The second edition of the trade show will be a decisive boost to the reactivation of the market
Barcelona Wine Week returns in 2022 to showcase all the power of Spanish wine
The leading Spanish wine trade show returns to Fira de Barcelona from February 7th to 9th, 2022. The second edition of Barcelona Wine Week (BWW) will once again bring together the country’s largest wine offer to show all its power and variety to national and international operators in the sector and contribute to the revitalization of the sector. A powerful showcase with the participation of more than 600 wineries, almost all the Designations of Origin, Regulatory Councils and the most established brands in the market.
In 2022, BWW will highlight the quality and diversity of the Spanish wine offer, bringing together all types of wineries, from the smallest and family wineries to large corporations, in Hall 8 of Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuc ¨venue. As a result, the trade show will promote its unique and disruptive model that proposes an experiential and sensory tour of the national wine territory through a format based on the wide variety of producing areas of Spain with an equal presence among the participating wineries and brands.
As in its first edition, BWW will be structured in two large areas: the main one, BWW Lands, which will bring together wineries organized by Designations of Origin and other quality labels, as well as organic and biodynamic wines; and BWW Groups & Complements, where large groups of winemakers will also meet with companies that offer equipment, accessories and services to the sector.
Barcelona Wine Week will promote more than ever business opportunities, the opening of new international markets and networking among professionals with the aim of contributing to the recovery of a sector that has suffered especially the crisis resulting from the pandemic, the closure of the hospitality industry and the drastic drop in tourism. For this reason, the event will schedule business meetings between exhibiting companies and will have more than 300 international buyers invited by the organization and selected for their interest in acquiring Spanish wine.
The great turning point
Javier Pagés, president of BWW and DO Cava points out that “BWW will be a great contribution to the recovery of the wine business and the boost to exports of our best wine at a time when foreign sales have allowed the sector to weather these difficult times”.
In this way, Barcelona Wine Week will be the first big post-pandemic fair of the wine sector in Europe, which, for José Luis Benítez, general director of the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV), “will be a great turning point and a key event to face the future challenges of the wine world. The sector is eager to relaunch its activity and meet again and BWW seems to us to be the perfect starting point for this”, he stresses.
Along with the commercial exhibition, the show will develop a wide program of activities that will enhance the educational and sensory experiences linked to wine. So, the BWWHub area will host various events, from art installations to tastings and pairings, conferences, round tables and training sessions. In short, a series of proposals aimed at strengthening the links between the world of wine and culture, as well as updating and sharing knowledge and presenting novelties of great interest to the sector.
BWW has an Organizing Committee that represents all the interests of the sector in Spain. Chaired by Javier Pagés, also president of the DO Cava, it is made up of José Miguel Herrero, general director of the MAPA Food Industry; María Naranjo, director of Food, Wine and Gastronomy at ICEX Spain Export and Investment; José Luis Benítez, general director of the Spanish Wine Federation; Valentí Roqueta, president of the Catalan Wine Association; and David Palacios, president of the Spanish Conference of Wine Regulatory Councils CECRV; among other prominent personalities from the institutional and business spheres.
The figures of success
Although expectations were good, the results of the first edition of BWW, in February 2020, were even better. This was unanimously recognized by the main operators in the sector, such as the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV), ICEX- España Exportación e Inversiones, the Catalan Wine Association and the more than 550 wineries and 40 participating Designations of Origin. Nearly 15,600 professionals attended the show, 13% of them from 54 countries, and more than 1,000 national buyers and 300 international buyers from strategic markets for Spanish wine exports were invited by the organizers. This significant delegation of key buyers held some 3,200 business meetings with the wineries exhibiting at the show, which helped to explore and open up new opportunities for the sector.
Barcelona, May 2021
Susana Santamaria