London Wine Fair: Visitor numbers highest in six years

By Hamish Graham

Published: 22 May, 2026

London Wine Fair (LWF) has capped off another year, and the event’s new owner Vindustrious has reported that visitor numbers are up. This year saw 10,539 net attendees walk through the doors at Kensington Olympia up from 2025’s 9,741 (a +8.2% uplift).

This is also the first time in six years the Fair has welcomed over 10,000 people. Monday’s total visitors were up +13.5% compared to last year.

On-trade visitors were the most represented subsector of the trade, making up 35% of the audience. Off-trade representation was noticeable during the event too, with Harpers speaking with top independent merchants including the Good Wine Shop’s Mark Wrigglesworth. He was keen to emphasise the importance of having a large trade show in the capital, also noting that the atmosphere was more upbeat this year.

Read more: Grands Chais de France celebrates UK Crémant growth

During Harpers’ panel ‘Indies: Maintaining a magnificent niche’, independent retailers – with panellists including Greg Andrews of D Vine Cellars; Jeroboam’s Lucie Parker; consultant to Oxford Wine Company, Emily Silva; and The Wine Yard’s Nick Mantella – reflected on the challenges the sector faces, as well as how to continue to innovate in a challenging trading environment.

Exhibitor bookings also rose year on year, 475 showcasing in 2026 compared to last year’s 445. A notable theme of the event was the breadth of exhibitors, with producers from across the globe, as well as importers large and small, keen to engage with a British trade audience.

Harpers was there to explore this diversity. In the Esoterica section, Anna Patrowicz of Nabeeth Wine & Spirits (who Harpers spoke to in our May issue) was on hand to present the best of Palestinian wine. Drawing from grapes both indigenous and international, Nabeeth’s portfolio showcased the serious winemaking talent on offer.

Italian representation was strong especially from UK trade-favourite, Sicily. The Wines of Sicily DOC stand was well attended, with Harpers being reminded of the breadth of styles produced from Sicilian grape varieties. Marsala’s Curatolo Arini exemplified this, with the estate’s Alexandra Curatolo showcasing its still wines from a zippy Zibibbo to its pleasant Nero d’Avola.

Georgian exhibitors enjoyed a strong year with director of Georgian Wines UK, Sarah Abbott MW, reflecting: “London Wine Fair has delivered a standout result for Georgia this year.

“All three of our masterclasses ran at full capacity, with serious quality of audience across national retail buyers, importers, sommeliers and the independent trade. The feedback from visitors has been outstanding – both on the wines themselves and on the depth of the Georgian category story.”

The audience during the three-day conference was majority (82%) UK trade, however, 61 countries were represented among the attendees, with the top five most represented countries being: UK; Italy; France; USA; and Spain.

Closer to home, the UK’s ‘host nation’ status saw producers from across the country engage with an interested trade audience. Britain’s host nation status meant that UK wine producer representation was up fivefold compared to 2025. The strong exhibitor-audience engagement was represented by English producers making up all top-five most searched products on the LWF’s online platform.

Wine GB were flying the flag too, with CEO Nicola Bates and new head of comms, Kirsty Rushby, detailing to Harpers the trade body’s latest news. Judging for the Wine GB awards fast approaches, while its conference on 16 July hopes to channel the positive British wine momentum seen at the Fair.

Green initiatives gained an improved spotlight with the launch of The Sustainability Hub by Impact Focus hosting NGOs and NFPOs. Harpers attended the ‘No Water, No Wine: Facing the Industry’s New Reality’ seminar, gaining a renewed appreciation of how sustainable water usage in the vineyard will be a vital environmental talking point in the years to come.

After a very busy week, LWF’s new owner, Hannah Tovey reflected: “This year was unlike no other; whilst change was paramount with the MBO [management buyout], so was consistency as the full London Wine Fair team was retained, ensuring the smoothest of transitions.

“We have been buoyed by the support of our exhibitors, visitors and the wider drinks industry throughout the process; they have been nothing but supportive. Over the last three days the team has delivered a truly transformational event. We grew the show’s exhibitor and visitor numbers, whilst retaining our hard-won focus on quality across both audiences.”

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