LIWF PREVIEW: Get your Fair share

With just two months to go, now is the time to start planning your visit to the LIWF, which this year will feature extended visitor space, a focus on organics and environmental issues, and new wine countries. And this year there is an entirely new show, Distil, dedicated solely to the spirits arena

The Countdown has begun. By the time you read this less than two months will separate your web browsing from your stand touring – LIWF kicks off on 20 May. And there’s change afoot. Just as we all stopped referring to the London Wine Fair and trained ourselves to call it the London International Wine and Spirits Fair (LIWSF), out come the “spirits”. In their place you’ll find more exhibitor space for wine and, crucially, an entirely new show dedicated to the hard stuff, called Distil. This will run just across the central hallway, opposite LIWF, at ExCel, where the event has now become reliably and comfortably ensconced.
As James Murray, from fair organisers Brintex, explains, “Distil won’t be anything like the size of the wine fair but it will be double the size of last year’s spirits area. It is seen as a positive move by the spirits sector, as opposed to a bit of a bolt on.”
As for LIWF, “we have filled the void left by spirits”, adds Murray, with 7% more wine. Interestingly, with the removal of what was known as the “spirits zone”, the wine fair has had more space “to focus very closely on Italy”, according to Murray. “It is a key country and its wine producing regions had been dotted around the show, but there was an opportunity to promote the regions and gather together as one country in the space where spirits were.” This has been augmented by the addition of Piedmont and Sicily as exhibiting regions and the return of Lazio, after a break from the show.

New countries to LIWF include Turkey, which is “coming into force”, says Murray, as well as Malta. “It’s also nice to see new regions, for instance Murcia, which is coming as an independent region within Spain.”
Certain industry trends are being reflected in the nature of briefings and seminars at the fair. One of these is the rising prominence of organic and biodynamic viticulture, and hence The Top 100 tasting will focus on wines made according to these practices (see box, p70). The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) will also be attending the fair again this year, concentrating the trade’s minds on recycling and packaging weight reduction. We will also see the return of the closures debate and the wine faults workshop. Further, we, the drinks business, will be placing environmental issues to the top of the agenda in a briefing with JF Hillebrand called “Confronting Climate Change”. This will consider your real carbon footprint, and what impact environmental legislation will have on your business, as well as ways to reduce your packaging requirements. The seminar will contain workable, definable parameters for the drinks industry.
Finally, on general trends and updates, it is worth noting that the LIWF team is working on an online interactive planner, so visitors can go online and look up wines by category and quickly find their location. Named The Wine-Searcher.com Interactive Floorplan, this new development will hugely help in planning meetings – and avoid the frustrating realisation that your next appointment is at the opposite end of ExCel, where you were only minutes before.

Generics
May’s db will include all the latest product news and in-depth details on seminars and briefings, but in advance of next month it is interesting to note the core activity of the various generic bodies that are exhibiting at LIWF.

Firstly, Wine Australia (stand F32) will play host to a series of tastings highlighting the themes of Brand Champions, Generation Next, Regional Heroes and Landmark Australia. This will be supported by visiting winemakers including Samantha Connew from Wirra Wirra and Geoff Merrill from Geoff Merrill Wines, both from the McLaren Vale in South Australia.
Each day on the stand, Regional Hero Varietal Spotlights will take place focusing on Riesling, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet and Pinot Noir – showing the perfect marriage of the right grape to the right region.
The Port and Douro Wines Institute (IVDP) will once again be providing its “oasis in the desert” on stands A10-B10, serving up delicacies matched to Douro wines and varying Port styles. Designed to provide welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of a hard day’s tasting, the IVDP stand will feature a changing daily menu, in a quiet, tranquil setting.
Attending the IVDP stand will be the following Port Houses and Douro wine producers: Barros, Burmester, Calem, Dacosta, Gilberts, Hutchenson, Kopke and Quinta Doña Matilde.
Fast-Track to France is back and bigger for 2008. Located in the centre of the French Zone this useful space will feature a VIP lounge for guests and 40 AOC wines, selected by a panel of UK wine professionals, including Andrew Hawes, director of McKinley Vintners, and Alex Hunt, purchasing director for Berkmann Wine Cellars. The shortlisted wines will shine a spotlight on the vast array of French AOC wines on show at the fair.
“The concept of Fast-Track to France has evolved this year in order to provide time-pressured visitors with one unique stand showcasing a snapshot of the entire French offer at the LIWF. Our aim is also to provide them with a relaxed environment in which to taste French wines, away from the hustle and bustle of the fair,” explains Charles Collard, managing director of Sopexa (UK).

Also in the French Zone, the AOC Languedoc has once again come together with Roussillon and Vin de Pays d’Oc to exhibit under the South of France umbrella.
As mentioned above, The Italian Trade Commission (stand V40) is increasing its presence, with over 1,500 square meters of floor space, in addition to stands of individual distributors and representatives. Most of the Italian regions will be present: Tuscany, Puglia, Abruzzo, Sardinia, Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli, Emilia-Romagna, Trentino, Piedmont and Lazio, and a series of seminars and tastings will be held throughout the fair.
The Wine Institute of California (Stand T30) will contain 24 companies representing about 100 wineries. The 2008 California Wine Benchmark Wine Selection will also be available to taste with 12 winning wines this year, again all priced in the vital £5-10 sector, which demonstrate the diversity, quality and value for money available from California today.
The Spanish Pavilion will be holding three tastings over the course of the LIWF, organised by Wines from Spain. The informal tastings will be conducted by MWs Peter McCombie and Lynne Sherriff, and will be held at 12pm each day.
Wines of Argentina (P20 & Q18) will have the biggest ever Argentine presence at the show. Visiting winemakers will include Paul Hobbs (Viña Cobos), Alberto Antonini (Altos Las Hormigas), Hans Vinding-Diers (Bodega Noemia), José Zuccardi (Familia Zuccardi) and Susana Balbo (Dominio del Plata).
There will also be a Malbec New Release tasting on stand Q9 showing up to 100 Malbecs, with retail prices from £5.99-£14.99, that have just hit the UK, or are about to arrive. This line-up will provide press and buyers with a snapshot of what’s new and interesting with respect to Argentina’s flagship grape variety, while demonstrating the styles and regionality in Argentina. The generic body is also holding a seminar on the subject of “Why Argentina Matters”.

The Wines of Chile pavilion will host 34 wineries on a newly designed stand located on S40 & S50. The Riedel Chilean Taste Challenge will be located near to the Chilean pavilion on Stand S10. There will also be a seminar with Gonzalo Pérez from Anakena and Adolfo Hurtado from Cono Sur, and an opportunity to taste through the length and breadth of Chile’s wine regions.
Wines of Germany (K40) will once again host the Riesling & Co Room. Nicky Forrest, managing director of Wines of Germany in the UK explains: “Our aim is for the Riesling & Co Room to be the place for the trade to come and taste Riesling and Pinot Noir. Over the years we seem to have developed a bit of a cult following and in 2008 we will have over 60 wines on the stand, all pre-selected in a blind tasting by an independent panel. Once again we will dedicate a section of the stand to presenting a selection of German wines widely available on the high street.”
Wines of South Africa will highlight regionality for the first time at this year’s LIWF as part of their “Variety is in our nature” campaign. Different wine regions will have a themed tasting zone hosted by the individual wine routes.
Wines of South Africa will be positioned in the centre of the hall at ExCeL, on stands L40, L50, M32 and M40.  
Ten of Turkey’s top wineries, representing the country’s four main winegrowing regions, will make their debut at the fair (Stand B60/C60). Wines on show will come from Buyulubag, Corvus Vineyards, Doluca Bagcilik, Gulor Sarapcilik, Kalecik Sarap, Kavaklidere, Kocabag Bagcilik, Kayra Saraplari, Pamukkale Sarapcilik and Sevilen Vineyards.
Finally, the Cyprus Pavilion (M10) will feature  the following exhibitors: Fikardos, Keo, Aes Ambelis, Sodap, Tsiakkas, Lambouri, Krelan, and Kalamos.

© db April 2008