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April 2009 PROWEIN 2009 EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONSDespite the difficult economic situation, optimism in the global wine and spirits industry was evident during the recent staging of ProWein, International Trade Fair for Wines and Spirits, in Düsseldorf, Germany: over 35,000 trade visitors attended – an increase of more than 5% compared to 2008 – and some 3,180 exhibitors from the classical European and worldwide wine-growing areas presented their products (compared to 3,160 exhibitors in 2008). ProWein’s status as a leading international venue for the wine and spirits industry was further underlined by a 12.5% increase of trade visitors from outside of Germany. The greatest visitor growth was recorded from the U.S., Scandinavia, the Benelux nations, Switzerland and Slovenia. On the exhibitor side, 75% of the companies were from countries other than Germany. The leading foreign exhibitor nations were Italy, France, Spain, Austria and Portugal. The majority of the U.S. companies participated in the U.S. group exhibit organized by the Wine Institute of California. The high quality, the internationality and high decision making authority made ProWein 2009 the most important meeting point for this sector. “This year’s ProWein exceeded all expectations and thereby serves as an indication that within consumer products fields such as this, a certain relative degree of stability is evident,” commented Wilhelm Niedergoeker, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf. John Mills, Senior Vice President for UK & European Sales at Constellation Europe, the world’s largest wine marketing consortium, agreed: “ProWine was once again an entirely positive event for us. We met with all of our important customers including many major buyers from our three most critical markets, namely Scandinavia, the Benelux and Eastern Europe." As the Managing Director of the German Wine Institute (DWI), Monika Reule stated that “From the German standpoint, ProWein 2009 went very well despite economically difficult conditions. ProWein serves as a barometer for the domestic and international wine market. The extremely positive response to the offerings of German wineries leads us to believe that the German wine industry will not be deeply affected by the current economic crisis. It appears as if the friends of wine will not abstain from enjoying good wine even in these difficult times.” Main topics at ProWein 2009 were “cool climate wines,” Silvaner wines celebrating this varietal’s 350th anniversary and “Vintage Cocktails” as well as Bio-wines. The exhibits at ProWein 2009 were complemented by a multi-faceted supporting events program, including the “central tasting area” featuring some 1,000 wines and the “Wine’s Best Friends” presentation with an array of olive oils, aceto balsamicos and pâtés, jams, gourmet sauces, chocolate creations and unusual spice pastes. Next year, ProWein will be held from March 21 – 23 in Düsseldorf, Germany. With the motto “The Top Selection for Trade & Technology“, ProWein and INTERVITIS INTERFRUCTA (International Technology Trade Fair for Wine, Fruit and Fruit Juice) will further expanding their marketing cooperation in 2010. As a result, INTERVITIS INTERFRUCTA will take place right after ProWein in 2010: from March 24 – 27 in Stuttgart, Germany. For further information on visiting or exhibiting at ProWein 2010, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit our web site http://www.mdna.com; Subscribe to our blog at http://www.mdna.com/blog/; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago. # # # |