Italian wine exporters court British buyers in London

At Wines Experience London, a new B2B platform at ExCeL developed by United Experience with Fiere Italiane SEA and BolognaFiere, 20 producers linked to Slow Wine Fair presented their wines and spirits to buyers and other trade professionals on Monday, as Italian exporters look for new markets and ways to reduce reliance on a few destinations. The group included 18 wineries and two spirits producers from 11 Italian regions, along with one Hungarian winery.

The companies were selected from the fifth edition of Slow Wine Fair, held in Bologna from Feb. 22 to 24 in partnership with SANA Food. In London, they took part in a collective stand and two masterclasses focused on verifiable criteria for choosing and evaluating food and wine that are good, clean and fair, as well as on the relationship between wine, food and conviviality.

For many of the producers, the London event was less about immediate sales than about understanding how the British market is changing. Giorgia Calì of Il Poggio di Gavi in Alessandria said her winery has been sold in London for more than a decade but wants to expand into other British cities. She said the Gavi area produces about 14 million bottles a year, 92% of them exported, with 60% going to England, making Britain the denomination’s largest market. She said appearing in person before importers, sommeliers and other Horeca operators was important at a time of uncertainty in international trade.

Calì also pointed to the value of working alongside other producers. She said the collective format allows wineries from the same denomination to share information about markets and opportunities, turning both positive and negative experiences into common knowledge.

Edyta Kowalczyk and Shayle Lambie-Shaw of Agricola Arzilla in Fano, in the province of Pesaro Urbino, said they came to London after taking part in Slow Wine Fair for the first time in February. The two women, who are from Poland and New Zealand and have been Italian citizens for more than 20 years, said they produce natural wines and felt aligned with the fair’s approach to production and tasting. They said London was their first international trade fair even though they already work with distributors in Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.

They said they chose Britain because it is open to wines from many countries and because it is not itself a major producer. They described the market as one where wine can be promoted across price points. Their production is limited to 25,000 bottles a year, made from grapes only and without manipulation. They said demand has grown since Slow Wine Fair gave them more visibility in what they called the slow wine market.

The pair also said they see themselves as defenders of native grape varieties that are losing ground, including Bianchello del Metauro, a historic DOC. They said one goal is to promote vines along the border between Marche and Emilia-Romagna while also protecting hillsides and explaining abroad how much work goes into each bottle.

Sally Aragon of Venturini Baldini in Quattro Castella, near Reggio Emilia, said she learned about Wines Experience through Slow Wine Fair and attended the Bologna event for the first time in February. The company plans to return in 2027. Aragon said Venturini Baldini wants to explain Lambrusco outside Italy and show how it has been updated under the Prestia family, which has run the business for 10 years and given it an organic profile across the production chain.

She said Venturini Baldini was the first certified organic winery in Emilia-Romagna and received B Corp certification in 2025. The winery has sold in London for about a decade through a small importer but wants broader exposure elsewhere in Britain. Aragon said being at ExCeL was part of a longer path that began with Slow Wine Fair. She added that while at BolognaFiere she had been among Lambrusco producers she already knew, London offered contact with wineries from other regions as well.

Aragon said Venturini Baldini exports to Spain, Germany, Nordic countries, the United States and Canada. In those markets it sells an entry-level line called Montelocco, while in London it brought a premium line aimed at more selective buyers.

Alessandra De Cinti of Cantina Fabrizio Dionisio in Cortona, in Tuscany’s Arezzo province, said her winery has only a very small presence in Britain through one importer but used the London event to assess whether further investment makes sense. She said her small company has taken part in Slow Wine Fair for three consecutive editions and sees value in joining a solid fair collective because it gives smaller producers more visibility.

De Cinti said her winery has become better known for its wines than for its place of origin. She noted that the wine business has changed over the past 20 years, with less room now for small producers to stand out. Being certified organic helps make the brand more attractive at home and abroad, she said.

The winery also exports to Estonia, France, Germany and Switzerland, as well as the United States and Hong Kong. De Cinti said smaller wineries need to focus on countries where there is demand for their kind of product and where logistics are manageable. She added that current international tensions are beginning to affect exports and that wine tourism is now working better than foreign sales for some businesses. For that reason, she said her company also invests in cellar visits, wine experiences and local promotional events.

She said many foreign markets are close to saturation and that platforms like Wines Experience and collective stands organized by Slow Wine Fair can still make a difference if producers choose receptive markets carefully.

Slow Wine Fair and SANA Food will return together to BolognaFiere for a third edition from Feb. 21 to 23, 2027.