German agricultural minister opens 25th edition of ProWein

German federal minister for agriculture, Julia Klöckner, has officially opened the 25th edition of ProWein, which kicked off in Düsseldorf yesterday and will run until tomorrow.

ProWein has marked its 25th year in Düsseldorf.

This year marks 25 years of ProWein, which has grown from just 321 exhibitors to almost 7,000 today.

The opening of the fair was marked with a ceremony on 17 March attended by federal minister Klöckner, the French ambassador Monika Reule (managing director of the German Wine Institute), German “wine queen” Carolin Klöckner, Thomas Geisel and Werner M. Dornscheidt (chairman of the executive board at Messe Düsseldorf).

During a short speech, Minister Klöckner, underlined the value of ProWein by highlighting the importance of the wine and spirits industry to both local and national economies, but also to culture.

“Winegrowing shapes the landscape of entire regions here in Germany,” Sshe Wine also always carries the flavour of its origins with it in the bottle. And yet at the same time winegrowing is also becoming more international, innovative and digital.

“The field faces enormous changes, from both external events such as climate change and internal currents, such as changing attitudes on the part of the younger generation. Above all else, the passing years have seen ever-improving quality paired with rising expectations on the part of consumers.”

The fair will run until Tuesday, 19 March, with over 6,900 exhibitors from 70 countries presenting to over 60,000 industry visitors.

For our definitive guide to what’s happening at this year’s ProWein, click here.