Trade talk: Top tips for a successful ProWein

The importance of a united front

Yael Gai, international sales and marketing manager, Golan Heights: “Golan Heights Winery has been honored to participate at ProWein for over 15 years. In recent years, as the exhibition took its place as the most important wine show in Europe, we reached out to leading Israeli wineries from Galilee to establish a joint Israeli presence. The goal of the Israeli stand is to expose wine professionals to the unique terroir that is found in Israel; to ignite an interest in the many quality wineries in the Galilee region; and to share the long history of winemaking in Israel. This year we will be showcasing our newly released Hermon Rosé, Yarden Petit Verdot, Yarden Pinot Gris, Gamla Tempranillo and Gamla Viognier Chardonnay. ProWein is an excellent place to meet our importers from around the world. It also gives us the chance to be in direct contact with our European customers including wine shops, restaurants, and buyers. The exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to taste different wines from around the world and see what’s new in the industry.”

Alessandro Niccolai, Europe sales director, Banfi: “Germany is one of our top markets, and ProWein is an important occasion for meeting our clients and importers from all over the world. As in previous years, we have a space at our German agent booth, Brand Compendium (Hall 16/A04). This is very strategic, because potential German clients will look for the brand, and it is fundamental to them who represents it, in terms of logistics, service and all the practical aspects of supporting the brand. We hope to have the opportunity to strengthen our business relationships with key clients and find out about new opportunities that the fair will surely present. This year we celebrate our 40th anniversary, so the fair will be the first occasion in 2018 to meet our international partners and share with them our plans for the year.”

Euan Mackay, commercial director, Symington Family Estates: “Symington Family Estates will be heading back to Düsseldorf in March for its annual rendezvous at ProWein. As in previous years, we’ll be joining fellow members of the Primum Familiae Vini on their joint stand (A40, Hall 11) to meet new and existing partners from around the world. This year, we are particularly excited to be presenting a series of new initiatives, including a step change to Dow’s approach to the Aged Tawny Port market, a fresh look at Warre’s Otima, new Graham’s Single Harvest Tawnies and the release of the latest vintages of the Symington’s range of still wines from the Douro Valley, including a complete overhaul of the company’s main Douro DOC wine brand, Altano. Members of the Symington’s commercial team will be present, together with Dominic Symington and his nephew, Robert, who will be visiting ProWein for the first time.”

Gerardo Alonso, marketing manager, Grupo Faustino: “ProWein is one of our biggest events and meeting points for our worldwide importers and distributors. It’s a unifying moment where we can introduce new vintages and launches. This year we have an array of exciting new wines, from our Faustino Icon Edition to our new Faustino organic Tempranillo. Additionally, we will present the 2017 vintage of our whites and rosés from Campillo to our Marqués de Vitoria and Portia wineries. It’s also a great moment to present new label designs and all marketing and communication initiatives. Visit our stand G57 in Hall 10 to discover more.”

Balance your appointments…

Nicolas Brun, export sales manager, Doluca Wine Company: “My tips would be to balance your appointments. As an exhibitor, I’m keen to keep a good balance between the people I meet and the limited time I have at the fair. Our priority is to seek out new business from new markets we’d like to expand into, such as Australia, Russia and Scandinavia. We also always dedicate quality time with our long-time importers and distributors; although we communicate on a regular basis we do not get so many occasions to speak face to face, and these moments are precious. As a Turkish wine producer, one of our main goals is to spread the gospel that Turkey is producing high-quality wines both from indigenous and international varieties. I’m always excited when people taste our wines for the first time and discover the potential of our region.”

José Silva, CEO, MASilva: “ProWein is known for having a unique international atmosphere where the most important European wine markets are represented. This allows us to meet with a lot of different people from a lot of different markets at the same event. The fair is also important for us to understand new trends and discover new wines. It is an event that we use to be in contact with some of our clients, agents, distributors, as well as finding new potential opportunities. At the end of the day, it is an event where the wine is the element that shines.”

Raffaele Berardi, CEO, Fraternity Spirits: “Our main goal at ProWein is to reinforce and increase the presence and positioning of our brands, especially for the Tequila Corralejo range in order to keep presenting the brand repositioning that we launched last year. We will also be communicating about our ultra-premium segment with our Tequila 1821, an extra añejo Tequila that is aged for 36 months in American oak. We will also be promoting our Ron Prohibido Family and its new addition, El Ron Prohibido Blanco (Triple Destilado). ProWein is a great place to showcase our portfolio, and a space to present and share the fantastic stories behind our brands and create brand awareness for the premium spirits.”

Reka Haros, director of global marketing communications, Vinventions: “ProWein is an extremely important event for our customers. Our ‘backstage’ help is ensuring that each bottle of wine they open for tasting, to sell and promote are just as they intended – fault-free. This year we will be conducting our Taste The Difference masterclass with international wines to the German wine business audience. Tasting wines bottled on the same bottling lot but with different closures is the best experiential proof of the difference a closure can make. We also organise dinners with key customers from South Africa, and our global sales teams have meetings with strategic customers present at the fair. Being an innovations company, we’re keen to pick up on all the new trends in the industry. Whether that’s in packaging, wine styles, or marketing approaches, we are there to catch them and make sure we stay on top of the changes occurring in our industry.”

Planning and preparation is key…

Paolo Lasagni, managing director, Bosco Viticultori: “Planning is key at ProWein. Since the exhibition is becoming busier and busier each year, if you don’t schedule everything well in advance, you won’t get the chance to meet the key players. In terms of this year, our main expectations are related to our single-vineyard estate, Vigna Dogarina, and its premium wine range. Last year’s harvest, despite being poor from a volume point of view, has been the first one that our group has fully managed after we took over the estate, and we are proud to present an excellent range of still and sparkling wines coming from the same unique block of vineyards.”

Samuel Guibert, co-owner and head winemaker, Daumas Gassac: “Our main aim at ProWein is to provide an opportunity for our trade partners and prospective partners to meet us, taste the new vintage and see our new creations. It’s a ritual, as we know that we’ll have the chance to catch up with our partners at the show if we don’t get to see them elsewhere during the year. This year we have a lot of new packaging so it’s very important that as many of our clients and friends as possible get to see it and taste the new vintage. It’s important to prepare for the fair well in advance, and make sure you have a great stand that is easy to find. Ultimately, the success of the fair won’t be measured by the number of people we meet but the quality of the meetings we have.”

Martin Navesi, regional manager, Grupo Peñaflor: “Our tip for a successful ProWein is to plan enough in advance to be able to dazzle all of our visitors. From existing partners, monopolies and business prospects, for us it is the hotspot to impress with our wines, our ideas, our new projects and our innovations. There is always something going on within Grupo Peñaflor, and ProWein is a great stage to showcase that.”

Mathieu Crosnier, chief winemaker, Domaine Grande Mayne: “The key for us is to prepare well in terms of advance contacts and appointment planning. It is only our second year at the fair and we’re hoping to build on the contacts we made last year and find new customers who are interested in the character and quality that South West France represents. We’ll be showing our Reserve white and Sauvignon, along with reds from the excellent 2015 vintage. These will include the small-production Fusion – a wine made from some of the best grapes I have in the vineyard each year. In 2015 this was Cabernet with a touch of Chenin.”

Work on your stamina

Julian Dyer, general manager UK & Europe, Australian Vintage: “Careful planning, as well as plenty of stamina are two prerequisites for a successful ProWein. But it is also great fun as well, with a tremendous buzz and energy over the three days. From a producer perspective, ProWein is a truly global event where we meet existing and potential customers from all continents. We will have key colleagues from our global sales and marketing teams with us on the stand. It’s crucial to have an agreed appointment schedule beforehand. I’m looking forward to this year’s show. All the world’s wine buyers will be there, and it is a tremendous melting pot where we can meet existing and new buyers, and also catch up with our key distributors from around the globe. We also target ProWein to be ready with new product development, as what we show in March sows the seeds for new business later in the year. Neil McGuigan, our CEO, will be with us for the three days and we’re raring to go.”

Joël Martinez, export sales manager, Marqués de Cáceres: “As a leading brand of high-quality Spanish wines, we exhibit at ProWein every year, as it has become a mandatory professional annual rendezvous to meet international buyers, distributors and importers. We make wine in Rioja, Rueda and Rías Baixas, and our purpose for ProWein 2018 is to present the 18 wines that we produce across those regions, including two novelties: Costanilla by Marqués de Cáceres, an entry-level Rioja red corresponding to a ‘roble’ style designed for export markets, and our Marqués de Cáceres Sauvignon Blanc from our vineyard in Rueda, oriented towards the off-trade both in Spain and in export markets. We will also present two additional brands at the fair, called ‘Don Sebastian’ and ‘Enrique Forner’, named after our founder.”

Lenz Moser, consultant winemaker, Château Changyu: “Chateau Changyu Moser XV and Changyu Pioneer will have a great stand again at this year’s ProWein – in Hall 9/A76. Our main goal is to attract as many visitors as possible, and get them to taste our wines from Ningxia in particular. We have planned meetings with all major European and overseas customers and leading journalists from around the globe. We want to excite people with the entire brand architecture of Chateau Changyu Moser XV, and will be showing the 2015 vintage of our grand vin for the first time. We are also keen to establish Château Changyu Moser as the number-one exported wine from China. Finally, we want to educate top sommeliers and the media about the potential of wines from Ningxia, and will showcase our wines against international benchmark wines under the stewardship of Master Sommelier Frank Kämmer.”

Sylvain Rouchy, head of sales, Sopexa Group: “As an international agency specialising in food, drink and lifestyle, the promotion of wine is in our DNA. ProWein is a wonderful opportunity to meet our customers and our network of key business partners and influencers. Our teams from all over the world will be meeting international companies wanting to promote their products worldwide. Thanks to Sopexa’s expertise in communications and our deep understanding of the wine market and local consumption trends, we can develop tailor-made activities to meet their specific challenges.”