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Real Wine Fair to attract a third more producers in 2016
This year’s Real Wine Fair will be the biggest yet with more than 160 producers having signed up for the event – one-third more than have attended before.
More than 160 growers are set to attend the Real Wine Fair in Tobacco Dock, east London, in April (Photo: The Real Wine Fair)
Hosted by natural and artisan wine importer Les Caves de Pyrene, the fair was last held in 2014, when around 120 producers were present. This year, around 160 have signed up, with fair organiser Doug Wregg confirming that “160-165 should be the final numbers”.
Wregg said that the producers will be split into two rooms this year for the first time in a bid to organise the increased numbers effectively.
A total of 15 countries are set to be represented at the tasting in Tobacco Dock, east London, including, for the first time producers from the US. Thirteen producers will be crossing the Atlantic from regions such as California, Oregon and even Vermont.
A total of 55 growers would be making their first appearance at the event, Wregg confirmed.
Otherwise the format is to follow that of previous fairs, with artisan food producers and restaurants selling ‘street food’, a pop-up wine shop selling many of the wines on show, and a roster of seminars and masterclasses over the two days “on a variety of topics”.
Wregg added that beyond the fair there would be dinners, tastings and masterclasses arranged by a number of restaurants and retailers across the country. Details will be posted on the Real Wine Fair website.
“With dozens of restaurants, bars and retailers now specialising in organic and natural wines, we believe that artisan wine fairs such as Real Wine have helped to ‘energise’ the UK wine scene,” Wregg said.
“It’s a growers’ fair so there is real interaction between consumers and the people who make the wines. The public bring a sense of energy and curiosity to the event.
“It appeals to those who are interested in provenance and want to meet the grower and hear the story behind the wine. There are no iconic growers or wines – it is all about the wine and the way it is made.”
The Real Wine Fair takes place on 17-18 April at Tobacco Dock in Wapping, east London. For more information and to sign up, click here.