Bordeaux wine fair fights off newcomers

Bordeaux, France

EARLIER this month was Vinexpo week, a five-day trade fair held every odd-numbered year since 1981 in a cavernous exhibition hall along a manufactured lake on the northern outskirts of this historic city, once the centre of the world wine trade. More than 2,300 wineries, international wine companies, importers, negociants and national trade associations vied for the attention of 48,000 attendees of 120 nationalities: importers, retailers, brokers and journalists looking to pad their wine lists and article portfolios.

Yet while any trade fair strives to project energy and a positive vibe, Vinexpo 2015 is fighting a tide of competition from other fairs and other markets. Globalisation of the wine industry has created new centres of power hoping to lure buyers and consumers, creating problems for more traditional markets, including Bordeaux.