Destination Docklands

This year’s LIWSF offers even more than before, but whether you’re exhibiting or just visiting, a well prepared show-goer is a happy show-goer, says Robyn Lewis

NEXT MONTH will be that time of year again, when we all flock to deepest, darkest East London for three days of sipping and slurping and meeting and greeting, as the London International Wine and Spirits Fair (LIWSF) is with us once again.

Many of us will have been through ProWein, VinItaly, ViniSud and Cape Wine already, to name but a few, so what makes it worthwhile to go through it all again in London? "The LIWSF is a very different affair from the other shows because it is a truly international show," says exhibition director James Murray.

"By virtue of its being held in the UK, we have a lot of New World and Old World wine producers showing here, which means what you can get from the LIWSF is an overview in these terms that isn’t bettered anywhere else."

It is also an exhibition which, Murray says, is intended to be "not just a fluffy networking exercise but a business forum.  So, there’s tasting and talking, yes, but it is also about getting deals cut and business done".

And this year there are new extended opening times (9.30am- 6pm, and 5pm on the last day) to help you fit it all in.  Don’t miss To this end, the organiser, Brintex, ensures that there are industry briefings, focus tastings and educational seminars on offer.

In 2004, must-do business events include a briefing entitled, Face Value, which will be an interactive talk looking at consumer buying patterns with The Waverley Group. 

The exact location has yet to be finalised but it will take place at 11am on the first day of the show, Tuesday 18.  There will also be the on-trade forum, more of which later, a Brintex-organised briefing on export trends and opportunities in Russia (date and time to be confirmed) as well as the inaugural drinks business Awards, to be held on the Wednesday of the show (May 19).

These awards will be staged by the drinks business, in association with Wines Of Chile, The Symington Family Port Companies, Brintex and Halewood International.

The closing date for entries is April 14, so get your entries in ASAP if you want to win an award for Man of the Year, Woman of the Year, Best Newcomer or Best product Launch, among others (see pages 78 and 79 for further details).

Other must-sees include the WSET events that will be happening each day at its stand (R72) at 11am, 12.30pm, 2pm and 3.30pm.  There’s a guide to getting the basics right for your staff, an Original Gin Tasting, looking at different gin brands, a chance to taste the wines produced at the château that hosts the WSET diploma course, and Quality Sells: Sorting the Best from the Rest, which is a chance for you to put your quality judgement to the diploma test.

"The LIWSF is a great opportunity for us to meet students, old and new, and the employers who send them to us from all over the world," says WSET chief executive, Ian Harris. And, of course, there are the usual International Wine and Spirit Competition tastings, the International Spirits Challenge results and the blind tasting challenge at stand A50.

As if that wouldn’t be enough to occupy your time there is, of course, the myriad pavilions and stands to get around as well, which Brintex promises will be even more diverse this year than ever before.

"We have seen quite a lot of increase in the international pavilion," says Murray.  "The largest increase is coming from Greece, who I assume are riding the Olympic wave and have doubled their space this year.

There are also increases from Germany, Portugal and Uruguay and totally new exhibitors such as Cyprus.  It is also exciting from a regional perspective to see that Majorca and Castilla la Mancha will be exhibiting as regions rather than under the Wines Of Spain banner."

While this is undoubtedly good news for Brintex, a bigger show will put even more pressure on exhibitors to ensure they stand out. With costs of showing already rather steep, will it be worth the time and financial investment? Well, as Michael Cox of Wines of Chile, points out, it can reap rewards, even for those from far away, if done properly.

"This year our stand will be one of the biggest at the show," he tells me.  "We will have five islands, one with an upper deck because we had at least 50 producers who wanted to show, so the impetus was really coming from Chile.

It is an important exhibition for us because it gives opportunities not just in the UK market but also in continental Europe.  It is difficult to quantify trade fairs in terms of sales because, while I don’t think so many deals are struck at the time, it certainly leads to new relationships and getting a higher profile."

Bernardo Hoffman, marketing manager, Wines of Argentina agrees: "The LIWSF offers the opportunity to see what is happening on the world wine market and to catch up with the key press and buyers.   As a major world producer, it is important for us to be there to stand alongside other New World countries.

In particular, the 2004 fair is a very important event for us: the 2003 Wines with Rhythm campaign had a huge impact on the UK market and we are now developing a global strategy for Argentina to enable us to continue growing and moving in the right direction."  So what are the exhibitors planning in order to make the most of their exposure at the fair?

On the grapevine

While there is still much to be finalised, Brintex is already expecting over 1,200 exhibitors to be at the show this year, and with wine remaining by far and away the largest section, exhibitors have to make themselves stand out.

Having an eyecatching pavilion will help of course but, really, all the experts say it is content that will make you a winner.  All the wineries and agencies will, of course, be showing their best wines but some will be using the opportunity to launch new brands as well.

"Buyers and press are inevitably more interested to see newness and so it helps to have something new to shout about," says Lynne Whittaker, marketing manager at Thierry’s.

"The LIWSF is the one time in the year when our producers from all over the world make the trip to the UK, because they know they will have the opportunity to meet all of the key buyers and press, so we will be showcasing the rest of our portfolio as well."

Other new releases at the show will be seen at Mentzendorff’s stand (G72) who will be using the exhibition to relaunch Bordeauxbrand Michel Lynch.  Raisin Social will be launching several new products on stand M40, including a new Chilean brand, VEO, along with old favourites Leopards Leap, Inca and Beyerskloof.

There will be three new Spanish brands on C18, the Guy Anderson Wines’ stand.  Capricorn wines, the New World sales division of Boutinot, will be launching Post Stones, a new range of single varietals from False Bay.

D&D Wines (stand M10) will be showing off its new Golden State Vintners range and a new range from Angove’s, called Long Row. Chilean winery Concha y Toro will be re-launching its Trio brand into the premium market on stand U20, and Vinival will be showing off its new brand, La Loire de Vinival, on the French pavilion.

Of course, the LIWSF is always a good opportunity catch up with the great and good in the industry and this year will be no exception.  Andrew Wigan, chief winemaker at Peter  Lehmann Wines will be making the long trip over from Australia while, all the way from Chile, Marcelo Papa and Ignacio Recabarren will be making an appearance at the Concha y Toro stand (U20).

The Cellarworld stand will be home to Angela Muir MW and its  new technical director, Duncan Killiner, who is promising to have all the news of this year’s vintage in Argentina and Chile.

Dennis Martin, vice president and director of winemaking at Fetzer, will also be available for questioning at the Brown- Forman stand, D60.  The newest member of the Hatch Mansfield team, brand manager, Sarah Wicks, will be available for inspection at T40, along with the president of Errazuriz, Eduardo Chadwick, regional director, Carlos de Carlos and operations director, Jorge Matte.

First-time visitors to the London show, Dimitar Panov and Kapka Georgieva from Boyar Estates will be drinking it all in at stand D20.

In the spirit

The spirit zone at the LIWSF has traditionally been smaller than the wine sector, but no less important to the fair for it.  As organiser Murray says, "Ultimately it is the international visitors who are coming to source, say, Scotch Whisky, to whom this is so important.

On the other hand, it is also a nice balance for us to have international companies who wish to make an impact on the UK market as exhibitors too."  Exhibitors such as G&J Greenall and Gordon and McPhail will be providing the