The Wines of Portugal Grand Trade Tasting takes place on March 20 at Westminster Chapel in London. Here’s what to expect and you can register here.
What can we expect at the tasting in terms of producers attending and particular themes and highlights from the event?
It’s with a special eagerness that 60 Portuguese wine producers are back to London, after a two year break – the last trade tasting took place in 2022. Lots of new things are happening, we have new producers to show, new vintages to talk about, and new opportunities to work together, with producers coming from 10 out of the 14 Portuguese wine regions.
One of the highlights is the Wines of Portugal Academy for Sommeliers, Level 1, taking place in the UK for the first time, with someone from our educational team coming to give a lecture.
It’s a 3-hour course that will happen from 10am to 1pm on the day of the trade tasting. We know that sommeliers are Portuguese wine ambassadors and we want to make sure they have the tools to spread the word about the diversity and quality of our wines.
What are your main objectives of hosting this tasting event in the UK?
The Wines of Portugal tasting in London on March 20 will have over 600 wines to taste
The UK remains steady and the third market in the world for Portuguese wines by value, so it one of the countries that Wines of Portugal keeps investing in. With 60 producers and over 600 wines this is one of the biggest trade tastings we organise. It is also a key event for our producers, who need this special opportunity to show their new wines, prove they are producing wines aligned with what the market needs and find new business opportunities.
In all the markets where we directly promote Portuguese wines, our main objective is to increase the value of our wines, ensuring our producers are fairly rewarded for their hard, and more and more challenging work, showing the best we have to offer.
What can we expect in terms of the main themes you want to promote and highlight at the tasting?
Our free pour area is always a success, as we know trade and press visitors sometimes like to be able to taste wines without having to initiate a conversation with an export manager. This year, we will use these tables to show wines with low alcohol content, below 11.5% and low intervention wines.
Dirceu Vianna Junior MW will be hosting a masterclass on Hidden Gems of Portugal at the March 20 tasting
Our grape varieties are still Portugal’s wine treasure and our amazing ambassador, Dirceu Vianna Junior MW, will host a masterclass presenting the Hidden Gems of Portugalin order to share wines made of grapes people might not have heard of. Portuguese wines have some of the most authentic wines due to these local grapes, and some winemakers are re-discovering them and making an excellent use of them. We think that this is an excellent topic to bring to our trade and press Tasting.
How many producers will be attending and from which parts of Portugal will you have wines to taste?
We have 60 producers from all over Portugal with 11 different appellations represented from Vinho Verde in the north, to the Algarve in the deep south. We will also have three tables focusing onTejo wines, a Madeira wine producer, and wines from the well-known Douro. We are also excited to show what we can offer from Lisboa, Península de Setúbal, Dão, Bairrada, Alentejo and Beira Interior.
What support have you got from UK importers taking part?
London has a lot of wine events and tastings throughout the year and some of our established and specialist importers do have their own portfolio tastings, or join forces with others to create their own events. This is all good news for Portugal as it shows that Portuguese wines are being shown at other trade events and not only at Portuguese wine events.
Most of them, though, do take part in our annual tasting as it is the perfect moment for them to be with their winemakers and to visit clients, before or after our event and to invite their clients to meet their producers. Of course, the idea is also for us to be able to bring them new business opportunities and it is essential for them to be there and speak with potential clients.
How was the 2023 Portuguese harvest in terms of size and quality and what has been the impact on pricing?
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Last year’s harvest was higher in volume by 10% and reached 7.5 million hectolitres, the highest for the last 15 years. The quality was good to excellent, depending on the regions.
What are the big trends you are seeing with Portuguese wines in terms of what is in most demand and selling well – in terms of white wines red wines regions styles price points?
In the last few years we see demanding growth in exports of white wines, and a search for organic and low intervention wines, although these are still a niche. Apart from Port wine, we see an increase in all wine regions.
What are your main objectives to grow sales in the UK and which channels of the market are you focusing on be it the on-trade, independents or the major grocers?
Thanks to our diversity in grapes, soils, and styles of wine – from sparkling to fortified and all the still wines in between – Portugal has so many stories to tell. I would say we have as many stories as we do wines in the market.
We have learnt over the years that we need allies, we need people who can tell these stories, and make sure consumers get curious about trying some new grapes from regions they might have never heard of. More and more consumers in the UK have strong Portuguese favourites as they are widely available on restaurants’ wine lists, or on the shelves of wine shops and supermarkets.
Sommeliers and independent wine merchants are reliable ambassadors as they usually fall in love themselves with the wines, the country, the people and have the opportunity to convince their customers to try new wines. This is a huge and priceless help for all our producers.
All in all, many buyers tell us that the quality Portuguese wines delivery in each price point is exceptional and so Portuguese wines become an obvious choice for them to add to their offer. And once you’ve added one Portuguese wine, you can easily add a second or a third, as they will all be so different. One of our strong points, for sure.
- You can find out more about the Wines of Portugal Grand Tasting that takes place at London’s Westminster Chapel between 10.30am-5pm by clicking here.
- 9.45am – Doors open for sommeliers registered to take part in the Wines of Portugal Academy from 10am-1pm.
- 2pm -3pm – Masterclass “Hidden Gems of Portugal”hosted by Dirceu Vianna Junior MW.
