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More and more wineries are cancelling their participation in Germany's most important wine fair, ProWein in Düsseldorf. "Wine Australia" and the Alsace Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins d'Alsace (CIVA) have already cancelled their joint stands for 2025 due to a lack of demand from wineries. Now many Italian exhibitors are also turning their backs on the trade fair. According to information from wein.plus, smaller wineries in particular want to do without the costly trade fair. Many companies from Piedmont, for example, have decided against ProWein in favour of Vinexpo in Paris. There are said to already be waiting lists there. However, according to information from representatives of several Italian consortia, registrations for joint stands at ProWein are very slow.
According to their statements, the reasons for cancelling are manifold and have already become apparent in recent years. Overpriced hotels, poor travel conditions, declining visitor numbers and the ever-increasing competition from the Vinexpo wine fair in Paris make participation in ProWein no longer profitable for many wineries.
The figures for ProWein were already not looking rosy in 2024. The trade fair had attracted around 47,000 trade visitors to Düsseldorf. This was 2,000 fewer visitors than in the previous year and around 25 per cent fewer than before the pandemic (2019: 61,500). Exhibitor numbers were also down. According to the online trade fair catalogue, 5,326 companies presented their products, compared to just under 6,000 in 2023. Five years ago, 6,900 exhibitors took part according to the trade fair.
(ru / Vitisphere, own research, ProWein)