Successful kick-off of EUROVINO – Trade Fair for Wine at the pre-event

"Messe Karlsruhe, located in the centre of Germany's four largest wine-growing regions, has strategically positioned itself more broadly in the wine segment in recent months,” explains Britta Wirtz, Managing Director of Messe Karlsruhe. “In addition to RendezVino, a trade fair for the general public held for the first time in March 2023, and the Winzer-Service Messe, a trade and guest event taking place in 2025, we are looking forward to launching EUROVINO next year. "Helpful feedback from industry allowed us create a targeted pre-event that confirmed EUROVINO is on track to cover all the topics that will be highly relevant to those involved in the wine business."

Dr. Hermann Pilz, Chairman of the Advisory Board of EUROVINO, agrees. "EUROVINO focuses on groundbreaking topics such as wines of the future, nature and environmental protection, and the effects of climate change for the wine industry, thus creating a vision of the future for an innovative wine market," he says.

Future topics: supporting programme and exhibitor portfolio provide a foretaste of EUROVINO 2024

The fact that EUROVINO will focus on future-oriented concepts and topics was very much in evidence at the pre-event supporting programme: ARD meteorologist Karsten Schwanke spoke about climate change as a challenge for society and the associated effects for the wine industry. A series of lectures with various scientists and practitioners, moderated by Dr Hermann Pilz, focused on the topic of "Piwi (fungus-resistant) and resistant grape varieties in development and marketing". EUROVINO advisory board member Claudia Stern, meanwhile, discussed the role of women in agriculture, as well as the wine scene as a whole with the "Macherfrauen" of the industry.

A further highlight was Peter Hauk, Minister for Food, Rural Areas and Consumer Protection in Baden-Württemberg, together with Dr. Hermann Pilz, presenting awards to the winners of the Fair Wine Award. He explained: "The awards recognise the achievements of winegrowers and encourage them to continue their efforts to produce excellent wines in an environmentally friendly manner, and using sustainable concepts. Here, the state of Baden-Württemberg is setting a good example and has been promoting the breeding and development of fungus-resistant grape varieties for decades. There is growing interest in such varieties in Europe and the rest of the world. These so-called Piwis are particularly suitable for steep slopes that can be difficult to cultivate, and for organic viticulture because they require significantly fewer plant protection measures. Therefore, the resistant grape varieties are also representative of environmental protection and sustainability in viticulture."

The sustainable and forward-looking wines participating in the Fair Wine Award were available to sample in a tasting zone at the pre-event. Also showcased was the "Digital Wine Exchange" – a groundbreaking format from Messe Karlsruhe that allows vintners and wine producers to present their products at the trade fair without being on-site themselves.

Parallel to the supporting programme, selected market-relevant exhibitors represented a diverse and trend-setting range of projects and topics: Innovative new producers such as Zukunftsweine, Piwi Kollektiv and Piwi International were represented, as well as forward-looking associations such as Ecovin. In addition, trade visitors were able to share information on current industry topics and offers with relevant importers such as Wein Wolf, Schlumberger, Les Grands Chais de France, Saffer Wein, Peter Riegel Weinimport and Kierdorf Wein. Exhibitors and visitors were enthusiastic about the pre-event and are now very much looking forward to the main event, EUROVINO, next year. Philipp Rottmann, from Piwi Kollektiv, attended the pre-event as an exhibitor. He said afterwards: "EUROVINO is very interesting for us because it brings together key players in viticulture under one roof. That gives us the opportunity to not only network, but also make important contacts and hold helpful discussions. The combination of representatives from associations, trade, politics and innovative winegrowing businesses is particularly interesting for us." Bernd Kost, from Weingärtner Stromberg-Zabergäu eG, attended the pre-event as a visitor and is now planning to exhibit in 2024: "The event gave us a good feel for the new trade fair format on site, and made me hugely optimistic for the future." Martin Steinhauser, from Steinhauser GmbH in Kressbronn on Lake Constance, agrees. "The pre-event offered a promising framework, particularly in terms of exhibitor portfolios,” he says. I intend to be on site at EUROVINO 2024 as an exhibitor, particularly as the location and connections at the Karlsruhe exhibition centre are ideal for such a trade fair format.”

In order to be able to discuss offerings and expectations for EUROVINO 2024, pre-event exhibitors and trade visitors made good use of the networking evening, which brought the event to a culinary close.

EUROVINO 2024 as a platform for the trade from Germany and Europe

With EUROVINO - Trade fair for wine, Messe Karlsruhe presents the new platform for wine producers, marketers and buyers with a focus on the European market. In addition to the range of products and services offered by exhibitors, the profile of EUROVINO is complemented by specialist lectures and further training formats. The focus is always on ecology and sustainability, from cultivation to production and distribution. EUROVINO is aimed at German and European suppliers with a market-relevant range of wines and sparkling wines, as well as complementary products on the exhibitor side, and decision-makers from the food, catering, hotel, import and distribution industries on the visitor side. The range of products on offer at the fair is curated by Messe Karlsruhe and the prominent advisory board, facilitating significant market opportunities for visitors and exhibitors alike.

Find out more about EUROVINO 2024 at eurovino.info and on our social media channels Instagram and Facebook!