In its fifth edition and with a record number of brands, visitors and countries, the event restates its position as the largest professional wine and spirits fair in the Americas; the 2025 edition already has a date and promises to be even bigger an undeniable success.
ProWine São Paulo, the largest professional wine and spirits trade fair in the Americas, finished its fifth edition with impressive and record-breaking numbers. From October 1 to 3, 15,000 visitors passed through the halls of Expo Center Norte, exceeding expectations and reaffirming its position as one of the main meeting points for players in the sector. At all, 1,402 brands from 34 countries were present, offering a wide variety of products and business opportunities.
“Our goal with ProWine São Paulo is to offer an exceptional experience to wine and spirits professionals and without a doubt the division by country has raised the standard of the event and the visitors' journey,” says the fair's director, Malu Sevieri, about the division by country, a new feature of this edition, which has provided a unique sensory experience by bringing together the best drinks from each country.
Another surprise of 2024 was an exclusive app designed to connect exhibitors and visitors, enhancing the experience and broadening the possibilities for contact, reinforcing the ProWine São Paulo community on a single communication platform. The app recorded more than 200,000 interactions over the three days.
In addition to the exhibition area, the ProWine Forum once again drew attention. Approximately 60 hours of masterclasses with wine and spirits tastings were part of the four-room program, which covered a variety of topics, such as the pre- and post-pandemic wine market, the diversity of Argentine wine, sales strategies at the end of the year, the future of sommeliers and sake as a global drink.
“For visitors, the ProWine Forum is a real treasure of knowledge. From masterclasses given by renowned winemakers to lectures on cultural influences on taste preferences, there is something for all tastes and levels of experience. It's a unique chance to enhance your taste buds, discover new labels and explore the secrets behind the bottles, as well as, of course, keeping up to date with the market,” says Malu.
The masterclass “Pêra-Manca Red 2018 & 60 Years of the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation” was led by Pedro Baptista, FEA's wine director and winemaker at Adega Cartuxa and Tapada do Chaves. The invitation-only event marked the world premiere of the new Pêra-Manca Red, one of Alentejo's most prestigious wines, and took place for the first time outside of Portugal. The session brought together journalists and industry communicators to present this iconic label and celebrate FEA's trajectory as an oenological benchmark in Portugal. The event also highlighted six varietal wines from Adega Cartuxa, produced in a limited edition of 1,000 bottles in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation, exploring the winery's rich history and contributions to the Portuguese wine industry.
The choice of the largest wine and spirits fair in the Americas as the venue for the celebration of the 2018 vintage of Pêra-Manca Red, a wine so beloved by Brazilian oenophiles, was no coincidence either. “It turns out to be the perfect combination of an event of great relevance to our sector and great infrastructure, which manages to bring together several important players in the market,” said André Chicau, managing partner of Adega Alentejana, the official importer of Adega Cartuxa's products in Brazil.
Sustainability
In keeping with its commitment to sustainability, ProWine São Paulo, in partnership with the Brazilian Beverage Association (Abrabe), recycled more than nine tons of glass through the “Glass is Good” program. The action involved the reverse logistics of all the glass used at the fair, including bottles and glasses, ensuring that this material was properly processed at the end of each day.
A glass crushing machine was installed to dispose of the used bottles, thus preventing the possibility of counterfeiting - a potential risk at events of this kind. As well as increasing security, the crushing has made the recycling process easier, contributing to energy savings, reduced extraction of raw materials and lower CO2 emissions. This effort also fights the accumulation of glass waste in landfills, where this material could remain indefinitely. The efficient recycling of glass reinforces the fair's environmental responsibility, promoting the circular economy and demonstrating that, even at large events, it is possible to minimize environmental impacts.
What do exhibitors say?
“We've been present since the first edition and I believe that Portugal has the largest presence at the fair. This event is crucial for us, as Brazil is currently our largest market, excluding Porto, and the third largest considering all Portuguese wine exports. The diversity and complexity of our wines, grapes, terroirs and regions, added to the advantage of our common language, are very attractive to Brazilian consumers. This is driving the growth of Portuguese wines in Brazil,” said Frederico Falcão, chief executive of ViniPortugal.
“We're making our debut at ProWine São Paulo and it's a great pleasure to bring our brand and the winery from Bahia, in the Chapada Diamantina, to this event. We're excited to have contact with the highly qualified public at the fair,” says the CEO of Vinícola UVVA, Fabiano Borré. “We're very happy with our first participation in ProWine São Paulo. We came to present the strength of our brands, united as one big company, and the result has been a success. Our stand is always full and we're very pleased with how the fair is going,” says Gabriela Salotti, Trade Marketing Manager at Moët Hennessy.
“We're very pleased with this edition. It's been a fantastic year, with significant growth and more brands taking part. We consider this to be the best edition yet, with many clients attending, making the event even more special for us. We've been at ProWine São Paulo since the beginning and, if all goes well, we'll be there for many more years. Congratulations to everyone!” said João Roquette, director of Qualimpor.
“Being at ProWine São Paulo is essential for us, as it's a great opportunity to present our portfolio, which is our greatest strength. We've brought wines from different regions of the world, with price ranges from entrylevel wines to high-end and very high-end labels, from both the Old and New Worlds. Our aim here is to highlight the diversity and strength of our portfolio, as well as to show news and curiosities. It's also a pleasure to welcome our clients and meet new potential partners. Taking part in ProWine São Paulo is essential for us,” says Interfood's head sommelier, Elias Varella.
“We're at ProWine São Paulo once again, an essential trade fair for professionals in the sector and for promoting the wine market. This year, we have an even bigger stand, with the presence of many producers from different countries, who have come to honor both our team and our clients. The fair is an extremely important event for those working in the world of wine. We are representing more than 30 producers from almost ten countries, including Argentina, Chile, Portugal and Spain. We're very happy, and our stand is always full,” says Cantu Grupo Wine's sommelier, Gustavo Peroni.
“We are delighted to be taking part in another edition of ProWine São Paulo. The results have been excellent and we are excited to welcome our partners and establish new relationships with all our clients. We would like to thank the organizers and all our customers who were here, helping to strengthen our business and, above all, the friendship we have cultivated with each one of you,” says Nelsir Kuffel, sales director of the Famiglia Valduga Group.
“It's a pleasure to take part in ProWine São Paulo once again. We know it's a national reference fair and we chose this event to present the main launches of the year. The results were excellent and I'd especially like to highlight the quality of the public, which was made up only of trade professionals and the specialized press. Here's a tip for anyone working in the world of wine: taking part in ProWine São Paulo is very worthwhile,” says Pablo Perini, Marketing Director at Vinícola Casa Perini.
“Adega Alentejana has been taking part since the first ProWine São Paulo and we're very happy with how the event has evolved every year, with more visitors and an audience coming from different cities in Brazil. The 2024 edition was really surprising. We held the world launch of Pêra-Manca Red, the first time a vintage of this wine has been presented outside of Portugal. We'd like to thank everyone and we're already booked and have space reserved for 2025,” says Adega Alentejana's founding partner, Manuel Chicau.
What do visitors say?
“ProWine São Paulo is an essential event for the wine sector. I've been in the segment for many years and have been attending the fair practically since the beginning. The wine business is essential for supermarkets, especially with the growing demand from Brazilians for quality wines. The fair provides an excellent opportunity not only to increase the quantity consumed, but also to improve the quality of the labels. Here, you can interact directly with exporters, importers and other professionals in the sector, as well as discover new labels. I believe it is fundamental for the wine business,” says Artur Illiano, representative of Supermercado São Vicente, a 56-year-old chain with 22 retail stores and five wholesale stores.
“This fair is very important. It's a great event full of opportunities. This is my fourth consecutive year taking part in ProWine São Paulo and I always come back with great business opportunities for the company I represent. Today, I talked to French producers and I'm here with another importer to enrich our portfolio. As well as networking, it's a chance to meet up with long-time friends from the profession. I was recently awarded the best sommelier in Brazil and, in 2025, I'll be representing the country at the Pan-American Championship in Sonoma Valley, California. Taking part in an event like this is essential, even in a didactic way. Cheers!” said Wallace Neves, sommelier at BigMais Supermercados.
“We found the fair very interesting, with several countries extremely well organized. The Brazilian wine sector is very busy, with lots of talented people doing interesting things. We got to know ProWine São Paulo last year, and this year we've noticed that it's only been growing, and we can only praise it. Besides, there are lots of business opportunities here too,” say the directors of Vinoeria, an exclusive national and imported wine store, Mauricio Possenti and Ana Paula Crude.
Expectations for 2025
ProWine São Paulo has already set the date for its next edition, which will take place from September 30 to October 2, 2025, at Expo Center Norte. After this year's satisfactory results, the organization promises even more innovations and business opportunities for next year's participants. “We are very proud of the results of ProWine São Paulo 2024 and of having achieved record numbers of exhibitors and visitors. This reinforces the importance of the fair as a business hub for the wine and spirits sector in the Americas. We're already planning the 2025 edition, which will be even more impactful,” says Malu.
About ProWine São Paulo
ProWine São Paulo is a spin-off from ProWein in Düsseldorf, Germany. Since its debut in 2019, it has provided a unique experience, bringing together the industry's main players for three days of business generation, launches, networking and knowledge sharing. The event is jointly organized by Emme Brasil, Inner Group and Messe Düsseldorf. In 2025, it will take place from September 30 to October 2 at Expo Center Norte.
