ProWein celebrated its 30th anniversary with a 2024 edition that welcomed more than 47,000 trade visitors from 135 countries.
ProWein 2024 celebrated its 30th anniversary in style with a 29th edition that pulled together one of the largest trade shows around wines and spirits in the post COVID-era. Despite being derailed by strikes from Deutsche Bahn and Luthansa, this year’s ProWein in Düsseldorf still attracted over 47,000 registered trade visitors from 135 countries to check out offerings by 5,400 exhibitors from 65 countries.
The world’s largest wine and spirits trade fair saw a slightly revamped format this year; for the first time in its 30-year history ProWein featured an entire hall – out of 17 – at Messe Düsseldorf composed entirely of spirits producers. ProSpirits at ProWein 2024 saw 420 exhibitors from 40 countries showcase a wide range of products in the spirits segment, ranging from whisky, brandy, vodka, and agave spirits to liqueurs and ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails.
They included names like Scotland’s Loch Lomond and Angus Dundee Distillers, Penderyn from Wales, Cognac producers Tesserone, Hine and Domaines Francis Abecassis, Kentucky bourbon makers Heaven Hill, Israel’s M&H Distillery, Ireland’s Waterford Whisky and Teeling Whiskey, Australia’s Starward Whisky, and Denmark’s Stauning Whisky.
Exhibitors from Asia in ProSpirits included China’s baijiu makers Kweichow Moutai and Jiangsu Yanghe, Tanduay Rum from the Philippines, Mongolia’s Chinggis Khan Vodka, and even a contingent from South Korea’s Andong Soju Association.
Aside from ProSpirits, boutique spirits producers were out in full force at ‘Same But Different’. This entire hall dedicated to small artisanal producers of spirits, craft beer and cider saw participation from small outfits such as Germany’s Ferdinand Gin, Mezcal Amarás from Mexico, France’s Citadelle Gin, and North Carolina, US-based small batch spirits makers End of Days Distillery.
Also new at ProWein 2024 was ProWine Zero, a section dedicated to the burgeoning NOLO (no-alcohol, low-alcohol) category showcasing products that tap on the increasing trend towards wellness drinking.
The three day trade fair saw a big showing from major wine producing regions in Europe, in particular from Germany, France, Italy and Austria. Representation from the New World included pavilions from California Wines and Wine Australia. Japanese sake was also in the spotlight, with the Japanese Sake and Shochu Makers Association bringing in a contingent of its members.
Despite being a smaller show compared to previous editions due to a wine industry still struggling to recover from the ravages of the pandemic, organisers declared ProWein 2024 a success. “No other trade fair offers as wide a range as ProWein. All international wine-growing regions are represented in Düsseldorf,” declared Peter Schmitz, Director of ProWein. “We are delighted to not only register top quality on the exhibitors’ part but also see top-notch people travel to Düsseldorf from all over the world, including an increased number of executives with decision-making powers.”
Agreeing with Schmitz is Monika Reule, General Manager of the German Wine Institute (DWI). “The German exhibitors have pronounced a positive verdict on this year’s ProWein. They have particularly benefited from the presence of numerous international trade visitors taking great interest in the wines from German regions and great pleasure in the quality of the new vintage. They also highly praised the high professionalism of the experts who had travelled from all over the world.”
“With this ProWein has confirmed its position as the world’s most important wine trade fair once again,” she added.
The next ProWein will take place in Düsseldorf from 16 to 18 March 2025.
[Photo credits: Joel Lim Photography]
ProWein World
Upcoming ProWein World editions happening later this year are:
- ProWine Tokyo (12 to 14 April 2024)
- ProWine Singapore (23 to 26 April 2024)
- ProWine São Paulo (1 to 3 October 2024)
- ProWine Mumbai (8 to 9 November 2024)
- ProWine Shanghai (12 to 14 November 2024)
To find out more, visit: www.prowein.com.
*Spirited Singapore is an official media partner of ProWine Singapore.
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