The 4th edition of ProWine Mumbai concluded with perfect execution, setting a new benchmark for quality and providing India with the largest event platform for wines and spirits
Mumbai, November 2024: ProWine Mumbai, a 2-day world-class business event for the Indian wine, spirits and hospitality industry, closed on a mega high. This year, the show added ProSpirits under its umbrella – an effort that provided spirit companies a fair platform to connect with buyers who explored the dynamics and strength of the spirits industry in India. Co-organised by Messe Düsseldorf India and All Things Nice, ProWine Mumbai 2024 took place on the 8th and 9th of November, at Pavilion 3 and 2 of the world-class Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai.
The show inauguration has always been well-received and attended by significant dignitaries and trade commissions, this time from Chile, France, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and United Kingdom. The event rightly kick-started with the popping of Casa Bottega Prosecco and a ribbon-cutting ceremony, before the colossal gates opened.
Spot-On Targeting
It showed evidently that the interests of the market players were at the forefront of ProWine Mumbai 2024. Trade visitors from relevant sectors ranging from large hoteliers, prominent restaurateurs and bar owners, importers, distributors, retailers, sommeliers, chefs, food & beverage teams and consumers were seen networking on the floor. Exhibitors expressed that they had the ideal opportunity to meet the buyers for their own portfolio, have open conversations about the future and cement the show’s efforts.
The exhibitors at ProWine Mumbai 2024 unanimously emphasised that they were impressed by the scale and quality of the event that provided a comprehensive professional platform for the wine and spirits sector and were overwhelmed by the high-quality footfalls and good business interactions.
“ProWine Mumbai 2024 has been professionally organised, and the team is great. The best part is that they take all the feedback seriously to ensure continuous improvement, especially in matching the international level of trade show delivery. It was a great experience”, says Shruty Saini - Director-Trade, Australian Trade and Investment Commission.
Another exhibitor, Wayne Ellis – GM, Duxton Vineyards Pty. Ltd. shares about his unparalleled experience, “The show has been very rewarding and has allowed us to pick up many leads and gather insights to assist us in launching brands into India. Thank you, ProWine Mumbai!”.
Exhibition & Tastings
This year, the show was bigger than ever with trade visitors and consumers exploring over 7,000 sqm gross exhibition space, meeting with 170 exhibitors, discovering over a thousand brands from 18 participating countries and networking with wine and spirit producers at the 10 country pavilions that were specially set up for a heady two days of business and market learnings.
Participating countries included Australia, Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom & United States.
The pavilions had large representation from Australia, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom & United States. Gold Partners - Casa Vinicola Costanza S.R.L and Tenuta San Giorgio di Sant Patrizia & C. (Staffilo Winery) from Italy well invested their brands at ProWine Mumbai, in an attempt to enter the great Indian market.
“We’re so very happy and honoured to have been the Gold Partner at ProWine Mumbai 2024. It’s been such an amazing, eye-opening, unique experience: it really is true that here ‘Passion meets Business’! Looking forward to next year’s edition!”, says Adele Tosanotti - Brand manager, Casa Vinicola Costanza SRL, Italy.
The show brought together 5,947 attendees that included the country’s community of wine and spirit brands, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, along with international brands looking to enter the Indian market and noteworthy large-scale buyers including hotels, restaurants, bar owners, and wine & spirit enthusiasts.
“The success of ProWine Mumbai 2024 exceeded our expectations. We were thrilled to witness record-breaking attendance, insightful panel discussions, heady ProWine Bartenders’ Competition and a wonderful showcase of the finest wines and spirits. The event has, once again, solidified its position as the premier platform for the Indian and international wine and spirits industry. We're already looking forward to building on this success and delivering an even more spectacular event in the future.”, says Ajay Kumar Gulati, General Manager - Messe Düsseldorf India.
Masterclasses
The show put together 11 well-attended Masterclasses, the topics not only introduced visitors to new brands and tastings but also involved stimulating story telling by the speakers, some of them dressed in traditional attire that imbibed the true essence of their brands. The knowledge combined with the access to tastings high quality brands made the masterclasses a booming success with all the sessions full to capacity.
For Topics and Speakers, visit https://www.prowine.in/masterclasses#2024
The Panel Discussions
The Panel Discussions were well-received and packed with spunk as panellists took on thought-provoking questions from an intelligent audience, who were there to seek answers, perspectives and insights. The panellists across the three sessions proved their might and created a healthy atmosphere for good discussions thus exposing an invigorating insight of the thought processes across generations.
- For Sommeliers, By Sommeliers: Taking India's Wine Journey to New Heights
Hosted by: Kevin Rodrigues - Indian Accent, Comorin, Hosa, Fireback
Panellists: Bazil Moniz - I Think Foods, Charles Donnadieu - The Lalit Group, Ravi Punia - The Quorum & district150, Hridhay Mehra – Masque, Arth Jain - Taj Hotels
- Creating a World Class Bar Program - Showcasing India's Talent & Culture Hosted by: Shatbhi Basu, Creative Consultants.
Panellists: Aditi Dugar - Masque, Sweta Mohanty - Aspri Spirits, Pankaj Balachandran – Countertop, Vikram Achanta – Tulleeho / 30 Best Bars, Evonne Eadie - Perfect Serve India, John Leese - Avant Garde Bar Consultancy, Anirudh Singhal – Speedx Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.
- The Realities & Opportunities of Importing Wine & Spirits in India
Hosted by: Sanjay Menon, Sonarys Co-brands Pvt. Ltd.
Panellists: Jackie Matai - Aspri Spirits / VBEV, Vishal Kadakia - Wine Park, John Southwell - Australia Trade and Investment Commission, Vianney Meynier - Business France
"We are blown away by the sheer scale of ProWine Mumbai this year with amazing engagement, higher footfalls than ever before and participation from a record number of wine and spirit companies from India and all over the world. The panel discussions were insightful, the ProWine and ProSpirits Challenge highlighted wines and spirits that deserve recognition and finally the ProWine Bartenders’ Competition put a spotlight on yet another amazing talent. ProWine Mumbai serves as a catalyst for change, for awareness and for business. This year we were stoked to bring so many brands and buyers together, now we are even more geared up to put together the next edition", says Nikhil Agarwal – Founder, All Things Nice.
The ProWine Mumbai Night
The ProWine Mumbai Night was a grand celebration and is now the industry’s most sought-after networking event that brings together luminaries of the wine and spirits industry with great food and drinks.
Felicitating individuals in the industry is usually not the norm and ProWine Mumbai stepped by its game by providing yet another platform – ProWine Mumbai: Honoring Excellence awards – that acknowledges noteworthy contributions within the wine & spirit sector. It is not a competition but a mark of respect to those who deserve it. The awards stood for a commitment to the industry to recognise, reward and celebrate the backbones of the wine and spirit trade.
For this year’s categories and winners, visit https://www.prowine.in/industry-felicitation
The ProWine & ProSpirits Challenge
The ProWine & ProSpirits Challenge opened doors to Indian and international wine and spirits brands available in India to ascertain the quality of their products vis-à-vis the preferences of the local palate. The judging took place on 2nd September at Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai through a systematic blind tasting by, not only, industry professionals, but also by significant wines & spirits consumers, connoisseurs and enthusiasts, giving them a platform to express their opinion on their favourite wines & spirits. The aim of this challenge was to judge the wines & spirits based on their quality alone, revealing an independent list of the finest wines & spirits available in India, as chosen by the very people who drink them.
View the Jury members on https://www.prowine.in/prowine-spirits-challenge
Winners and partners of the competition were featured at the exhibition and the prestigious ProWine Mumbai Night. Guests at the ProWine Mumbai Night had all-access to taste the winning labels at the dedicated ‘Winning Wines & Spirits Bar’.
Winners List: https://prowine.in/images/PWPSC_Winners_PH.pdf
The ProWine Bartenders’ Competition
ProWine Mumbai presented an exceptional platform for talented bartenders in the country to showcase their skills at the ProWine Bartenders’ Competition. In partnership with Fay Barretto - Mixologist & Founder, Mr. Bartender & The Crew, Round 1’s heady challenge ‘Flip the Classic to a terrain of choice’ took place in September and from over 100 registrations, 7 very select semi-finalists (view list on https://www.prowine.in/prowine-bartenders-competition) were chosen to compete for the prestigious title 'ProWine Bartender of the Year 2024'.
Judges for the ProWine Bartenders’ Competition include the powerhouses of the bar world - Minakshi Singh - CEO & Co-Founder, Sidecar; John Leese - Bar Consultant, Avant Garde Bar Consultancy; Pawan Shahri – CEO & Co-Founder, Chrome Hospitality and Fay Barretto.
Round 2 & 3 took place on 9th November at ProWine Mumbai in a bedazzling display of skill, story-telling and presentation. Bartenders had to represent a famous folktale of their choice and imbibe it into their drink using El Recuerdo Mezcal Joven as the base spirit and just five ingredients. For Round 3, these skilled bartenders had to convert the same drink into a long drink using a carbonated ingredient – this was a speed round and had everyone on edge.
After much deliberation among the judges, there was a tie for Round 3 and instead of 3 finalists, 4 were chosen to compete. Finally, the chosen winner of the ProWine Mumbai Bartenders’ Competition is the very talented Nikhil Kamble from Nho Saigon, Mumbai.
In a grand felicitation ceremony, Nikhil Kamble was awarded his certification by Peter Schmitz – Director – ProWein, Messe Düsseldorf and Nikhil Agarwal - Founder, All Things Nice. Nikhil Kamble also receives a cash prize and an all-expense paid guest shift at an international bar, besides unsurpassed recognition and respect in the trade and media.
The ProWine Bartenders’ Competition also rewarded bartenders who did not make it to the competition but engaged online audiences through the promotion and presentation of cocktails made for Round 1. The People’s Choice winner unanimously decided by online audience is Yashwanth Mukkati from Jamming Goat 3.0, Bangalore.
Concluding on a triumphant and promising note, ProWine Mumbai will be back for its 5th edition from October 31 to November 1, 2025 at Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai.
About the Organisers:
Messe Düsseldorf India Pvt. Ltd. is a fully owned subsidiary of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH which is a global player both as a trade fair organiser and as a provider of trade fair-related services for exhibitors and visitors. Messe Düsseldorf India has been successfully staging established trade fairs like In-Store Asia, Medical Fair India, FAMDENT Shows & Awards, glasspex India, glasspro India, pacprocess & food pex Mumbai, India Essen Welding & Cutting, wire India, Tube India, METEC India, ProWine Mumbai and Valve World Expo India. Besides organising successful trade fairs in India, the company is also the exclusive Sales representative of Messe Düsseldorf Group for the Indian Market and is canvassing Indian customers to Events of Messe Düsseldorf Group worldwide.
All Things Nice is reputed for its events and consultancy services that directly engage with consumers and trade. Additionally, All Things Nice is founded by Nikhil Agarwal, India’s leading wine and spirit expert, writer, and international wine and spirits competition judge. The company also hosts the Indian Wine Consumer’s Choice Awards. Nikhil Agarwal also concurrently runs companies involved in the importing and retailing of wine and spirits and is the Campaign Ambassador for The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States in India.
ProWein: Over the past 30 years, ProWein – with its more than 90,000 visitors worldwide – has become the most important market place for wines, spirits and craft drinks. Apart from the traditional markets, new and dynamic sales regions are emerging. You can book your “Ticket To The World” for your company’s success today in Düsseldorf, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Mumbai and in Tokyo.
Media Contacts:
Mr. Pinak Gupta, Messe Düsseldorf India - GuptaP@md-india.com
Ms. Cheryl Koshy, All Things Nice - cheryl@allthingsnice.in
