Here are the first exhibitors taking part at this year’s Wine & Spirits Show

the drinks business and sister title The Spirits Business are pleased to announce the first exhibitors at this year’s Wine & Spirits Show in London, taking place on 12 and 13 October at the Royal Horseguards Hotel in London.

Launched by the team that brought you The City Wine Show, the Wine Show Chelsea and Spirited London, The Wine & Spirits Show will bring together the best wine and spirits under one roof.

The event will be open to both the trade and consumers and will take place over two days from 12 to 13 October in the heart of London at One Whitehall Place, part of five-star hotel the Royal Horseguards. Targeting wine enthusiasts based in London, around 2,000 members of the general public are expected to attend, alongside members of the wine and spirits trade.

The Wine & Spirits Show will offer one hall dedicated to wines, and another that will be focused entirely on spirits.

The Wine Hall will also feature the Global Masters Zone, showcasing the top medal-winning wines judged throughout the years in the drinks business Global Masters Series.

The Spirits Hall will feature everything from gin and whisky to Tequila, rum and Mezcal. This hall will also host The Spirits Masters Zone, which will be manned by The Spirits Business team and showcase the Spirits Masters competition medallists.

Both halls will feature a dedicated New Products Zone for both wines and spirits, which will showcase the hottest wines and spirits launched within the last 12 months, keeping guests up to speed on emerging trends and releases. Consumers will be asked to vote for their favourite new wine or spirits, with the winning brand set to receive a profile page in the magazine.

A Global Beer Tour zone will also offer guests the chance to sample a wide range of brews to have been judged by db‘s expert panel as part of the Global Beer Competition, which will take place in August.

As well as hundreds on wines and spirits available to sample, the event will also offer a series of expert masterclasses, on both wines and spirits, giving guests the chance to get under the skin of Champagne with Pol Roger or delve deeper into the world of fine wine with iDealwine.

A full schedule of masterclasses, which will be offered FREE on a first come first served basis, will be announced in due course.

The event will open from 1pm to 9pm on Friday, and from 1pm to 8pm on Saturday. To register for the trade event, which will run from 1pm to 5pm on Friday, please click here.

For producers and suppliers wishing to take part in the event, please email Chloé Beral on Chloe.Beral@unionpress.co.uk.

For more information and for tickets, please click here. 

Scroll through to view the first companies that have been announced as exhibitors this year. 

New Zealand Winegrowers

Company background: Established in March 2002, New Zealand Winegrowers is the national organisation for the country’s grape and wine sector, with around 850 grower members and 700 winery members.

Proudest achievement: Our Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand programme is widely recognised as a world-leading sustainability programme and was one of the first to be established in the international wine industry. It represents a commitment to protect the places that make our famous wines.

Fun fact: We are the only unified national winegrowers industry body in the world.

Future goals: The New Zealand wine industry has a target of $2 billion of exports by 2020.

Ask them about: The International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration, due to take place from 28-30 January 2019.

Smeaton’s Gin

Company background: Smeaton’s Gin was founded in 2017, when we finally had the right skills to bring an exceptional gin recipe back to life.

Proudest achievement: We were bowled over when Harvey Nichols approached us, and then when they said of us: “There’s no gimmicky ingredients, no big marketing budget and no celebrity endorsement, just one of the finest premium gins we’ve tasted in a very long time“.

Fun fact: We wish we could say that we are clever business types, trying to cash in on the gin craze. We aren’t. We first found the handwritten recipe for our gin in the Bristol Archives on Smeaton Road ten years ago. Ten years ago!

Future goals: We would love to play a part in telling people about the historic Bristol Method, where each botanical is separately distilled, fresh where appropriate. The Bristol Method made sense when Bristol’s Port worked together with local distilleries in the progressive Victorian era. And while demand for cheaper gin distilled from dried botanicals meant that it fell out favour, we think it makes sense now for gin enthusiasts that value quality and provenance.

Ask them about: Their gold medal at the 2018 Gin Masters, run by The Spirits Business. 

Uncle Nearest

Company background: Founded in 2016, Uncle Nearest is named after the first African American master distiller in the United States. We have chosen to pay him homage.

Proudest achievement: We get to tell the world about the greatest distiller they never knew. We are also in three countries in less than a year.

Fun fact: Uncle Nearest taught Jack Daniels and family how to distil alcohol.

Future goals: We would like to be all encompassing in the UK.

Ask them about: The launch of our first single barrel with the British Bourbon Society in October.

Products on pour: Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey, Uncle Nearest Silver Whiskey and Nathan Green 1870 Whiskey.