IN BREVE
Over 200 Italian wineries will participate in Wines Experience London on April 26 and 27 at the ExCeL center.
The United Kingdom is the third-largest market for Italian wine exports, with a value of approximately €857 million.
Wines Experience aims to facilitate meetings between producers and British market operators through an innovative B2B format.
Lounge areas and a digital matchmaking platform are planned for appointments between companies and buyers.
The event represents the first of three international appointments, with subsequent stages in Ho Chi Minh City and Mexico City.
Over 200 Italian wineries will gather on April 26 and 27 at the ExCeL conference center in London for Wines Experience, a B2B event dedicated to Italian wine in the United Kingdom. The event aims to bring together producers, consortia, institutions, and trade operators in the British capital, one of the most strategic markets for national exports.
The event takes place within a well-established context for Italian wine. The United Kingdom is, in fact, the third-largest destination country in the world for wine exports from Italy, with a value of approximately €857 million and a share between 10% and 11% of the sector’s total exports.
Wine consumption remains widespread in the British market. About 70% of adults identify as regular consumers, with demand increasingly oriented toward premium products, quality, and sustainability. The initiative, created by Fiere Italiane SEA in collaboration with BolognaFiere, kicks off the 2026 international calendar with the goal of presenting the Italian wine sector through a structured B2B platform.
A SYSTEM-WIDE PROJECT FOR THE UK MARKET
Wines Experience was created as a project that brings producers, consortia, institutions, media partners, and professional operators under a single direction. The goal is to foster dialogue with key players in the British market through a format focused on business meetings.
“London represents a fundamental marketplace for Italian wine and the ideal starting point for Wines Experience,” says Maurizio Muzzetta, Founder of United Experience and President of Fiere Italiane SEA. “We want to offer companies a highly professional environment, capable of enhancing quality and generating concrete connections with major international operators.”
The organizational model features lounge spaces instead of traditional stands, designed to facilitate targeted meetings between companies and buyers. Appointments will also be organized through a digital matchmaking platform that profiles wineries and operators based on market and segment, with pre-scheduled meeting agendas.
MATCHMAKING, TASTINGS, AND MARKET ANALYSIS
Distinctive elements of the event include the Blind Tasting Area and the Data Hub, tools designed to gather information on British market preferences and provide useful data to participating companies.
The expected professional audience includes importers, specialized fine wine distributors, wine managers, large-scale retail, and online trade operators. The program also includes a “State of the Industry Roundtable” dedicated to analyzing the UK wine market in 2026, along with tastings, masterclasses, and workshops led by Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, and WSET graduates.
AN INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR IN 2026
The London stage represents the first appointment of an international journey that will continue throughout 2026 with two other events. Wines Experience will stop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on June 25 and 26, and in Mexico City on November 5 and 6. The goal is to strengthen the presence of Italian wine in markets considered strategic, through a format oriented toward meetings between producers and international trade operators.
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