ProWine Mumbai launched its first edition at the prestigious The St Regis Hotel with much gusto and enthusiasm from the wine and spirits industry from 17 to 18 November, 2021.

ProWine Mumbai is a part of the globally iconic ProWein World and was jointly organised by Messe Düsseldorf India and All Things Nice (ATN).

Dignitaries from the US Consulate, the Consulate General of France, Australian High Commission, South African Consulate, Trade Centre of Argentina, Republic of Mauritius, corporate heads and industry associations with media partners attended the event.

As the first in-person trade fair for the wine and spirits sector in India since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, ProWine Mumbai was well received and featured over 200 brands from 70 companies from across 13 countries, and with 2,000 attendees.

Over two days, the three exhibition halls were buzzing with tastings and good camaraderie as the industry colleagues caught up with each other and facilitated business meetings. Visitors at ProWine Mumbai ranged from large hoteliers, prominent restaurateurs and bar owners, importers, distributors and retailers, sommeliers, chefs and food and beverage teams.

ProWine Mumbai succeeded in putting together a platform not just for business meetings but also for people in the trade to be introduced to new products that are now available in the Indian market. On showcase was an array of wines well represented by brands from India and many countries across the world.

The French Pavilion led by Business France, innovatively provided access to visitors to speak to the wine producers in France digitally throughout the day. In the Spirits Pavilion, visitors were able to taste and meet producers of gin, vodka, single malts, rum, tequila, craft beverages and beer. The highlight for visitors here were the innovative and artistically curated cocktails.

Also on display were bar and glassware and premium drinking water brands.

Mr. Thomas Schlitt, Managing Director, Messe Düsseldorf India said, “This amazing recognition from the industry stakeholders in India for the first ProWine Mumbai event. With this successful premiere we have laid the foundation for ProWine Mumbai to be the ideal platform to meet, network, taste and connect the market as an annual meeting place.”

Mr Nikhil Agarwal, Founder of ATN and co-organiser of ProWine Mumbai, said, “We are thrilled to have put in place the very first business platform for ProWine. We believe ProWine Mumbai will elevate the future of the wine and spirits industry in India.”

The ProWine Masterclasses that ran alongside the show had a packed audience for all 15 sessions over the two days in a separate hall. There were eminent speakers from across the industry, a good mix of old mentors and young trailblazers, introducing new trends, the best of knowledge and tastings that covered a range of wine and spirit categories.

ProWine Mumbai gave its audience complimentary access to this experience. The Masterclasses also digitally brought in international speakers and orchestrated their tastings onsite.

Exhibitors at ProWine Mumbai 2021 included renowned companies such as Brindco, Pernod Ricard, William Grant & Sons, John Distilleries, Grover Zampa Vineyards, Amrut Distilleries, thinKitchen, Brown Forman and many more.

The well-executed show was followed by the Consumer Evening, which turned out to be the perfect after-party for the launch of ProWine Mumbai, as well-heeled consumers came in, tasted and had a merry time.

The organisers had implemented strict measures to ensure that all hygiene and safety protocols for this type of trade shows were in place at all times. All visitors and exhibitors of ProWine Mumbai had to be fully vaccinated at the time of entry.

More than 14,000 glasses were used at ProWine Mumbai and all of them were washed at 90 degrees and with sanitizing products. In addition, individual bio-degradable spittoons were provided for a safe tasting experience and only glass water bottles were used.

Over the past 25 years, ProWein has become the most important trade fair for wine and spirits worldwide attracting more than 6,000 exhibitors and more than 60,000 trade professionals from all over the world.

The show has a presence in Düsseldorf, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, São Paulo and now Mumbai. (www.prowine.in)