London Wine Fair opens its doors

By Gemma McKenna

Published: 02 June, 2014

The wine trade is looking forward to a re-energised London Wine Fair, which returns to its roots today from Kensington Olympia, with 20% more exhibitors on site.

The trade has been campaigning for a number of years for the show to bring the show back to a more central venue than the Docklands ExCeL exhibition centre and the move has been broadly welcomed.

A host of exhibitors who had pulled out of the show in the past number of years are back, including Accolade Wines, PLB, Enotria, Mentzendorff, Bibendum, Negociants, Hallgarten Druitt, Armit, Ehrmanns, Broadland Wineries and Moreno Wines, among others.

The fair is now much more focused around the UK's domestic wine market, rather than looking to curry favour with a more international audience.

Speaking to Harpers.co.uk recently, event director Ross Carter said: "The look and feel will be somewhat removed from what it was before. The theme will be along the lines of something much more British in its natural celebration of wine. Ultimately I think in recent years it's been a bit more corporate."

He added: ""This domestic market is one of the most interesting in the world. I think we are very fortunate to serve the market that we do. I think that is our point of difference."

Organisers Brintex have worked hard to draw companies back to the exhibition, both through consulting with the trade about what they want, and more practically, by cutting costs by 25%. They also pledged £40,000 in travel bursaries in order to attract some of the top UK independent retailers, leading sommeliers and on-trade buyers to this year's event.

Senior figures in the trade have been looking forward to the show, with Penfolds' chief winemaker Peter Gago telling harpers.co.uk the revamped show would be a "rebirth", giving "renewed impetus and energy" for a "brave new wine world".

Keep checking Harpers.co.uk for a live newsblog direct from the London Wine Fair, as well as up-to-date stories. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @harperswine where we will also be posting the latest news.

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