"Almost all Californian wineries noticed fewer visitors than in the past, but were pleased with the high quality of talks and many business deals. ProWein made an excellent comeback and once again presented itself as the leading international wine fair."
Paul Molleman, Director EMEA California Wine Institute
"ProWein 2022 has brought the industry together in a very difficult year, of course perfectly organized as always - even under the special conditions. For me, ProWein 2022 was characterized by the joy of all guests and exhibitors at the personal encounters and exchanges. ProWein 2022 was a good basis for now setting the appropriate course for 2023 and the following years. Drawing the right conclusions now and developing the appropriate concepts from the new reality is the challenge for next year. We look forward to innovative concepts and are excited to see what awaits us in 2023."
Christof Queisser, Rotkäppchen-Mumm
Maria Pena, CEO of the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute, Instituto de Comercio Exterior (ICEX), explains here the importance of sustainability for Spain as a wine country:
“In the case of wine, sustainability is especially important because we are the number one producer of organic wine in the world. And that is something, we are really proud of.
"This year, due to the pandemic, we were only at the fair with our Global Export team, not with the whole group. The fair had a good atmosphere, the wide aisles were very pleasant, sure, it was a little less crowded, but it was a successful fair for us overall. Our presence was strongly characterized by cultivating our contacts, and we were also able to establish new international customers. The audience was very broad. ProWein 2022 was a trade show of encounters and a very successful transition. I think 2023 will see ProWein return to old successes."
Jan Rock, Henkell-Freixenet
"We actually had more visitors at our stand than in 2019, although fewer from Asia and the USA. It was pleasing to see the many interested visitors from Latin America. We were able to maintain contacts as well as close new deals. Most discussions revolved around rising costs and scarce raw materials. For 2023, I expect a return to normality with more guests from Asia and the USA again."
Felix Solís, Felix Solís Avantis
Frederico Falcao of Vini Portugal talks about plans for national sustainability certification.
“Sustainability is the word of the moment in Portugal. We already have a regional system in Alentejo and now, we are building a national system. Hopefully, next year, most of the Portuguese wine producers will have their certification in sustainable production.” See more in the video here.
"We are very excited that after three years it is finally starting again, and that ProWein is taking place in Düsseldorf. We reached our customers, especially the buyers from Europe, the USA and Africa, and were able to close good deals. ProWein is also particularly important for us because we can reach our essential core target groups here – specifically: specialist retailers as well as importers and exporters."
Anne-Laure Rayne-Helfrich, Grand Chais de France
"As always, the fair stands out for its efficient organization. We have returned to this particular edition with enthusiasm because we consider it important to meet our customers and partners in person once again. We also welcome the reinstated date in March for the 2023 edition, as this is the right time for business meetings, ever hopeful that next year there will be no obstacles to everyone's participation."
Andrea Nicolini, Cavit
Customers are becoming demanding when it comes to sustainability, explains Océane Gex of Swiss Wine.
"They want transparency: Who is behind it, how was my wine made. The three pillars of sustainability are important for consumers: The social - such as fair pay for workers; the environmental, such as local, because if wine comes from the other side of the world, that's not good for the environment; and the economic, because we need a sustainable system that will work in the future."
Her entire statement is available in German in the video interview here.
"It was a quiet ProWein, not only for us. May is not a good time. We had expected few visitors and therefore don’t want to complain. We were also surprised that fewer Germans came, that it was mostly European visitors. But the quality of the visitors was very good. ProWein is important for us because many customers come from countries for which a Vinitaly visit is not worthwhile for cost reasons."
Andrea Sartori, Casa Vinicola Sartori
"We are very grateful for the many visitors and good conversations at the fair, as well as for the numerous purchase decisions our customers made directly at the booth. The new products were very well received. The separate booth of our partner Consigliovini was also very well attended, and many business deals were concluded. In summary, a very successful trade show!"
Rudolf Knickenberg, CEO Schlumberger/Segnitz
"You have to motivate young customers for wine. ... And show the origin: Where does the wine come from, what's the story, who produces it and how is it produced, be it organic, sustainable, biodynamic."
Chris Yorke of Austria Wine Marketing (ÖWM) calls for transparency in terms of origin and production methods. "People want to know what it's all about."
Watch his full statement in German here.