Covid-19 disrupts major wine events
Concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus have hit major events in the global wine calendar, with trade fairs and consumer events globally being cancelled or postponed.
In France, both the biennial Burgundy wine festival Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne and Bordeaux en primeur week (first taste of the 2019s) were called off in March amid growing restrictions on public gatherings. ‘We cannot today guarantee favourable health and safety conditions for visitors and exhibitors,’ said Raphaël Dubois, association president for Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne.
En primeur organiser Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) attempted to reassure merchants via email that it is ‘working on solutions that will allow us to taste the 2019 vintage at a later date’.
Germany’s ProWein, the wine world’s largest trade show, which was due to feature more than 6,800 exhibitors from 61 nations, was postponed by its organisers until 2021, following advice from the government’s crisis management team. And the London RAW Wine fair, for natural, organic and biodynamic wines, was postponed until a ‘later date’ by its founder Isabelle Legeron MW.
‘With so many producers flying in from all over the world, this seems like the right decision for such a large gathering of people and such an international event,’ she said.
The organisers of Vinexpo Hong Kong have taken an optimistic approach, rescheduling the show for 8-10 July after cancelling the original May dates.
Wine producers and drinks companies worldwide have warned of Covid-19’s impact on the industry, not least because of national lockdowns of bars and restaurants in attempts to contain the virus.
Weaker demand from China, one of the world’s largest luxury markets, is another factor. Consumers have cut back dramatically on wine consumption and many shipments remain trapped at Chinese customs.
‘Everything has completely stopped in China,’ said Florent Roques-Boizel, president of Champagne Boizel, in an interview with CNBC.