ProWein 2016: a Year of Superlatives

If last year’s migration of the Austrian growers to Hall 17 represented one innovation, the advantages of this presentation area were consciously appreciated this year by the exhibitors as well as by their international business partners. A new, well-organised system for navigation & orientation and the friendly, even cosy, wood-appointed booths contributed to the ambience. The big picture of a pleasant and inviting Austria, land of wine and hospitality, was made complete by “Gruber’s” Austrian bistro in Hall 17, which enjoyed great popularity and underscored the general tenor of Austria’s presence at the fair: a sense of arrival and wellbeing.

Willi Klinger, general director of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, sums things up: “Our wine producers were quite satisfied with the fair in Düsseldorf. On the one hand, ProWein is an important hub for doing business with our largest export nation, Germany. And on the other hand, we connected with many buyers from additional important markets. Visitors were impressed with the extremely promising 2015 vintage, as they were by the aging potential of so many matured wines that growers had brought for tasting.” Also, the frequency with which wine merchants and journalists from all over the world visited the booth of the AWMB confirms the fact that international interest in wines from Austria continues to be as strong as before.

According to ProWein’s wrap-up press release, Asia was to thank for the great increase in the number of international visitors. In general, the trend persists: it is above all the decision makers with executive purchasing authority that attend ProWein. Every other visitor that was asked about their experience stated that they had found new suppliers, while some 96% confirmed that they had achieved the goals of their visit to the trade fair. “The figures show us that ProWein is the most important business platform of all in the wine sector. For prestigious estates, the fair in Düsseldorf has become an absolutely obligatory date”, concluded Hans Werner Reinhard, general director of Messe Düsseldorf, ProWein’s parent organisation.