This is the second year that Vinexposium has been fully in charge of WBWE. What new momentum have you brought to the event, and where do you see Vinexposium’s added value?
Over the past 15 years WBWE has earned its position as the leading international event for the bulk wine and spirits industry - a benchmark where producers and buyers from around the world meet to do business. Building on this solid foundation, Vinexposium’s full leadership brings a new dimension to the show, combining WBWE’s established credibility with the group’s expertise in managing large-scale international trade events.
Vinexposium's Rodolphe Lameyse, centre, helping to open last year's WBWE in Amsterdam
Taking full responsibility for WBWE has allowed us to give the show a new impulse. We’ve expanded its scope, strengthened its international reach, and sharpened its focus on business efficiency.
The International Bulk Wine Competition (IBWC), renowned and respected within the industry for many years, takes a major step forward this year: Grand Gold and Gold winners will be unveiled on the first day of the event and will showcase their wines during the exclusive Grand Gold Pitch, where all award-winning products will be featured in a dedicated tasting for trade visitors. With this enhanced format, the competition gains a new level of visibility, propelling its winners to greater market recognition.
These new initiatives create tangible commercial opportunities and reinforce Vinexposium’s mission — to bring structure, exposure, commercial resonance to the global bulk wine and spirits trade.
For British buyers, WBWE offers a direct line to sourcing opportunities across Europe and the southern hemisphere. Markets that remain key partners for the UK’s private label and blending industry.
How is the 2025 edition shaping up in terms of exhibitors and markets represented? Where is the strongest growth coming from?
WBWE 2025 will bring together more than 240 producers from 25 countries and buyers from over 60 markets - covering 70 to 80% of the global bulk trade. Spain, France, Italy, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and the US - long-standing WBWE participants - will once again take part, joined this year by newcomers from Mauritius, Lebanon, and Panama.
WBWE is set up for producers and buyers to get down to business with basic stands designed for maximum trading
The diversity of the offer continues to expand, with a growing number of exhibitors presenting bulk spirits and no/low-alcohol alternatives - segments that are showing strong potential alongside established wine producers.
The combination of long-standing participants, new origins, and emerging categories reflects the evolving face of the bulk trade and reinforces WBWE’s position as the benchmark event for the bulk wine and spirits trade. An opportunity for the sector’s key players to meet and drive competitiveness and sustainable growth.
The UK remains a central hub in this network, importing more than 8 million hectolitres of bulk wine each year, primarily from Spain, Italy, and Australia (Rafael del Rey, AWM for Vinexposium, September 2025).
Packaging innovation and sustainability have become defining themes. What trends are you seeing this year?
Sustainability is no longer an option. It has become the foundation for how the industry must move forward. Bulk is where this transformation is most visible, as the segment continues to lead change in packaging, logistics, and carbon reduction.
Exhibitors are presenting lighter materials, circular packaging, and new formats such as bag-in-box, cans, and kegs - all designed to cut emissions and optimise efficiency. The academy will also spotlight this issue through the session “Packaging with Lower Carbon Footprint” organised by the Sustainable Wine Roundtable and Systembolaget, exploring how innovation in materials and design can directly support carbon reduction across the supply chain.
In markets such as the UK, where retailers and importers are under increasing pressure to reduce emissions and transport costs, these solutions are becoming essential to stay competitive.
This is where business and responsibility align and that’s precisely the direction Vinexposium wants to champion through WBWE.
The rise of No/Low alcohol is reshaping production. How is WBWE reflecting that trend and what challenges does the market face?
Producers and buyers come prepared to taste, assess, negotiate and buy and sell
No/low and RTD are no longer peripheral; they’re driving much of the category’s growth. WBWE 2025 will feature exhibitors such as BevZero, pioneers in dealcoholisation technology, who are also leading the academy session “New Wine Consumers, New Rules: Unlocking the No/Low Market Shift.” This conference will explore how changing consumer behaviour, regulation, and innovation are reshaping the no/low landscape.
Exhibiting producers such as Giesen Group — a pioneer in New Zealand’s no/low category — along with Schloss Wachenheim AG (Germany) and Origin Wine (South Africa), among others, illustrate how wine companies are investing in no/low as a growing part of their portfolios. This dynamic demonstrates the industry’s ability to reinvent itself and create new commercial opportunities.
WBWE also includes a full conference programme as part of its academy sessions
The main challenge now is agility - adapting to new market expectations while maintaining quality and value. Here again, bulk’s flexibility makes it the ideal channel to respond quickly and sustainably to this evolving demand.
The UK remains one of the most dynamic markets for no/low-alcohol wines and RTDs, with the no-alcohol category projected to grow globally by around 10% in value annually through 2028 (IWSR). For producers and buyers alike, WBWE is where those trends take shape at scale.
The current global oversupply is reshaping the wine economy. How does WBWE view this situation?
This year's WBWE will have a greater focus on the wines and spirits that win awards in the International Bulk Wine Competition that takes place ahead of the show
Oversupply is not just a challenge; it’s a catalyst for reinvention. As highlighted in the WBWE newsletter (October 2025), this moment is not simply about selling surplus — it’s an opportunity to rethink how wine is made, packaged, and positioned.
In a market as strategic as the United States - where recent tariff measures have added to volatility - the report points out that nearly 30% of the 50 million gallons of bulk wine currently held in US tanks may never reach the market, while up to 100,000 acres of vines have already been removed in California.
These figures illustrate the magnitude of the adjustment under way and the urgency for producers to rethink their strategies.
As the newsletter notes, history shows that surplus often sparks new forms of creativity - from private labels and brand creation to the development of no/low-alcohol wines, RTDs, and new packaging formats. This time, however, the drivers are different: inflation, structural cost pressure, and shifting consumer expectations are forcing the industry to innovate faster and operate smarter.
The bulk sector’s adaptability allows it to absorb excess production and create new commercial pathways. Private label partnerships - which already account for 50% to 60% of retail wine sales in Europe, compared with 10% to 12% in the US - are expanding, while categories like no/low and RTD are offering new outlets for both innovation and value creation.
This is where WBWE plays its role - by connecting producers and buyers who view oversupply not as a setback, but as a chance to innovate, reconnect with consumers, and restore balance to the market.
WBWE is known as a place where real business gets done. How do you make that happen?
WBWE is a key part of the year when major buyers get the chance to truly assess the volumes of wine available to buy from key wine markets around the world
For over 15 years, WBWE has been a show designed for doing business and that focus has never changed. Under Vinexposium’s leadership, the event has gained an additional layer of professionalism and international reach.
It now benefits from the group’s global expertise and proven tools, such as our hosted buyers programme and business matching platform, recognised across the industry for their precision and efficiency. These systems allow producers and buyers to schedule targeted, high-quality meetings in advance, maximising every hour of their time within a compact two-day format.
WBWE’s strength lies in its clarity: it’s a pragmatic marketplace where connections translate directly into deals and partnerships. Every year, major UK buyers and bottlers — from supermarket groups to independent importers — use WBWE as a key sourcing platform to secure supply for the year ahead.
For those visiting WBWE for the first time, how would you describe it compared to other drinks trade events?
Like all Vinexposium events, WBWE is compact, business-driven, and built for efficiency, but it stands out as the only international trade event entirely dedicated to the bulk wine and spirits sector, which now represents a third of global wine trade in volume and remains the most resilient category.
In a world where export patterns are shifting - from US import adjustments to renewed flows between Australia and China - bulk continues to play a stabilising role for the global wine economy, especially as bottled wines and spirits face increasing pressure from slower growth and rising costs, while bulk offers flexibility, efficiency, and sustainability.
This makes a 100%-dedicated event not just relevant, but essential. WBWE brings together the world’s key producers, buyers, and innovators each November in Amsterdam to anticipate market shifts and build the future of the trade.
WBWE is both a barometer and a bridge - offering insight into global bulk trends while creating direct access to suppliers and innovations shaping tomorrow’s portfolios.
WBWE is part of a broader ecosystem built by Vinexposium to serve every facet of the global drinks trade — from bulk and bottled to craft and no-alcohol innovation. With initiatives such as the launch of Be Spirits and Be No as standalone events at Wine Paris 2026, the group reinforces its year-round commitment to supporting the industry’s evolution worldwide.
* You can find out more about WBWE at its website here.
* WBWE takes place at RAI Amsterdam Hall 5 between November 24-25.
