ENOEXPO. 20 years later

Author: Natalia Zakharchuk

The international trade fair ENOEXPO, which took place on November 8–10, 2023 for the 20th time, is one of the most effective wine events in Poland. Experts say that the main advantage of ENOEXPO® is the opportunity to meet and establish contacts with the HoReCa and trade sectors, as the event was held simultaneously with the 30th International Trade Fair for Hotel Equipment and Gastronomy HORECA and the Food and Beverage Fair GASTROFOOD.

Since its inception in 2003, ENOEXPO has established itself as Poland’s central platform for wine enthusiasts and professionals in the catering and hospitality industry. And this wine event is gaining more and more popularity among professionals from all over the world every year.
WTA & Drinks+ observers also noted the high business activity of the local audience and the effectiveness of business meetings of exhibitors from Poland, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Kosovo, France, Ukraine, Hungary and Italy.

Let’s explore the main advantages of the Polish exhibition.

A significant advantage of the fair is that it takes place in Krakow, one of the most popular tourist and business crossroads in Europe. In addition, ENOEXPO® is not only about exhibitors’ stands, but also about an interesting program. This is an opportunity to meet and communicate with key industry experts who prepare unique presentations specifically for the fair. Thus, the anniversary edition coincided with the important holiday of winemakers – Beaujolais Nouveau, so the participants could not miss this event.

There were many reasons to celebrate during the anniversary edition of ENOEXPO®. The tone was set by the participants of the culinary show with a tasting by Euro-Toques Polska Association. The exhibition opened with an anniversary banquet, during which the fair’s partners took care of the guests’ tastes: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which prepared treats based on American products, and the Portuguese region of Tagus, which presented sparkling wines.

ENOEXPO® allows you to achieve both business and image goals. The fair is also a good opportunity to learn about the needs and expectations of customers. Direct relationships established during the event are a huge advantage of exhibitions over online sales. It is here, while tasting wines, evaluating their appearance and bouquet, that you can exchange experiences and establish contacts that can bear fruit in the future.

“Every year we return to this exhibition because participation in the event is a test promotion of our products. We can find out what consumers think – whether they like our wines. This year, we are presenting wines from Shabo winery, which is well-known in Ukraine and already available in Poland. And I see a lot of interest in our stand. It’s a pleasant surprise”, comments on the success of the Ukrainian winery Sabina Ulatowska-Czmura, Convenience Foods Sp. z o.o.

Such a large number of producers, distributors, owners and managers of catering establishments in one place and at one time is a unique opportunity to establish new business relationships. Carolina Filoniuk-Leonardi, owner of the 900 wine brand (Italy), praised her participation in the exhibition: “Together with my husband, I run a company in Italy, we are producers and distributors of the 900 wine brand – sparkling wines, including prosecco. We plan to develop our brand in Poland. This is the first time we are exhibiting abroad and we are very happy to participate in ENOEXPO. We chose Krakow mainly because I am from here and I know that there are already many fans of our products here. Our stand is obviously very popular. Next year, we will definitely present even more wines, because we see prospects here”.

The 15th ENOEXPO® 2023 Wine Competition was one of the culminating events. The competition is unique in that participants can present both wines available on the Polish market and those that are not yet available on it. The ENOEXPO® medal is a prestigious quality mark that testifies to the exceptional characteristics of beverages and helps them achieve commercial success. Interestingly, the medal ceremony took place on the first day of ENOEXPO®, and the awarded wines were placed in a special exposition where each of the visitors could see them. More information about the results of the competition can be found here: ENOEXPO Międzynarodowy Konkurs Winiarski.

On the occasion of its anniversary this year, ENOEXPO joined the WTA community in the Enogastronomic Events/Magnet of Region nomination and became the official exhibitor partner of the Drinks+ & Wine Travel Awards. During the exhibition, among the exhibitors and numerous events, the WTA booth offered guests wines from members of the international Wine Travel Awards community for three days, as well as a presentation of the award with a lecture on the experience of Polish wine roads followed by a round tasting.

Drinks+ & Wine Travel Awards took part in ENOEXPO for the first time. Our team presented wines of WTA nominees at its stand, including Ukrainian producers Shabo Family Winery, Fayna Guralnya by Viktor Babiy, BIOLOGIST Craft Winery, and the French brand Le Grand Noir, created on the initiative of WTA judge Robert Joseph.

The interest of the guests of the exhibition, representatives of the Polish wine business, who attended the event, where our team presented the WTA wine tourism project, testifies to the fruitful beginning of cooperation between Drinks+ & Wine Travel Awards and ENOEXPO. During this event, wine critic, writer, editor-in-chief of Ferment. Pismo o winie, judge of well-known international wine competitions and Wine Travel Awards nominee Tomasz Prange-Barczynski.

Meetings and master classes conducted by renowned experts, tastings, hundreds of business cards exchanged between participants and a unique atmosphere – this is how the 20th International Wine Fair in Krakow ENOEXPO can be summarized in a nutshell. We congratulate our partners on the successful holding of the anniversary season, thank them for their hospitality and fruitful cooperation.

The 21st edition of ENOEXPO will take place on 6-8.11.2024. Krakow is waiting!