Wine Australia returned to Germany this week for ProWein Düsseldorf, bringing 70 Australian winery representatives and a diverse line-up of more than 350 wines.
The Australian wine stand is a firm fixture at the three-day business-to-business fair – the world’s biggest trade fair for the wine and spirits industry. This year, 47,000 visitors from 135 countries attended the fair over the three days. Wine Australia considers the event a critical opportunity for Australian wineries to connect with international trade visitors, such as major buyers from the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Asia.
The Australian wine showcase featured 20 winery and regional booths, and an education area packed with 500 attendees for the 15 masterclasses covering numerous topics, including:
- sparkling wines from the Adelaide Hills
- surprises from the Riverland
- cool climate Tasmania
- organic wines
- Cabernet Sauvignon icons
- Margaret River Chardonnay, and
- gems from Great Southern.
Onsite at the trade fair, Wine Australia CEO Martin Cole lauded the collective approach from all the Australian exhibitors.
“ProWein is one of the world’s biggest global wine trade fairs, and it was great to see a team Australia approach – both with the wineries on our stand and those surrounding our stand. It was clear that many of them had busy and productive meetings and I have no doubt that they left a lasting impression on trade.”
Wine Victoria CEO Stephanie Duboudin was one ProWein attendee and saw great interest in Victorian and Australian wines from buyers from all over the world.
“It was a great year at ProWein, with a lot of interesting meetings and tastings with buyers from across Europe, Asia, Middle East and the US. The Victorian masterclass generated a lot of interest and was a great opportunity to showcase the diversity of wines we produce across the state.”
As one of the exhibitors within the Australian wine stand, head of global sales at Burge Family Wine Estates Colm Mooneywho said there was great interest in the winery, even before ProWein kicked off.
“It’s my 18th ProWein and another great show. Our diary was full with 30 pre-booked meetings before the fair kicked off and I’m confident that we’ll get some solid commercial outcomes,” stated Mooney.
The masterclasses were a standout fixture from Wine Australia, garnering a lot of interest from ProWein attendees.
“The masterclasses on the Australian wine stand were the best masterclasses in the fair. They brought to life the vibrant personalities behind the wines and the country’s unique regions and showcased the quality and sheer diversity of Australian wine,”stated freelance wine educator and writer Dr Nicolas Dilger.
The full list of exhibitors and a floor plan of the Australia wine stand is available on Wine Australia’s revamped digital platform Australian Wine Connect.
Next in the trade show calendar, Australian wineries will join Wine Australia at Vinexpo Asia in Hong Kong from 28-30 May, as part of the Australian Pavilion. More information about Wine Australia’s presence at the event can be found here.
The event comes at fortuitous time for Australian wine exporters, as China’s Ministry of Commerce announced an interim decision on 12 March which found that, in view of the changes in the Chinese wine market, the imposition of anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties on imports of relevant wines originating in Australia are no longer necessary.
In a statement on its website, Wine Australia said it was pleased the review on these duties is progressing, recognising that a final decision is still to come.
“We will continue to work in close collaboration with the Australian Government and sector representatives to monitor and support our sector’s interests.
“We are working to provide relevant details to the businesses in our sector as new information becomes available.”