Wine Paris delivers on international flavour at record event

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 14 February, 2025

Wine Paris has confirmed what the busy aisles suggested, namely that this year’s event (10-12 February) had record-breaking attendance of global drinks trade, propelling it to current pole position in the battle of the big wine and spirits shows.

The three days delivered 52,622 visitors, with 45% drawn from 154 countries around the world, boosting the international profile which the organisers have been pushing to grow.

Most notable from the UK perspective was the growth in both size and numbers of exhibitors on the international side, up 80% in floorspace on 2024. Some eight new territories boosted the international contingent to 54 countries, with the likes of Australia and Washington State among those having a strong first-time presence and, significantly, reporting that they were pleased with quantity and quality of visitors.

Read more: Hospitality trade sees growth again in December

The Be Spirits presence also grew by 47% in exhibition space this year, up to almost 300 exhibiting spirits producers from 34 countries, 76% of whom were new participants at the event.

The 2025 edition had undergone a rebrand, shortening its name from Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris, as show owner Vinexposium sought to drive home the positive aspects of its Parisian location over rival shows.

Significantly – and the subject of much speculation at this year’s event – Vinexpo Paris attendance jumped ahead of rival Dusseldorf show Prowein, which attracted 47,000 visitors in 2024, down on the 49,000 in 2023, while the former grew 14% in 2024 to 41,253 attendees.

With the momentum seemingly behind Wine Paris, all eyes will now be on the figures for this year’s Prowein event, which takes place on 16-18 March.

Feedback from the strong contingent of UK attendees at Wine Paris suggested that many were sizing up the French event against its German rival, having either opted to visit just the former this year, or planning to compare for the first time the benefits of both shows.

Coterie’s CEO Michael Saunders was one of many that told Harpers it was his first time at Wine Paris and that he wouldn’t be attending Prowein this year, having been impressed by the quality of the Paris event.

Speaking at this sixth edition of Wine Paris, Vinexposium’s CEO Rodolphe Lameyse said of the organisation’s flagship event: “We have grown fast, reaching these numbers two years ahead of schedule, and we might need more space to expand into other halls.

“We’ve gone past the first wave of ‘tourism’ and now people are coming and doing business, so now we are getting serious,” he added, saying that the number of visitors to exhibitor ratio had also significantly improved, with “the right level of buyers” coming through the doors.

Explaining his vision for Wine Paris, which this year saw the launch of its new Voice of the Industry feature, Lameyse concluded: “We want [Wine Paris to be] a platform that will aggregate the industry, more than just a platform for buying and selling, [one] where we can influence the industry.”

On the evidence of this year’s show and its busy schedule of industry briefings and seminars, Wine Paris is already firmly heading down that path.

Printer friendly version