Giggling All the Way to the Wine Convention

Ryan and I are done with our tour in Dusseldorf, Germany. From the start, this country has made me giggle. Crossing the Belgium/Germany border, I smile at a road sign pointing to “Ausfart”. Who names a town Ausfart? As we drove, I noticed another sign pointing to Ausfart. And then another one. And another one. I said, “Wow! Ausfart must be a really large town!”. Finally everyone else in the car started to giggle too. Ausfart means “exit” in German.

Ryan and I (with my brother in tow) spent the majority of our time at the large ProWein convention. Intended for European wine buyers, this event showcased thousands of wineries and spirits from around the world in a loud tasting frenzy. Sounds fun? It was.

The sheer size was overwhelming. In two days we were only able to cover the Portugal and Argentina sections …and that’s it. We didn’t have time to explore anything else…France, Italy, Austria…nothing. Well, we did enjoy the free cocktails and absinth flying around the “spirits” section at the end of each day.

While a lot of fun and helpful in learning the broad strokes of wine trends, it is a real challenge for importers to find their gems in such an environment. While many small winemakers had a presence by sharing booths, the majority of those represented were the large mega producers and wine marketers. We were sad to see so many booths populated by agents who get paid steep commissions because wineries don’t know how to market on their own. And sadly most agents don’t promote what makes the wine unique.

In such an environment, you simply cannot learn enough about the wine to sell it in the way we believe wine should be sold. We think importers should go to each and every winery they represent. They should meet the winemakers and the workers, see their equipment, meet the staff, touch the soil, smell the air, and feel the sun. When you have these experiences, the wine doesn’t simply smell of sage and taste of honey, you smile with delight when you connect the smell to the herb garden, and the taste to the beehives located close to the grapes. Only then can you know the wine and be able to tell the stories of why it’s special. Wine is not just a commodity.

However, we did find some great leads, but it took a keen eye to look past the flashy signs and cool freebies. So now it is our duty as your wine importers to go to Portugal and visit the wineries and meet the people. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.