PROWEIN 2019
The fun of the fair After 25 years, ProWein is bigger and better than ever – and the perfect place to discover what’s new and trending in the wine world. Paul Wootton reports.
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o paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, nothing is certain in life except death, taxes and getting sore feet from visiting ProWein. Germany’s wine fair, which turned 25 this year, is so large it can take anything from an hour to several days to walk through all 11 of the show’s large halls. Within those halls, the show shines a spotlight into every corner of the wine world, with nearly 7,000 exhibitors from 60 nations attracting over 60,000 international trade visitors. It’s a place where business gets done, which is why so many producers come to showcase their wines and why this year Wine Australia had a record number of producers (83) on its stand. For the 900 journalists that attend ProWein, the show’s size is a double-edged sword. In three days, you can barely scratch the surface of the thousands of stories that await you there. But if you’re aiming to take the temperature of the world’s wine sector, identify the latest trends or simply remind yourself of the enormous
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diversity of wine styles produced and consumed across the globe, there’s no better place. Over the next few pages, we’ll present some of the highlights and key observations from the wine world’s most important fair.
WHY DRINK ENGLISH WINE IN AUSTRALIA? While Italy and France make up nearly half the total number of exhibitors at ProWein, one of the joys of the show is the opportunity to sample wines from less well known winemaking nations. Armenia, Moldova and Georgia all had a presence at this year’s event, as did a small contingent of producers from Great Britain. From a small base, English wine has soared in its own market over the last five years, establishing a reputation for excellent sparkling wines. Several Champagne houses have even bought land in southern England and are planting vineyards there, possibly as insurance against any future climate change but more likely to protect their market share in the UK, where premium
English sparklers are selling well. One new English sparkling wine producer is Black Chalk Wine, a first-time exhibitor at ProWein. Its first vintage, the 2015, was released last year and has attracted great reviews. Currently only available in the UK, Black Chalk is looking to scale and is exploring export markets including Australia. But Australia already produces world-class sparklers so why would we drink English fizz over here? Because English sparklers are different, says Black Chalk Director and Winemaker Jacob Leadley. “The key points of difference are the way we’re working with the acidity and the precision of the fruit; and Black Chalk Wild Rosé
