The 14th Vinisud, which took place from February 18 to 20, 2018 at the Montpellier exhibition centre, ended on a triple high note: visitor quality, features and the combination of events over a full week geared to wine industry members from across the globe, after VinoVision Paris and the Word Wine Meetings Global Paris, were all a success. The 25,500 industry members who attended the show, 28% of whom were international buyers from 76 countries, and the 1,420 exhibitors from 16 countries, praised the quality of this latest show.
SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL TRADE
World of Mediterranean Wines has delivered on its promise for the 2018 show. The timing for international buyers to taste the new vintage was perfect, and visitors gained access to the vast array of Mediterranean wines: wines from the South of France were extremely well represented, ICE took part for the first time with estates from southern Italy, major Spanish bodegas attended, some of them on the ICEX pavilion, joined by Wines of Portugal, wines from Algeria, Croatia, Turkey, Greece, Lebanon… Exhibitors met with highly qualified international visitors thanks to careful, selective recruitment by the World Wine Meetings team and the Sud de France International Business Forum, organized as part of Vinisud for the second time with support from the Occitanie region. Combined, this brought over 400 VIP buyers to the show. For Raquel Fernandez, Export Area Manager for Bodega Cuatro Rayas, this year’s show was an opportunity to “meet many international importers, which is essential. They are very professional, and we spend time talking with them, tasting the wines and introducing them to the estate”.
Once again, the trade fair’s themed areas for discovering new trends and drivers of growth were popular: the Palais Méditerranéen for still wines hosted by the Languedoc-Roussillon branch of the national oenologists’ federation; the Sparkling Zone featuring 60% more samples than in 2017; the Wine Mosaic area for heritage grape varieties; and the New Wave, bringing together tomorrow’s market players which welcomed 50% more participants than the first pavilion in 2017. Jocelyn Raoux, owner of Domaine Raoux and an exhibitor in the New Wave area is a testament to its success: “Thanks to Vinisud’s New Wave zone, I was able to find business, so it’s really worthwhile. For starting out, it was an easy way to get the ball rolling”.
SUCCESSFUL CONTENT
A diversified programme of events and strong theme defined every year enables Vinisud to offer a complete range of activities, both commercial and informative, focusing on the world of wine. These choices garnered praise from Sweden’s Johan Larsson, a buyer for Systembolaget AB: “I need to attend Vinisud to get a handle on current trends, quality and volumes”.
This year’s Vinisud will be remembered for focusing primarily on sustainable and ethically accountable initiatives, offering insight and proving that the show has its finger on the pulse of tomorrow’s trends.. A survey of responsible initiatives by producers, an informative exhibition on sustainable development, and publication of the results of two exclusive international studies (“A review of ethically accountable wine consumption in France and worldwide” conducted with Graines de Changement, and “Consumer trends in New York v Paris”, with SOWINE, with a particular focus on consumer choice in terms of responsible consumption) fuelled debate, provided food for thought and made attending the fair all the more purposeful.
SUCCESSFUL OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE
For the first time in 2018, Vinisud was organised under the aegis of Comexposium, in conjunction with VinoVision Paris, the cool climate wine exhibition, which kicked off France’s first Wine Week. Participants were able to connect with one another and make new discoveries over an entire week, which bodes well for the trade fairs in 2019 when they will be held jointly in Paris with Vinisud returning to Montpellier in 2020.
In 2019, Vinisud + VinoVision Paris will take place together from 10 to 12 February at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre, following the WWM Global Paris which will run from 6 to 9 February 2019. The much-awaited event is supported by all the French wine marketing boards and will be attended by top-class international visitors as well as wine merchants and members of Paris’ Horeca channels. A clear remit has been established: the two trade fairs will retain their own identities while leveraging their complementary aspects. For the first time ever, they will bring together all of France’s wine regions in an event organised by and for producers, ramping up business opportunities on a French and global scale. Vinisud + VinoVision Paris share the same mindset hinging on efficiency, collective spirit and a relaxed atmosphere. Join us in 2019 in Paris to find “the best of northern wines and the best of southern wines at an unmissable event,” sums up Fabrice Rieu, chairman of Vinisud.
