London Wine Fair attendance drops 2%

The number of people visiting the London Wine Fair decreased by 2% this year to 14,401, however this was still higher than the 11,000 recorded in 2014.

The London Wine Fair 2016

Visitor breakdown by sector remained the same, with just under a third (30%) of visitors attending from the on-trade, and 10% of visitors from the independent sector.

“The feedback we have had for this year’s show has been overwhelmingly positive, from exhibitors and visitors alike,” said Ross Carter, show director.

“Exhibitors have reported a really high quality audience, with key decision makers from across the categories attending. Three years in to its return to Olympia, the trade has embraced The Fair in its current guise, citing its manageability and relevance to the market as key factors to its success.”

New initiatives for 2016 included a new partnership formed between The Fair and Bottlebooks, creating a digital platform for the wines exhibiting and paving the way for the global wine industry to share data.

Some 26,700 searches were made by London Wine Fair visitors in the weeks leading up to the show and on-site, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay proving to be the the most popular searches by grape variety.

In total, 1,707 wine businesses registered 5,015 wines on the platform, which is aiming to become the industry standard for exchanging wine data between members of the trade.

“The new Bottlebooks initiative allowed us to advertise On-Stand tastings of our ABkS wines, which booked out immediately they went live and were a great success in bringing people to the stand who may not have discovered us otherwise,” said Elliot Awin, business development and Partner at Awin Barratt Siegel Wine Agencies.

Also new, was the Pop Up Tasting area, which hosted generics, importers and brands not exhibiting at The Fair, for a programme of seminars and masterclasses, and was sold out each day. While Esoterica returned for a third year, which gives a platform to small and independent producers.

“Esoterica is definitely the place to be, with an eclectic mix of wine and relaxed, buzzy atmosphere,” said Ruth Simpson, owner of Domaine Ste Rose in the Languedoc. “We had a great show, with good contacts, interesting opportunities and consistent activity.”

Plans for next year’s show are already in place, with the 2017 edition of the London Wine Fair set to take place from 22nd to 24th May at Olympia.

“This year’s show was all about diversity and discovery, which we delivered across the board in terms of content, exhibitors and audience”, added Carter. “The stage is already set for 2017, which will see The Fair return to its late May billing; new features and content are already being planned.”