The Buyer | What to expect at London’s Real Italian Wine & Food Experience

Can you give an overview of Wines Experience London and what we can expect?

Wines Experience London (The Real Italian Wine & Food Experience) Trade & Show is designed to drive meaningful connection, informed decisions and long-term commercial relationships, reflecting how the market operates today.

At its core are producer lounges, which create an environment for more meaningful commercial conversations and tastings, supported by a smart matchmaking app that allows attendees to plan ahead by scheduling meetings with producers with the greatest alignment to their buying needs. Alongside this, the fair integrates a live blind tasting system with aggregated data, short-form and longer interactive programming, restaurant integrations and a structured approach to connecting insight with action.

The intention is to create a setting where time is well spent and conversations translate into meaningful opportunities across the two days of the show (11am-5pm both days).

Why did you want to launch it in the UK now?

The UK remains one of the most influential and internationally connected wine markets, particularly in terms of shaping perception, pricing and global trends.

At the same time, there is a clear shift in how professionals want to engage. Through months of direct conversations with buyers, importers, distributors and media, a consistent theme emerged: the need for more focused environments that allow for clarity, context and genuine exchange.

Launching now is a response to that demand, creating a format built around how decisions are made in today’s market.

Can you give us an idea of what sort of producers will be taking part and how did you decide which want ones could exhibit?

Selection is guided by a combination of quality, relevance to the UK market and the ability to contribute to meaningful commercial dialogue and exploration.

This includes:

Established producers with strong international positioning.
Producers aligned with evolving market dynamics (NextGen, sustainability, category development).
Regional representation that reflects depth and diversity across Italy as well as “hidden gems”.
Groups and collectives that bring curated portfolios.
Clearly distinguishing between imported and “looking for importation” producers.
Engaging with local importers and distributors to support route-to-market and market growth opportunities.

There are a number of regional collectives taking part that provide both scale and identity, including:

Sicilia (with both wine and food presence/programs and even a food & spirits/mixology class).
Calabria (exhibitors and masterclass).
Campania (exhibitors).
Umbria (exhibitors).
Sardegna (exhibitors and masterclass).
Emilia-Romagna (exhibitors).

These are complemented by key consortia including Italia del Vino, allowing attendees to explore both well-known and emerging territories within a structured context.

You also have a number of key partners that have helped bring the event together?

Yes, our key partners play an important role in anchoring both credibility and perspective across the fair. These include:

Institutional Support:
Italian Trade Agency (ITA – who will have a section of about 20 producers, as well as a Buyer’s Lounge).
The Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the United Kingdom.
Slow Wine and Sana Food (exhibitors and two masterclasses).
Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA Masterclass).
Market insight contributors such as Cult Wines (CultX) and NielsenIQ.

Who is your target audience for the event?

Wines Experience London is strictly aimed at the wine trade, educators and media, with a focus on decision-makers.Attendees will include:

Buyers across retail, on-trade and import/distribution.
Educators.
Media and commentators.
Leading sommeliers.
Select number of wine students and rising stars to support future growth and leadership in the industry and to provide additional perspectives particularly within the conference portion of the fair.

A curated consumer–producer reception on April 25 (4-7 p.m.) creates a complementary layer of insight, particularly through the blind tasting component.

How are you looking to attract trade professionals to attend?

The approach has been highly targeted rather than purely volume-led.

Key elements include:

Development of relationships with senior trade figures across the industry via direct outreach and curated pre-event salons.
VIP Buyer’s Program, offering additional curation for key buyers to support their experience at the fair.
A strong emphasis on what attendees gain: access, insight and efficiency as well as tapping into niche markets (i.e. Slow Wine).
Working with our trusted institutional partners (ITA- Chamber) to consolidate resources and contacts.
Working with trusted supportive organizations such as Women in Wine London and Drinks United to attract and engage a diversity of buyers and speakers.

You are looking to run the show on a Sunday and Monday - why did you want to schedule it in that way?

The Sunday and Monday format is intentional and based on industry availability patterns, particularly for hospitality and retail professionals.

Sunday allows access for those who are otherwise tied to weekday operations, while Monday supports more traditional trade scheduling (slowest day of the week for the on-trade)

Importantly, Sunday also includes a dedicated childcare/crèche service (likely utilizsng Nipperbout, a trusted events-focused service provider who has worked at Excel before), reflecting a broader effort to make the fair more accessible for families already balancing the challenges of the industry schedule.

What are some of the content highlights from your series of talks, masterclasses and tastings?

The program is designed to be dynamic, practical, and rooted in current market realities. Highlights include:

Decanter World Wine Awards Masterclass (Northern Italy focus).
Market Pulse sessions on UK market dynamics.
NextGen Sparkling discussion exploring generational shifts.
Slow Wine & Sana Food sessions on sustainability and agriculture.
Regional masterclasses.
Chef–sommelier food and wine experiences.

The structure prioritises shorter, more impactful sessions alongside deeper, interactive formats.You can find the full descriptions of our programme on our website here.

Can you explain what your “Dialogue in Motion” concept is about?

A signature format of Wines Experience that reimagines the traditional panel discussion. Designed as a rotating, small-group exchange, the format brings producers, buyers and thought leaders into direct conversation through a series of timed interactions, where speakers move between curated tables and ideas evolve progressively across the room. Select tasting moments are integrated throughout, grounding discussion in real wines and providing context to the dialogue.

The concept builds on a series of pre-event roundtables and salons hosted in London earlier this year - including an Importers and Distributors Roundtable (February 19), an Executive Fine Wine Salon at The Savoy (March 16) and a Restaurant and Hospitality Roundtable (March 19).

These gatherings highlighted a clear desire for more intimate, discussion-led formats, where participants could actively engage, share perspectives, and address real challenges facing the industry.

Dialogue in Motion represents the natural evolution of these conversations, expanding that same level of intimacy and exchange into a scalable format within the trade fair environment.Following the sessions, participants will be emailed a full recap of key takeaways, offering further ongoing value.Particularly during volatile market moments, we feel this type of exchange is critical for the industry to move forward collectively.

What other content areas do you have?

Beyond tastings and talks, the fair integrates several additional layers:

Blind tasting with live data, offering real-time insight into perception and value.
Technology area, exploring innovation across innovative vineyards.
Food & wine programming, focused on practical application in hospitality and retail.
Curated networking moments, including Women in Wine & Spirits - understanding that some of the most meaningful connections are made outside of official meetings.

What learnings have you taken from other global wine events?

A key learning has been that scale does not necessarily equate to effectiveness.

Additionally, we feel that often the most meaningful role we play throughout the year is to listen and to act as a liaison within the industry. To bring people together with intention, to challenge both ourselves and the broader market and to remain agile and willing to evolve.

In many traditional formats, volume is prioritised. Increasingly, however, participants are seeking something different:

Efficiency of time.
Quality of interaction.
Clarity of positioning.
Actionable follow-up.

Wines Experience has been designed as a response to these needs, drawing from both large-scale fairs and smaller, high-level salons to create a more balanced and responsive format.

At its core, the platform aims to be an answer to the frustrations and gaps expressed by our stakeholders. Moreover, it is not something built in isolation. It has been shaped through ongoing dialogue with producers, buyers, distributors and media, and continues to evolve through that exchange.

In that sense, we are not simply building a fair, the industry is building it together. And we see this as an open invitation to continue shaping not only the platform, but the future direction of the industry as a whole.

Finally, our work does not begin and end with the two-day event. These moments are the result of months of ongoing connection with the market, our producers and our broader network of stakeholders, ensuring that what takes place on-site reflects the true needs and opportunities of the market.

You are also working hard for the show to be as sustainable as possible?

Sustainability has also been considered in the physical development of the fair itself.

Rather than relying on traditional, built-for-one-event stand structures, Wines Experience prioritises more flexible, modular environments using innovative and reusable materials. This approach allows for greater fluidity within the space while reducing unnecessary waste typically associated with temporary builds.

The intention is to align the structure of the fair with the broader conversations happening within the industry - where sustainability is not only a topic of discussion, but something that should be reflected in how events are conceived and executed.

Anything else to say?

Wines Experience London is built around a simple idea: better conversations lead to better business.

It is not about redefining the wine fair entirely, but about refining it—creating a structure that aligns more closely with how the industry operates today, and where it is heading.

As a new platform, it will continue to evolve, shaped by participation and feedback, with the aim of supporting long-term relationships, clearer market understanding, and more effective ways of bringing wine to market.

At the same time, London is only the starting point. Wines Experience is being developed as an international series, with upcoming editions in markets such as Southeast Asia (Ho Chi Minh City) and Mexico/Central and northern South America (Mexico City). These markets are not simply expansion points, but active contributors to the platform’s evolution, offering different perspectives on consumption, growth and distribution.

This broader global context will continue to inform how the format develops, ensuring it remains responsive to both established markets like the UK, as well as emerging markets that are collectively shaping the future of the industry.

* To find out more about the Real Italian Wine & Food Experience in London on April 26-27 click here.

* There are two other Real Italian Wine & Food Experience events happening later in the year in Ho Chi Minh between June 25-26 and Mexico City, November 5-6.