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Wine Paris & Vinexpo 2024 announce massive expansion

As a result, the floor space for Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris will increase by 28%, including an increase of 72% in extra floor space for international producers (outside of France), made up largely of other major northern hemisphere players including Italy, Spain and Germany.

• Read more: Alcohol duty frozen until 2024
  

“To be honest, we are a bit overwhelmed by the increase, like any company we have a budget and it can be difficult to keep shareholders happy when the demand gets bigger each year,” said Vinexposium CEO Rodolphe Lameyse, during a press briefing attended by Harpers in London yesterday (22 November).

“In 2019 we had two halls, next year we will have seven, so the whole show is increasing,” he added.

Given the exponential rise of the event since it launched five years ago, possibly to the detriment of trade show attendances elsewhere, the Vinexposium team could be forgiven for patting itself on the back. However, despite the success Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris has enjoyed in recent years, Lameyse wants to tackle the key issues affecting the trade head-on.

Rather than a gathering of industry professionals to talk about how good everything is, Lameyse wants Wine Paris & Vinexpo to be a positive force for change, including addressing the multitude of challenges the wine and spirits industry faces.

“I believe the wine world is at a crossroads and it faces four key challenges, climate change, a shift in consumer demand, geo-political conflicts and economic and sales issues,” Lameyse said.

“Within this environment, the entire wine and spirits sector is looking for solutions and I believe Wine Paris and Vinexpo has a pivotal role to play for professionals and industry partners to meet these challenges,” he added.

The four aforementioned challenges will be the focus of several events and highlights across the three-day event, including a panel discussion moderated by Miles Beale, CEO of the WSTA, on the consequences of the liberalisation of the wine industry following a consultation by the UK government about the removal of EU legislation and bureaucracy.

In further recognition of these challenges, on the evening before Wine Paris & Vinexpo, the winners will be announced of the first-ever V d’OR Awards.

Organised by Vinexposium, the five awards encompass economic performance, social and environmental responsibility and applications are open to all members of the global wine and spirits trade, irrespective of size.

“The V d’OR awards represent our commitment to upholding a sustainable and responsible wine industry, and should help to inspire and promote initiatives undertaken by committed professionals within the industry,” said Lameyse.

Meanwhile, Italy will cover 40% extra floor space, and, for the first time in Paris, will be housed in an entire hall. Attendees will include ICE, the Istituto Marchigiano di Tutela Vini Consortium, Wines from Piedmont and the return of the prestigious Italian Signature Wines Academy.

Germany, Slovenia, Lebanon and South Africa will be doubling their exhibition area, and the New World will be more widely represented with first-time participation by New Zealand and Wine Australia.

“Every time you attract a new country to exhibit, you need to ensure that you have enough buyers for it, you need the right balance between exhibitors and buyers and I believe we are in that sweet spot at the moment,” said Lameyse.

“If you are unbalanced, and you have more exhibitors than buyers then you are in a difficult situation. For example, Vinexpo used to be in Bordeaux, and we had this unbalanced situation where producers questioned the relevance of attending the event due to the difference [in numbers] between exhibitors and visitors,” he added.

2024 will see the advent of new categories in the Be Spirits area at Wine Paris & Vinexpo. The event within the event will showcase 25 different types of beverage alcohol such as vodka, tequila, whiskey and rum as well as dedicated beer and cider stands for the first time.

“In general, exhibitor spaces filled up a lot quicker than in previous years. Our spirits area, for example, which usually reaches capacity by November and December was fully booked by September this year,” said Lameyse.

As for Vinexposium in general, Lameyse added the business had no plans to add to its roster of eight wine and spirits trade shows across the world, although, he did confirm that Paris would always remain a host city, because of the way it captivates the trade and extends into the bar and restaurant scene of the French capital.

For more information and to view the exhibitor list click here.

• Miles Beale
• WSTA
• vinexposium
• Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris
• Rodolphe Lameyse
• The V d'OR Awards