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Michael Botner
Prowein 2014
Chris Wyse and Nora Grütters, Canada’s Trade Commissioner for Agriculture and Seafood Products in Düsseldorf
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Michael Botner
Prowein 2014 Nova Scotia
Deanna Sperry, Director of sales; Donna and Carl Sparkes, Co-owners of Devonian Coast Wineries in Nova Scotia.
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Michael Botner
Prowein 2014 Red Favourites
Presentation of “red favourites” of Germany in the tasting area Deutsches Weininstitut exhibit..
Canada needs to invest more heavily in marketing wines abroad, says the president of Burrowing Owl Estate Winery. Chris Wyse was attending the 20th annual Prowein tradeshow in Dusseldorf, where Canada made a small but impressive showing amongst the massive halls dominated by France, Germany and Spain. Held in March in Düsseldorf, Germany, the 20th edition of this mammoth show bills itself as “the leading international trade fair for wines and spirits.” There were around 4,830 exhibitors from 47 wine- producing countries covering all of the key wine regions, including smaller ones such as BC's Okanagan Valley. More than 48,000 international trade visitors – including wine agents, distributors such as wholesalers and liquor boards, retail stores and chains, hotels and restaurants - up seven per cent from 2013, showed up with clear business goals in mind.
By international standards Canada is a small wine producing nation. There are about 15,000 acres of grapes planted in Ontario, and about 10,000 in the Okanagan. These two areas produce about 98 per cent of Canada's quality wines.
But in terms of quality, Canada is punching above its weight for a newer wine region, and Canadian wineries were well received at Prowein.
Maple Leaf Flies at Prowein
One of the smaller exhibits, the Canadian Pavilion featured 12 wineries, mostly from Ontario, but also Nova Scotia, Quebec (Apple Ice Wine), and British Columbia. Only Burrowing Owl and St. Hubertus wineries poured at Prowein to represent BC. Although modest in size, the pavilion organizers showcased the space effectively by hosting a reception, which attracted a standing room only crowd of industry colleagues to taste Canadian wines.
Wyse says ProWein Düsseldorf is an international wine show of immense importance, and its central location is a big plus. “The show puts our wines in the vicinity of key market influencers,” he says. “With smaller volumes, that critical momentum takes even longer to establish. Luckily, we were able to piggy back on the platform that was created by the Grape Growers of Ontario," the driving force behind the Canadian Pavilion
Wyse says the Ontario grape growers have done a very good job of marketing in Europe. “Our agent in Europe works closely with an agent in Germany that focuses primarily on Ontario wines.” With their support, he adds, “we have been selling wine in Europe for about six months and have identified this as a market that we wanted to continue to grow. There are export matching funds we hope to receive with this and other export initiatives. Global reach takes a long time to establish but has the upside that once established, it can be long-lasting.”
Wyse identifies the lack of marketing power or support in Canada as a roadblock for B.C.’s small wine industry.
Commenting on Burrowing Owl`s experience with the German market, Wyse says, “Similar to Canada, Germans are great wine producers, but are also actively involved in importing and enjoying large volumes of wine from around the world.” The experience at ProWein has been positive for Wyse. “We have made some great contacts. We have received our first large order and we hope the momentum will continue.”
Several Canadian wineries, notably Pelee Island in Ontario, have found a healthy markets for table wine in Europe, especially in northern European countries such as Holland, Germany and the U.K. Pelee Island’s export wizard, Everett de Jong, praises ProWein Düsseldorf. “I’ve been meeting buyers at ProWein Düsseldorf for seven years and it has delivered good customers,” he says. “With China as the emerging market, I am looking forward to ProWein Shanghai in November.”
Harald Thiel of Hidden Bench on Niagara’s Beamsville Bench says Prowein is important because it allows Canadian wineries to access markets where prices are higher. “As a smaller quantity, high quality winery, we can’t compete on price. Concentrating on gastronomy-conscious markets makes the most sense.”
Carl Sparkes of Nova Scotia’s recently established Devonian Coast Wineries group, poured wines from Jost Vineyards on the Malagash Peninsula, Gaspereau Vineyards in the Annapolis Valley, as well as a Maple Wine based on raw sap under the Devonian Coast label. Sparkes stressed the need to develop an overall national strategy for marketing Canadian wines. Commenting on the fragmented wine growing areas across the country, he noted that, “Atlantic Canada is the most homogenous region.”
Forecasts indicate that consumers will be spending more on wine over the next 20 years, according to a ProWein survey. It will be gradual, and it looks like there will be even more producers and beverage alcohol products competing in a market of polarizing supermarket distribution for mass producers, with specialist sellers (and winery-driven direct-to-consumer sales) the only alternatives for niche and boutique producers.
But producers like Wyse and Sparkes say getting in on the increased demand for wine and spirits will require a greater commitment to international marketing efforts by Canada.
Highlights of the show:
ProWein inhabits eight halls in one of the largest trade fair grounds in the world, taking up about half of its 300,000 square metres.
The exhibits and how they are arranged (by country, region, individualized) are unique - in size, design and personality.
Champagne Lounge
- A champagne lounge provided space for 25 rooms, small and large, for serving sparkling wines and for meetings, as well as a large island where visitors had the opportunity to pour samples from a wide selection of open bottles.
Germany
- Germany’s winemakers filled a substantial segment of the trade fair, one of the largest at the show, with row after row of stations generally clustered by region, but under the umbrella of Deutsches Weininstitut (DWI), the marketing organization for the German wine industry.
France
- France occupied two halls or about one-quarter of the total space, and put on a massive showing. For example, the producers of Grands Crus de Bordeaux at ProWein had about 140 wineries hosting an exhaustive tasting of their 2011 wines.
USA
- New York State put on an impressive show from winemakers in Finger Lakes (Villa Bellangelo Winery), Hudson Valley (Brotherhood) (Niagara Escarpment (Leonard Oakes Estate Winery), Lake Erie and Long Island in a corner of the big U.S. sector, sitting next to other states like California, Washington and Oregon.
Other Countries and Regions
- There were all the major countries and regions on hand but also many lesser known places such as Georgia in the South Caucasus, Great Britain, Moldavia, China, Lebanon, Israel, and Japan. China in particular is a country to watch. While relatively new to wine production, China is now the fifth largest producer of wine by volume in the world.
Packaging and Glassware
- Exhibits and events also featured spirits and products such as wine packaging and wine glasses. Colombia’s Dictador Rum gets the highest marks for turning heads with models in outrageous, black military-type outfits. An enologist with Portugal’s great cork company, Amorim, presented research on the influence of closure on reduction in wine evolution with a tasting of wines to illustrate their effects.