May 27, 2025 — The 2025 London Wine Fair has wrapped on what was a highly anticipated and ultimately successful show. Exhibitor figures were up 10% this year at 445, with 20% more of the floor plan sold. Total (net) visitors for 2025 was 9,741, up 5% on 2024. Wednesday saw the biggest increase in visitor numbers; a 6.2% increase on 2024.
Continuing to build on visitor quality was again a key priority, with a specific drive on visitor engagement. 48% of visitors engaged with the online Essential Planner to book meetings with exhibitors, something which was very much reflected in the feedback. And the ratio of visitor to exhibitor – a significant measurement for exhibitions – was 22 : 1 around four times that of The Fair’s larger competitors.
2025 saw the launch of a significant new feature area: Signature Serve was created in response to visitor demand as a result of the increasing crossover of buying responsibilities between wine and spirits. The aim is to double the size of this area next year and create a brand-new Spirits Buyer Awards, to complement the existing Wine Buyers Awards which was established in 2020.
Content was a significant focus for 2025, with more than 80 sessions covering diverse and thought-provoking subjects such as: Duty and EPR, sustainability and AI. There were eight theatres in total this year, including two new areas: Signature Serve Theatre and The Tasting Space. 95% of sessions were at full capacity.
Looking to 2026, the organisers report the best re-booking since 2019, many with significantly more space, including: Rias Baixas; Canned Wine Co & The Copper Crew; Jeff Carel; Lady of the Grapes (Esoterica); Smiling Wolf Drinks (Mindful Drinks); Kukla; Hillebrand Gori; Awin Barrat Siegel Wine Agency; Champagne Jacquart; Marques Del Atrio/ GM Drinks; Felix Solis; Cachet Wine/ House of Townend; Neverland Vineyards; ; Richmond Wine Agency/ Ellis Wines; Marcato Direct; and O’Donnell Moonshine (Signature Serve) which will increase their stand space by 500% in 2026. In addition, contract winery Defined Wine has confirmed they will bring a record number of English wine producers with them for 2026. They are planning a one-day Pop-Up tasting, featuring around 35 producers from their portfolio, more than doubling the previous peak for English producers.
Commenting on the 2025 show, Head of Fair, Hannah Tovey said: “We are absolutely delighted with this year’s expansion; largely this has come from international territories investing in the show, which is such a positive to see in current trading conditions. What we would like to see is a much more significant presence from the UK agents, distributors and producers – we would love to showcase with pride the best of our own territory, especially given the results of our Battle of the Bubbles Icon Tasting – and this will be a focus area for us in 2026. We are delighted that Defined Wine and Neverland Vineyards have – between them – already ensured next year will see the biggest contingent of English wine producers at the Fair to date.”
London Wine Fair 2026 will take place at Olympia from 18th to 20th May.
Comments from the exhibitors
“This year’s London Wine Fair was bustling with a diverse collection of wine – and an increasing number of spirits – producers, importers and buyers. There was a positive atmosphere amid a mood of change, with high quality conversation, new partnerships and plenty of business done. Despite all the noise, the UK remains a global hub for the wine trade. It was fantastic to see such a vibrant gathering of companies big and small and people from all parts of the country, and beyond, under the great glass roof at Olympia.”
Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association
“Hatch have had another hugely successful three days at the London Wine Fair. We loved welcoming so many of our producer partners to join us and as usual, have had an incredibly productive time on our busy stand. We have seen a huge range of quality Indies, Fine Wine Merchants, Regional and National On-trade, National Off-trade and fast-fulfilment customers so in effect we’ve seen customers from every sector from all across the country.”
Patrick McGrath MW, CEO, Hatch Mansfield
“For us, it has been a very positive show; there has been a great amount of buyers across all sectors which shows that it’s the Fair that the British wine trade wants to support.”
Kim Wilson, Managing Director, North South Wines
“This year we saw a wide spread of customers from across the country and across all sectors. We saw independents, wholesalers, multis, great on-trade and some international. Being able to see all these people in one place is why we keep coming back.”
Mike Awin, Managing Director, ABS Wine Agencies
“London Wine Fair was brilliant for us this year. We saw everybody that we had hoped to and more.”
Helena Martin, Managing Director, Buckingham Schenk Family
“We have absolutely loved the show and have been speaking to some really incredible people. We have got the brand in front of the right people and have had really strong meetings. We are looking to return next year, bigger and better.”
Sarah Turner, Head of Marketing, O’Donnell Moonshine
“The London Wine Fair has delivered again, bringing the trade together to meet, celebrate, debate and do business. The whole Beyond Wines team love this show; we believe it to have been integral in our growth since we formed the company five years ago. Personally, it’s my favourite week of the year and we will always exhibit at LWF whilst all of the major players in the UK use it as the place to do business each May”.
Alex Green, Commercial Director Beyond Wines Ltd. & Liquid Diamond Wine
“We had a fantastic three days at LWF, back-to-back meetings with new and existing buyers! Many new business opportunities lined up for the future- we couldn’t be happier with how the show went! Wines from our Spanish Partner Marques Del Atrio were received extremely well and new product launches excited many! We are pleased to represent wineries that offer high quality wines at affordable prices.”
Egle Renault, Business Development and Communications Manager, GM Drinks
“The London Wine Fair 2025 proved once again to be an exceptional platform for showcasing the diversity, authenticity, and export potential of Greek wines. As organisers of the Greek Pavilions, we were proud to bring together a curated selection of producers representing both established PDO/PGI regions and emerging terroirs. This year’s fair attracted a dynamic mix of importers, buyers, sommeliers, and media professionals, offering unparalleled visibility and commercial opportunities for our participants. The quality of networking, the educational content, and the professional audience exceeded expectations. We look forward to returning in 2026 with an even stronger presence.”
Antonis Sioulis, Managing Director, RECO Exports
“The Wines of South African pop-up event at the London Wine Fair is always a great success: so busy with influential press, importers, sommeliers and retail buyers. A quarter of South African wine exports come to the UK so we feel it’s vital to maintain this highly competitive market and London Wine Fair is a brilliant platform to do that.”
Jo Wehring, Market Manager UK & Europe, Wines of South Africa.
“It is great to be back at the Fair, and to have such a well-attended stand from all sectors of the trade. The Fair is an essential date in the calendar for the drinks industry.”
James Murch, UK Sales Manager, VSPT Wine Group
“For us it has been a very successful show. On Monday alone we had lots of sommeliers and distributors as well as wine press. It was fantastic.”
America Brewer, winemaker, owner, Oastbrook
“It has been a very positive show. We have enjoyed it and all of us have had a lot of enquiries and throughput on the stand. This has been such good exposure for our company.”
Dominic Butler, Sales Director, Hillebrand Gori
“We were delighted with the turnout of our masterclass which was standing room only! The content the London Wine Fair provides is key to delivering thought provoking insights from industry leaders, and we are very pleased to be able to play a part in this.”
Chris Stroud, Market Manager Europe, New Zealand Winegrowers
Web: www.londonwinefair.com
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