London wine fair debuts a new trade format

A new trade format aimed at changing how wine buyers connect with Italian producers opened in London this weekend, bringing 200 wineries and 50 food producers to ExCeL London for a two-day event built around scheduled meetings, blind tastings and data collection rather than the usual walk-through fair.

The event, called Wines Experience, ran on April 26 and 27 and was organized by United Experience, a joint venture between Fiere Italiane SEA and BolognaFiere Group. The company said the format was designed to make trade buying more efficient at a time when producers and importers are under pressure to use their time and budgets more carefully. The London edition focused on Italian wine and food, with support from the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the UK, ITA — Italian Trade Agency and the Italian Embassy in London.

Instead of rows of booths, the event used producer lounges where buyers sat down for structured tastings and business discussions. Organizers said the setup was meant to reduce the friction that often comes with large trade fairs, where buyers can spend much of the day moving from stand to stand with little time for deeper conversation. A matchmaking platform allowed attendees to filter producers by region, category or style before arriving and to book meetings in advance.

The format also included a Blind Tasting Experience, in which wines were assessed without labels and feedback was gathered live, along with a Data Hub that collected participant input in real time. Organizers said the goal was to turn tasting impressions into usable market information for both producers and buyers. Antonio Bruzzone, chief executive of BolognaFiere Group, said the investment reflected a broader shift in how international markets are changing and how trade platforms need to adapt. Maurizio Muzzetta, founder of United Experience and president of Fiere Italiane, said the project grew out of conversations with the trade about how fragmented and costly traditional business meetings had become.

Silvia Raffa, managing director of Wines Experience London, said the event was built to make participation easier while encouraging more productive exchanges. She said the team had worked to remove friction from the process so that buyers and producers could focus on business rather than logistics.

The program included masterclasses and market sessions aimed at giving buyers both technical and commercial context. Among them were a Decanter World Wine Awards masterclass on Northern Italy’s white wines, a session on the UK wine market with buyers, importers and Masters of Wine, and a Dialogue in Motion format focused on how younger producers are reshaping sparkling wine. Other sessions covered Sardinia, Calabria and other Italian regions, along with food-and-wine presentations tied to hospitality and retail use.

The event also featured a collective stand of producers selected by Slow Wine Fair and two masterclasses organized with BolognaFiere’s Slow Food partnership through SANA Food, centered on sustainability criteria in wine and on the relationship between wine, food and conviviality. Networking formats included Women in Wine & Spirits, while trade-focused awards were scheduled for April 27.

Organizers said the Sunday-Monday schedule was chosen to make attendance easier for professionals who work through the week. They also offered childcare services on Sunday through Nipperbout, a move intended to support attendance for buyers with family responsibilities.

Wines Experience is being positioned as an international platform rather than a one-off London fair. The 2026 edition is dedicated to Italy, but organizers said that starting in 2027 it will open to producers from around the world. After London, editions are planned for Ho Chi Minh City in June 2026 and Mexico City in November 2026 as part of a broader expansion strategy aimed at linking producers with buyers across multiple markets.