Let's raise our glasses and toast a decade of ProWine Shanghai

ProWine, the industry’s leading wine and spirits trade show co-organized by Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai and Informa Markets, will be held at the SNIEC in Pudong this week.

More than 650 wineries from over 30 countries and regions will display the latest vintage at ProWine Shanghai, making this exhibition one of the most influential ones for the industry in Asia. ProWine is a trade visitor only show and expected to attract over 20,000 trade visitors from all over China.

“This is the first time that a huge number of international wineries have returned to China following the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Marius Berlemann, general manager of the event’s organizer, Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai. “Furthermore, we will witness the biggest participation in history from Chinese wine regions, especially newly rising wine regions that will join us for the first time, such as Yantai in Shandong, Jinshan in Ningxia and Heshuo in Xinjiang.”

ProWine Shanghai evolved from ProWein, the world’s top 1 international trade fair for wine and spirits held in Germany annually for nearly three decades.

Despite the fact that Germany is not a wine-producing country, over 49,000 trade visitors attended the event this year in Düsseldorf.

ProWine Shanghai will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The event has played an important role in the evolution of a dynamic and vibrant Chinese wine sector.

It has become the largest show in East China and the most influential wine exhibition in Shanghai.

“Our contributions extend beyond fostering the development of China’s wine segment. With 10 years of development, ProWine Shanghai is now a platform for not only overseas wine suppliers but also Chinese wine producers,” said Berlemann.

”In the beginning, over 95 percent of the products exhibited on ProWine Shanghai were wines from abroad, but now we have 88 Chinese wineries onsite to showcase Chinese ones."

Berlemann stated that while wine consumption in traditional European countries was dropping, many producers have spotted an increasing potential in Asia, particularly in Shanghai.

Before ProWine Shanghai was launched, Messe Düsseldorf did a survey in which 90 percent of global producers believed that Shanghai would be a good destination for the event because it was becoming a hub for introducing overseas products to China.

“When we walk down the street, we’ve witnessed more bars and fine restaurants booming in Shanghai, which are all our potential buyers,” Berlemann added.

As younger generations become mainstream consumers, China’s wine sector is shifting, ushering in a new development trend.

Wine drinking has evolved over the last several decades from a social language that fosters interpersonal interactions to a casual daily lifestyle.

According to Lv Yang, founder of Grapea & Co Institute and the world’s only Chinese Master Sommelier, it is due to the rapid and extensive worldwide interaction.

“Many well-known overseas chateaus have joined the Chinese market through global exhibitions, high-end hotels, and fancy restaurants. They have virtually cultivated an increasing number of wine fanatics,” Lv said. “China now has its own wine production regions, making the market more diversified and focused on quality and ProWine Shanghai has played a significant role in this.”

The event’s objective is to organize and deliver a top-notch industry event to all the long-awaited exhibitors, trade visitors, and partners for the sector’s continued growth and success as the leading trade fair for the wines and spirits business in the Chinese mainland.

“We expect to cultivate a leading global platform that combines diverse wine and spirits industry segments,” said Berlemann. “We are committed to delivering our four customer values of internationality, strong network, diversity, and adaption through ProWein and its six satellite shows in Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tokyo and Sao Paulo. We stand alongside all industry players and take them to the world’s key markets.”