended the fair from abroad and at least two-thirds of all visitors were decision-makers.

Here is an overview of the reactions from Australian wineries in attendance: 

Martin Strachan – Bleasdale:

“ProWein has been great for me – first time I have had the opportunity to visit lots of  countries without having to walk away from a stand, so I have seen our importers and distributors from 15 locations to date – including Canada, UK, Germany, Sweden, Finland – so good cover, a lot cheaper to do it this way. Wine Australia have done a bloody fantastic job and in particular our contact Camilla Coste. I must say I stepped away from Wine Australia for about 10 years as I was a bit disillusioned, but this has been impressive. I have walked through competitor wine regions and we have a better vibe here. My advice is to book your stand, your accommodation and your appointments in early. Put the work in and get the results.”

Jonathan O’Neill – Angove Family Winemakers:

“ProWein 2017 has been far bigger than any prior year and the Australian presence has probably grown by another 20 or 30 Australian producers. We weren’t here 10 years ago, and since then this has become the most important show in Europe for producers selling wine all around the world. We are seeing our current customers and talking about promotion plans and new products going into their portfolios for the year, but we are also using the show very much for new customers. We want to refresh certain markets which we haven’t focused on for a while such as central Europe, so we see a lot of those customers come to this show. Different buyers have different tastes and different needs. We see certain markets wanting user-friendly wines if that’s the channel that they are targeting or the more HoReCa style of customer wants the more seriously made wine – it is really horses for courses.”

ProWein organizer Messe Düsseldorf Managing Director - Hans Werner Reinhard: 

"ProWein is an incredibly intensive trade fair. For three days very concentrated and effective business goes on here. Visitors particularly included key players – important importers and representatives from large international commercial chains. Again this year the sector showed how strong and capable it is. An extremely high number of orders were placed and a great deal of new business ideas were discussed.”

The next ProWein exhibition will be held in Düsseldorf from 18-20 March 2018. After its inaugural show in Singapore last year, ProWine Asia will be held in Hong Kong for the first time from 8-11 May 2017 and the next ProWine China event will be held from 14-16 November 2017.

Read more at source: The Shout