Australian wine a stand-out performer at ProWein
Wine Australia’s ProWein stand in Germany this week was a continuous hub of activity with more than 400 wines on show, food and wine matches, and an in-depth exploration of the past, present and future of Australian wine.
During the three-day Fair, held from 15–17 March, ProWein attracted more than 52,000 international trade visitors to the Messe Hall in Düsseldorf. A total of 5,970 exhibitors from 50 nations were on show in the Fair’s nine exhibition halls, including 39 dynamic producers on the Wine Australia stand.
Bigger than ever before, the stand featured a diverse snapshot from across 28 of the nation’s 65 regions. With an artisan feel, the stand told stories of heritage and progression with this year’s ‘History, Evolution, Revolution’ theme. This narrative came to life through Sunday’s Masterclass and the daily Focus Barrel tastings, which attracted enthusiastic international media, buyers and retailers.
Feature Tastings complemented by food matching and the opportunity for some informal networking with the introduction of ‘Happy Hour’ on Sunday and Monday, ensured the Wine Australia stand was the one to visit.
In a welcomed addition, the Institute of Masters of Wine selected the Wine Australia stand to host its annual ProWein Masterclass for prospective students, with three of the six wines from Australian producers.
Wine Australia’s exhibitors were made up of a combination of well-known brands such as Jacob’s Creek and McGuigan through to boutique wineries including Battle of Bosworth, Helen and Joey Estate and Logan Wines. The result was a mosaic of the diversity of Australia.
For the first time, New World wines were grouped together in Hall 9, enabling an ‘Australia village’ to emerge alongside fellow Australian exhibitors.
Wine Australia Regional Director, Laura Jewell MW, said ProWein is a must attend event for wineries who want to make their mark on the international wine stage.
‘The buzz on the Wine Australia stand was impressive, reinvigorating an appetite for Australian wine through the storytelling of our people and provenance. I was delighted to hear many deals were brokered and that our producers are already making plans for ProWein 2016,’ she said.
‘Our ‘History, Evolution, Revolution’ Masterclass hosted by Global Education Manager, Mark Davidson, was a full house with people queueing to attend. Our Feature Tastings drew strong audiences and ‘Happy Hour’ completely filled our stand on Sunday and Monday.
‘Our largest ever presence, and the hundreds of visitors we received throughout ProWein, speaks volumes about how important this event is in providing an essential platform for trading, education and communication.’
Wine Australia will return to ProWein from March 13–15 2016. Our activity programme will be released soon and will include details about signing up for next year’s not-to-be-missed events.