A new world for wine...
My first job in journalism was working at a magazine which had strong ties with a very well known wine title. Occasionally this title would 'borrow' me and send me out to official wine tastings. It all sounds rather a nice way to get out of the office. But to be honest these events scarred me for life! Never before have I been to places where I have felt so intimidated or out of place.
The first sampling I ever went to was a cracking example of this. First, just tasting a wine was a problem - learning how to make that slurping sound experienced tasters make, not knowing what to write on my official tasting notes sheet and seeing my fellow tasters furiously scribbling away. I think my first tasting note was 'this is nice'.
Then came the ordeal of spitting wine into the spittoon. I leant over and spat out the wine as I would my toothpaste while brushing my teeth. Then from all around my lowered face came expertly spat wine, in pincer-thin jet streams, all perfectly aimed, pinging into the bucket. I swear one man made his expunged wine curve round my nose. The experience almost made me believe my fellow tasters were mocking my poor spitting technique.
This atmosphere pervades at tastings and much the same can be said for wine fairs. They can be a pretty intimidating experience for those lacking confidence with wine. Plus, being a licensee doesn't help. The big events, in particular, are set up very much in favour of off-trade buyers or private wine collectors and small wholesalers.
The biggest of the bunch, the London Wine & Spirit Fair, is something The Publican is certainly encouraged to write about each year and in doing so we encourage licensees to attend.
But how much value does the licensee gain from it? Over 90 per cent of the people exhibiting are not interested in talking to on-trade retailers. There is an on-trade section, but it consistently disappoints.
On-trade focus
And this is where new wine exhibition Wine+ comes in. Taking place on January 17 and 18, it is entirely on-trade focused. All the suppliers and brand owners that have any relevance to your business will be at the show and keen to speak to you.
The organiser, Fresh RM, has tried hard to make the exhibition specific to different parts of the on-trade, rather than just making it generic. So parts of the show will be specific to the restaurant trade, while others will be much more in line with the pub and bar sector. Wholesale giants WaverleyTBS and Matthew Clark will be there, as will specialist wine wholesalers such as Bibendum. Many of the generic bodies such as French wine promoter Sopexa, Wines of Chile, Wines from Spain and Wines of Argentina will be there.
Major brand owners such as Gallo, Percy Fox, FGL Wine Estates and Brown-Forman will also be exhibiting. Never before will so many people who are responsible for what you sell in your pubs been under one roof. It is an opportunity worth taking advantage of.
Seminars
Plus there is a series of seminars taking place over the two days in the Business Clinic, the highlights of which are profiled on pages 46 and 47. These are an opportunity for you to add some real value to your business.
Many of the speakers are the leading experts in their field, such as master of wine Peter McCombie (interviewed on page 54), who helped put together the wine list for Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurants, as well as director of training for wine education company Vintellect, Emma Maurice. And this is not forgetting the pub wine seminar being organised by The Publican, which will take place on the afternoon of the second day of the exhibition.
Over the next seven pages The Publican will give licensees the exclusive low-down on this new trade show and what it can offer you as a business.
