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ProWein 2025, held from March 16 to18 in the German Düsseldorf, made a bold statement about innovation, fresh ideas, and staying ahead in tough times for the global wine and spirits industry, which is currently facing shrinking international sales and rising trade barriers. The fair wasn’t just about showcasing products — it was about exploring future opportunities, focusing on new trends, and sealing plenty of business deals.
Around 4,200 exhibitors from 65 countries filled eleven exhibition halls with wines and spirits from all the key regions, including top industry players. Despite the challenging market, the energy was high, the professional level of participants and visitors, as well as organisational quality, were top-notch, and ProWein once again proved to be the place where the global wine world connects and does business. It is worth noting some changes in the organization: the pavilion layout has become more compact, and navigation more convenient for both exhibitors and visitors, wine connecting people.
Around 42,000 industry professionals from 128 countries came to Düsseldorf to catch up on the latest trends, connect with key exhibitors, and lock in valuable deals. Nearly half of the top buyers — spanning food retail, specialty and online shops, as well as the hospitality sector — came from Germany, one of the world’s biggest import markets. But ProWein’s reach goes far beyond: it also draws high-level decision-makers from major European regions like Benelux, the UK, and the Nordic countries, as well as heavy-hitters from the USA, Japan, South Korea, and China.
While there was strong interest in German wines, the diverse global selection also grabbed attention. The verdict? According to the organizers, 94% of attendees rated their ProWein experience as a success — proof that it’s still the must-visit spot for serious wine and spirits business.
For Barbara Wanner, the co-founder of Organize Communications, one of Germany’s most successful wine marketing agency, it was the 30th ProWein: “This year we saw fewer trade visitors at some stands, but most exhibitors were pretty busy. Our surveys at the stands of our clients — Wines of Portugal, Wines of California, Cantina Terlan/Andrian, Vietti, Markgräfler Winzer and others — were mainly positive. It is clear that those who prepared well were able to make enough good contacts. We were particularly pleased with the good response to all our masterclasses and events. They were all well attended, no sign of a lull”.
“Particular highlights this year were the new sessions at the Wines of California booth and the new set-up of the Wines of Portugal in Hall 9, as well as master-classes for Wines of Greece, for which we received a lot of positive feedback,” sums up Ms Wanner.
I asked Barbara to share her vision and recommendations regarding the “homework” that participants should do, to be efficient at ProWein, or, for that matter, any international wine fair: “Simply going to a trade show has never been particularly efficient. It is especially important to take an analytical rather than an emotional approach to selecting a trade show and to make decisions based on facts. Everyone should ask themselves questions such as: which markets have potential or relevance for me? At which trade shows can the financial and time commitment be converted into sales? Where can I meet existing customers? Where is there realistic potential for new customers?”
Mrs Wanner is sure that simply doing what others do has never been the best choice. She believes it is extremely important to see the trade fair as an important point of communication and to use it as such: “How do I prepare for a trade fair professionally? How do I approach customers or potential new customers? Do I want to meet journalists, and if so, how do I organize that? What do I have to talk about at the trade fair? Is my team prepared for these topics? And, of course, how efficiently and quickly can I follow up? Without these points, you can wait a long time for visitors, and I am also firmly convinced that you cannot expect a trade fair to do all this work for you”.
ProWein 2025 kicked off with Meininger’s Wine Conference, setting the tone for an eventful educational and tasting program. The newly introduced ProWein Business Forum was a key highlight, with industry leaders discussing sustainability, digitalization, and the future of wine consumption. Over three days of the fair, experts shared practical strategies for navigating the evolving wine and spirits market.
Thomas Brandl, the CMB’s Ambassador for Eastern and Central Europe, was very impressed by the level of organisation and attendance of ProWein’s educational events: “My masterclasses with Armenia and North Macedonia worked extremely well – underlining the growing interest for wines from the “unknown” Southeastern European countries. The Armenian event was overbooked! I’ve been marketing the country for two years, and I am very satisfied by the growing awareness of Armenia as a winemaking country. The master class for North Macedonia was almost full too. Organisation and support for educational events and tastings by Messe Duesseldorf could not have been better!”
Wine Travel Awards and Drinks+ hosted two successful events during ProWein 2025, one on the opening day and another on the closing day. On March 16, WTA, in collaboration with Drinks+ Media Group, presented a panel discussion on “Sustainable Wine Tourism.” The session delved into cutting-edge research and practical insights into the changing demographics of wine tourism and global wine consumers. The panel was moderated by Veronika Busel, Managing Partner for WTA, and featured Prof. Dr. Gergely Szolnoki from Geisenheim University and Adrian Bridge, Managing Director of The Fladgate Partnership and The Porto Protocol, who has significantly influenced the evolution of the Port industry. The discussion engaged a highly interested audience and prompted many questions for the distinguished speakers.
The second WTA / Drinks+ event, presentation “Paradoxes of Ukraine: Winemaking and Tourism in Wartime,” followed by a tasting of six wines made from Telti Kuruk, Sukholymansky, and Odesa Black, was also a great success, attracting nearly 50 attendees. This presentation was hosted by Natalia Burlachenko, CEO BIG WINES, and supported by Vinos de La Luz and its founder, Dr. Ricardo Núñez, an investor, mecenate and committed advocate of Ukrainian winemaking.
The national booth for Wines of Ukraine showcased 12 wine and spirit producers from all around Ukraine. Visitors gave very positive feedback to the fine quality of Ukrainian wines featuring significant local varieties — Telti Kuruk, Sukholymansky, Odesa Black, as well as still and sparkling wines made from international grape varieties. Unique and authentic spirits by Honey Badger, a producer based in Kyiv region, caused tremendous interest.
Ukrainian exhibitors reported they were happy with the growing understanding of Ukrainian wines among professionals, as well as with the efficiency of business contacts at ProWein 2025.
“We are witnessing a positive shift in how buyers and the media view Ukrainian winemaking,” says Svitlana Tsybak, CEO of Beykush Winery and ambassador for Wines of Ukraine. “Ukrainians are no longer seen simply as victims of Russian aggression; our wines are now recognized for their quality, diversity, and character. Despite Ukraine’s long winemaking history, we are considered to be a bold, emerging wine region, and we are proud of that.”
The international representation of exhibitors at ProWein 2025 was as impressive as ever, introducing new wine regions and expanding the presence of the ever-successful headliners, such as Wines of Portugal, whose stand actually seemed to occupy half of the pavilion, offering multiple master-classes and tastings hosted by renowned speakers.
The national booths for Wines of Georgia and Wines of Macedonia were also big and busy, featuring a large number of participants and high-quality wines.
As a matter of fact, I was surprised to discover the amazing wines by Tikveš Winery from Macedonia, which, apart from participating in the national stand, had a booth of their own. I was totally enchanted by elegant, sophisticated and powerful wines originating from the winery’s unique terroirs — Barovo valley, Bela Voda and Lepovo.
Wines of Turkey showcased 8 wineries at their national booth this year, including two of my long-term favourites, Paşaeli and Suvla. Turkish wines were also presented in two master-classes hosted by Caro Maurer MW and Wojciech Bońkowski MW, telling the story of unique indigenous grape varieties — Emir, Narince, Kalecik Karasi — which capture the soul of this ancient land and its timeless flavours.
The Austrian Wine booth looked professional and elegant — exactly as it should, showcasing the refined Austrian wines.
As always, it was a warm and pleasant meeting with Chris Yorke, CEO of Austrian Wine, and the party at the booth, where he also invited Ukrainian winemakers and members of the Wines of Ukraine team, was incredibly fun and lively.
The low and zero-alcohol wine market is expanding rapidly, with both consumer demand and industry investment signaling a lasting shift toward these alternatives. This category is poised for further innovation and an increasing variety of products in the coming years. ProWein continues to lead in the no/low alcohol sector. With 40 international exhibitors and a curated tasting ZERO-zone by MUNDUS VINI, the event showcased this rapidly growing category.
However, despite the buzz, the quality of most No/Low wines remains underwhelming. The offerings at the ProWein ZERO zone were, for the most part, a bitter-sweet-sour disappointment for me and many other tasters.
All in all, exhibitors from 12 countries participated in ProWein ZERO, showcasing a diverse range of non-alcoholic alternatives to conventional wines. The best performers, in my opinion, were zero-alcohol sparkling wines, particularly from well-known producers such as Codorníu, Freixenet, and Rotkäppchen, as well as smaller players like Weingut Julius Zotz and Manufaktur Jörg Geiger.
Among the most notable exhibitors in the No/Low segment were:
These exhibitors represent the industry’s ongoing commitment to elevating the No/Low category. Yet, while the market is growing, one question remains: can zero-alcohol wines ever deliver the sensory satisfaction that wine lovers crave? Only time — and taste — will tell.
How well does ProWein maintain its leadership compared to other international wine events, particularly Wine Paris?
Thomas Brandl shares his impressions: “Even though ProWein has seen a decline in exhibitors and visitors’ numbers, it still remains the most important and most international wine and spirits trade fair in the world. Although, in the rivalry between ProWein and Wine Paris the momentum currently seems to be on the French side, business is made in Düsseldorf. I spoke with many participants who did both shows, and they told me that they had much more international leads in Düsseldorf than in Paris six weeks ago.”
According to Mr. Brandl’s estimation, around 70 percent of the exhibitors of Wine Paris 2025 were French, even though the organizers made huge efforts to internationalise their show and engage many international buyers there. “The diversity of exhibitors is much bigger in Düsseldorf, which makes more sense for international business”, he sums it up. “Yet in terms of logistics and accommodation Düsseldorf was beaten completely by Paris. In my opinion, Messe Düsseldorf did not make a serious effort in negotiations with the local hoteliers to bring down their outrageous room rates to a more or less acceptable level,” says Thomas Brandl, disappointed. “Prices are way too high. In the 15 times bigger French capital it doesn’t make a difference if there’s a trade show going on or not. In Duesseldorf the insatiable hoteliers are damaging the image of their local Messe!
Barbara Wanner, whose agency officially represents Wine Paris and has been handling communications for their clients at ProWein for many years, considers these two events the most important wine trade fairs in Europe with a truly international reach: “London Wine Trade Fair is quite important from a local perspective, but in terms of visitor numbers, it is no competition. Vinitaly is a large wine fair, but it is not really an international fair, as it is primarily focused on Italy. Then, of course, there are many emerging country-specific fairs, such as the Barcelona Wine Week, as well as local fairs with smaller and more regional approaches. However, for international business ProWein is unbeatable, at least for now.”
To sum it up, despite the fierce competition, ProWein continues to reign as the biggest and most significant international event in the wine and spirits industry. With such a powerhouse reputation, it would be easy to rest on its laurels — but ProWein refuses to do that. I want to thank the organizers for their dynamic approach, constant openness to innovation, trendwatching, and trendsetting, and for delivering unforgettable experiences and reliable business connections year after year. Until next time, ProWein! Bis bald!
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Photo credits: Messe Düsseldorf / ctillmann, Wines of Ukraine, Wines of Türkiye, Wines of Portugal, ENTERPRISE GREECE, Thomas Brandl, Organize Communications
17.03.2025
