Although entering into its 38th year, visitors can expect to see a rather different fair this year, revamped and refreshed, with new features, zones and inspirational content to join the more than 14,000 wines from 40 countries that will be on display.
Taking place from 21-23 May, free trade badges are still available, simply visit londonwinefair.com to reserve your place now. To whet your appetite, we’re shining a spotlight on just five outstanding features.
Five things we love at London Wine Fair:
υ Get innovative: We’ve teamed up with JF Hillebrand to present London Wine Fair’s first ever Innovation Zone, packed full of inspirational, ground-breaking and thought-provoking sessions.
A series of seminars and inspirational talks, hosted by those driving innovation in all areas of business, will put you on the forefront of what is new and what is coming in the wine trade today, and how you can use these to sell more wine and promote your brand more effectively.
The sessions cover everything from Big Data to smart tech and social media, to how to sell more wine online. There will also be an unmissable pitch-off session between nine wine start-ups looking for investment, hosted by the collective, La Wine Tech.
υ An unbeatable line-up of tastings: Of course, this is London Wine Fair, so as well as all the innovation we have an outstanding line-up of tastings. Visit our walk-up tasting area to sip your way from the Rhone to Romania, Napa to Rothschild Champagne, while taking in Chile, Wales and plenty more.
Not to mention the premium masterclasses, with exclusive sessions on Lafite, Rioja, Prosecco, Uruguay and South Africa and more.
Alongside the tastings, run the Industry Briefings. With no shortage of hot topics dominating conversation in the trade, London Wine Fair have put together a crucial programme of debates, panels and expert sessions dedicated to keeping you up-to-date and in the know.
These include panels on mental health from The Benevolent, the latest on Brexit, diversifying thought leadership in wine, plus an exclusive session from the London Restaurant Network, featuring the UKs hottest chefs and sommeliers discussing how they build their incredible wine lists. Visit londonwinefair.com to find out more and book your seat.
υ A celebration of British drinks: Drinks Britannia is the home for London Wine Fair to celebrate all that is great about British drinks. The country is undergoing a liquid revolution, delivering world-class sparkling wines, internationally-acclaimed craft beers, outstanding gins which are both retaining heritage and pushing the category, and plenty more.
This is the zone where you can find out all about them, taste, explore and get firmly on the forefront of the craft renaissance.
υ Return of the favourites: Alongside all the new features, the best of previous years are returning. Championing the very best small-scale, quality importers, the always-popular Esoterica brings with it a reputation as one of the buzziest areas of the show, and an opportunity to discover rare and niche wines that aren’t available from anyone else. With a casual tabletop set-up, this is your chance to get up close and personal with the best niche importers and uncover some of the world’s most exciting wines.
Plus, don’t miss Wines Unearthed, the perfect hunting ground for interesting and exciting new wines. Dedicated to discovery, in Wines Unearthed you can uncover those exciting producers that are yet to import into the UK.
υ Get educated: Can you pick out a wine fault from 100 yards? Create a winning wine list? Are you a master of wine maturation, or want to know what it takes to be a brand ambassador?
Introducing London Wine Fair’s Education Zone, in partnership with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. This is a brand new area of the show, dedicated to making sure your wine and spirits knowledge is top-notch.
Alongside this, take the Level 3 entrance test on site at the fair, completely free of charge (usually £25), pass the test and you’ll receive a £25 voucher towards any Level 3 Wines course at WSET School London.
