Wine fairs? Good for business?

In the wine world, the first months of each year are usually synonymous with wine or wine-related fairs. Enofusión (Madrid), Vinisud (Montpellier), Alimentaria (Barcelona), etc., are some of the shows which have taken place in Europe in the last few months and we summarize one or two of these in this issue.

But we have to wonder whether these shows are genuinely worthwhile for the wine industry? Besides meeting existing customers, do they really generate business? Do the time and money invested by the producers to exhibit at these events really pay back in terms of sales?

In this issue, the winery featured in our ‘The Winery’ report is an international beacon, the Spanish bodega: Vega Sicilia. In the previous issue, we interviewed its CEO, Pablo Alvarez, and in this issue we report on the changes/investments which Vega Sicilia has made over recent years to modernize its facilities, to meet today’s needs and the company's particular requirements.

Spanish cava also claims its share of space in this issue in a report by Ramón Francàs. Some cavas compete on an equal footing with the best champagnes and for this reason we have devoted an article to the excellent quality of many of these.

And to "top off" this issue, we are publishing our interview with another great and internationally renowned winemaker: Alvaro Palacios. He shares his views on several interesting topics, some controversial and others giving us some food for thought. As we approach our second anniversary, we are pleased to be inviting you, once again, to sit back and enjoy the issue.