25 February – With around 5,500 exhibitors from over 60 countries, ProWein, International Trade Fair for Wines and Spirits, will offer the world’s largest range of wines, spirits and craft drinks. For international professionals from the specialist trade, food retail and the hotel, restaurant and catering sectors, ProWein from May 15 – 17, 2022 in Düsseldorf, Germany is therefore the industry’s undisputed key event and ideal platform for networking and identifying new trends and products.
Against the backdrop of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant Messe Düsseldorf had postponed ProWein from the traditional March dates to May at the beginning of the year. “December to late January was marked by a palpable sense of pessimism and insecurity regarding the expected course of the Omicron wave. By rescheduling the trade fair to May we managed not only to increase planning security for exhibitors and visitors but also to ensure clearly improved prospects regarding anticipated international attendance. In the meantime, the current course of the pandemic – as well as the roadmap developed by policymakers to open up public life again – provide a very solid basis for the event to take place in May under conceivably positive conditions,” explained Michael Degen, Executive Director at Messe Düsseldorf, at the international Media Summit in Düsseldorf on February 23.
The postponement to May received very positive feedback from the international industry. “ProWein is an institution. Without this trade fair we would not be where we are today. Trade fairs are important in a global world but without international guests they are a bit like a school get-together with just your classmates,” says Dr. Martin Tesch from the wine estate Weingut Tesch (www.weingut-tesch.de) in Germany’s Nahe region. Magdalena Pesco, General Manager of Wines of Argentina (www.winesofargentina.com), agreed: “Postponing ProWein to early summer was a good idea and will pay off for everyone at the end of the day.” This view is also shared by international visitors such as Gretchen Thomas, VP of Creative of the Barcelona Restaurant Group/USA (www.barcelonawinebar.com): “For exploring new wines and networking with suppliers, my company has found no better resource than attending Prowein. We are able to accomplish months’ worth of work and meetings in just a few days. All manner of winery sizes and wine styles exist at this event, making it extremely relevant to our diverse wine program, particularly as we are sourcing small production artisanal wines for a growing restaurant company with multiple locations. So happy we’ll be able to attend in person this May!”
Product spectrum @ ProWein: unique worldwide
Around 5,500 exhibitors from over 60 countries will occupy the 13 Düsseldorf exhibition halls, clearly structured according to countries and regions. “The international brand leaders will be represented, as will importers and exporters, agencies, select vintners and the individual growing regions of the international wine nations”, stated Bastian Mingers, Project Director ProWein. “ProWein has a unique selling point: no other event worldwide offers this comprehensive product spectrum. Not even Covid-19 can slow us down.”
Italy will be represented in Halls 15 to 17 with all its growing regions, including the largest joint participations from Veneto, Piemonte and Tuscany. In addition to Italy’s top-selling companies such as Zonin, Botter Vini and Fratelli Martini, numerous top producers will be represented, including Castello di Ama from Tuscany, Elena Walch from South Tyrol and Elio Altare from Piemonte. The wine nation Austria will have its home at the upcoming ProWein in Hall 5 while Portugal will be featured in Hall 13, and Spain in Halls 13 and 14. Hall 12 will belong to producers from overseas, including the Wine Institute of California, Wines of Chile and Wines of Argentina. In Hall 11 the focus will be on spirits.
“La Grande Nation” present with all growing regions
Halls 9 to 11 will host the French wine industry. All wine-growing regions of “la grande nation” will be present. Occupying some 15,000 square meters of exhibition space, this is almost a trade fair of its own. Renowned names like Les Grands Chais de France, Castel Frères, Albert Bichot, Bernard Magrez, Dourthe, Paul Mas and Gérard Bertrand will be represented. Serving as the “golden entrée” to the France section will be the Champagne Lounge featuring well-known brands such as Ayala, Alexandre Bonnet, Collard Picard, Deutz and Heidsieck. In addition, numerous Champagne producers will participate with their own stands: Bollinger, Charles Gosset, Nicolas Feuillatte, Lanson and Bruno Paillard. Around 120 producers will exhibit in the Champagne Lounge, providing a comprehensive overview of the exquisite sparkling wines from the Champagne region.
New Hall 1: home of the German wine industry
Inaugurated in September 2019, the new Hall 1 with its representative South entrance will be used for ProWein for the first time this year – for the German suppliers. Around 800 exhibitors from Germany will be featured in Halls 1, 4 and 5, with all relevant German wine-growing regions taking part such as Baden, Moselle, Nahe, Pfalz wines with some 40 vintners, Rheingau, Saxony with its state-owned estate Wackerbarth and the region Württemberg. Also participating in ProWein 2022 will be VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates) with some 70 estates from all over Germany as well as the wine producers Dreissigacker, Henkell Global Freixenet, Hensel, Herres Layat, Molitor, Schlumberger, Schneider and Weil – to name just a few. The organic sector – featuring international organic associations such as Ecovin, Bioland, Demeter and Biodyvin and Vignerons de Nature as well as individual exhibitors like Peter Riegel Weinimport and Can Axartel from Mallorca – will again all be exhibiting with representative ranges at ProWein.. For the popular special show “Organic World”, an additional 45 vintners from Europe such as Italy, Greece, France, Spain have registered.
“same but different”: 120 exhibitors from 24 countries
“same but different” (sbd) will be a special highlight at ProWein 2022. Approximately 120 exhibitors from 24 countries will showcase a topical and versatile range of craft spirits, craft beer and cider in Hall 7.0. This means the special event is once again fully booked due to its special “recipe”. The secret of success and trademark of “same but different” is the unique atmosphere in the exhibition hall. This clearly sets sbd apart from other events. As different as the focus of these exhibitors may be, they all share the same goal of gentle, sustainable and creative processing of raw materials, great craftsmanship, often the principle of regional sourcing – and, of course, a great passion for the product and new trends. Hall 7.0 will present pioneers, trendsetters and market leaders from the growth segments of craft spirits, craft beer and cider – exactly the right place for trade visitors from trendy gastronomy and bar scene but also from food retail. For more information: https://www.prowein.de/de/same_but_different.
Debut of urban gastronomy
The upcoming ProWein will be a particularly attractive destination for the gastronomy sector. In addition to the product portfolio of around 5,500 exhibitors from all over the world, the special show in Hall 4 “urban gastronomy by #asktoni, aka Toni Askitis & ProWein” will be a particular highlight: Workshops with tastings are geared specifically towards gastronomy professionals and the different levels of knowledge of gastronomy staff. Accordingly, there will be workshops for beginners, advanced and professionals – tailored to the different needs.
For further information on visiting or exhibiting at ProWein 2022, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America; Telephone: (312) 781-5180; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit www.prowein.com and www.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago
