Double first

Wine and spirits each have their own showcase at London's newly revamped trade fair, as Graham Ridout discovers

This year marks a change of format at Britain's premier wine and spirits trade fair. For more than a quarter of a century, the show was known as the London International Wine & Spirits Fair.

Now, it is being rebranded by giving each drinks category its own show, the London International Wine Fair (LIWF) and Distil — said to be the first fair dedicated solely to spirits. Although the events have been separated into two shows, visitors to London's ExCel exhibition centre will be able to wander freely between them.

Moving the spirits brands to an adjacent area has released more floor space for wine exhibitors, and producers from Turkey and Malta will be making their debut appearance.

The exhibition attracted nearly 14,000 trade customers last year — and this year's attendance is anticipated to be at least as high. In terms of exhibitors, this year's attendees are already up on last year's total of 1,350 with around 1,300 wine producers and approximately 125 spirit distillers.

With so many exhibitors and an estimated 30,000 wines on display, it can be a daunting task for people to plan which stands to visit. This year, visitors will have an extra 7% of floor space to travel if they want to see all the stands.

So to ease the foot-slogging, show organiser Brintex has teamed up with wine-list company TastingBuddy to offer attendees the chance to prepare their own list of must-visit stands. In advance of the event, visitors can go online at www.tastingbuddy.com and compile a list using criteria such as producer, variety, country, price and whether the wine is organically produced.

The prepared list can be linked to another website, www.wine-searcher.com, which provides an interactive floor plan of ExCel, indicating the location of stands chosen. The floor plan can then be downloaded to provide a personalised map.

An additional visitor aid is the exhibition's own website: www.londonwinefair.com. The site allows people to pre-register for the show as well as giving details of producers and representatives who will attend ExCel.

Show director James Murray says that, although no sessions or seminars are particularly targeted at the on-trade, there will be plenty for visitors to soak up. "At previous shows, the on-trade has been very interested in the top 100 tastings, which this year will feature organic and biodynamic wines." He says the top 100 vin du pays competition should also prove popular, as will the numerous masterclasses being staged."

Italian mob

Italy's winemakers will have a strong presence at LIWF. For the first time, all the country's regions will be represented in one area at the show. Throughout the three-day event, top Italian wine experts will present 45-minute seminars focusing on an individual region, and also covering modern wine-making techniques and the potential for customers to drive wine sales. Regions being showcased are Sardinia, Tuscany, Lazio, Lombardy, Piedmonte, Abruzzo, and Sicily.

Ooh la la

French winemakers will be out in force, with 148 companies already pledging a presence. One of the spotlights will be Fast-track to France —

a zone showcasing 40 AOC wines — AOC is the system that accredits the quality of wines from particular regions. It will also host the results of a competition to find the top 100 vins du pays.

The competition, now in its fifth year, is reckoned to be one of the most influential events governing the choice of wines to be stocked. Nineteen connoisseurs have sipped their way through 1,214 different wines to find the best. The winners will be presented with their awards at a ceremony to be held at 3pm on 20 May.

The zone includes a Côtes du Rhone tasting area and stands representing wines from different regions, including Alsace, Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Corsica, Loire and Provence, plus varietals from southern and south-west France.

The zone will offer time-pressured visitors the chance to obtain a snapshot of the entire French winemaking industry in one go.

Focus on organic and biodynamic wines

For the fourth year running, the wine fair will focus on a wine category that is growing in popularity. Last year, it was the turn of rosé wines. This year, organic and biodynamic wines are the subject of tastings featuring the top 100 varieties in the sector. Biodynamic wines are produced from wineries that are supposed to be self-sustaining, and planting and harvesting is carried out in conjunction with lunar and cosmic rhythms.

Like organic wines, biodynamics do not use synthetic fertilisers or pesticides. The 100 wines have been selected by a panel of five experts and have been sourced from both Old World and New World producers. All have been selected on the basis of overall quality, consistency and offering good value for money within a number of price ranges.

What's on at Distil

This first event held under the Distil banner allows the world's distillers to showcase their products. Apart from the major spirit brands producers and distributors, many niche and boutique products will be available to sample.

A major feature of the show will be the Distil Tastings, hosted by Taste & Flavour, a UK-based network of speakers and experts. The tastings will be open to everyone. Each session will concentrate on an individual spirit category and include an insight into the industry and specialist guidance as well as blind tastings. The categories included in the tastings are vodka, tequila, gin, white rum/cachaça, absinthe, Scotch, dark rum, American whiskey, Cognac and Armagnac.

Murray says: "These sessions will offer visitors to the fair the opportunity to talk about spirits in an informed way, just as they already do with wine. We hope Distil Tastings will prove beneficial, not only to visitors at the fair, but ultimately to the spirits category as a whole."

Mark Ridgwell, founder of Taste & Flavour, adds: "Those in the wine trade have long demonstrated the value of knowledge in the promotion of wines. Today's back bar and retail shelf will often carry a greater range of spirits than the average wine list. It's time for those responsible for their sale to judge and list spirits more on the basis of what's in the bottle than on price or brand values."

Other events planned for Distil include global market briefings hosted by numerous international trade bodies. Sessions will encourage discussion and debate on a range of key industry issues. Among those hosting events are the Scottish Whisky Association, Wine & Spirit Trade Association, and the Morning Advertiser's sister magazine Drinks International. Visitors are promised an exciting bar and catering experience in which to relax, network, or do business.

Where and when

London International Wine Fair and Distil (spirits fair)

When: Tuesday, 20 to Thursday, 22 May. Opening hours: 9.30am to 6pm on 20 and 21 May; 9.30am to 5pm on 22 May.

Where: ExCel, Docklands, London.

Travel: Nearest station is Custom House on both Docklands Light Railway and Silverlink.

Parking: ExCel has parking spaces for 4,000 cars.

Registration: Trade-only, free. Register online at www.londonwinefair.com. Registration allows entry to both the wine and spirits fairs.