Drinks lovers flock to The Wine & Spirits Show

Around 1,500 visitors attended the inaugural Wine & Spirits Show, which has been hailed as an unmissable new event for both trade members and drinks enthusiasts.

The Wine & Spirits Show has taken London by storm

The show, held on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 October at The Royal Horseguards Hotel in London, was the first collaborative event from The Spirits Business and the drinks business teams.

Trade members enjoyed free attendance at the show between 1pm and 5pm on Friday, while consumers were welcome throughout the two-day event.

In addition to an abundance of exciting exhibitors, guests perused areas dedicated to cutting-edge new products and award-winning expressions from the Global Masters series of spirits and wine blind-tasting competitions.

A dedicated G&T Bar, meanwhile, offered refreshing long drinks and a popular Beer Zone intrigued hop fans.

A series of free-to-attend masterclasses covered everything from Welsh whisky and different styles of gin to fine fizz from around the world and new frontier wines.

Angus Dundee Distillers, meanwhile, provided top prizes for a number of lucky competition winners, including Tomintoul Five Decades, launched to commemorate the distillery’s 50th anniversary. The winners were: Martin Radford, Simon Millar, Anil Varsani, Julia Plant, Claire Porter, Craig Richards, Richard Haworth, Bill Eyer, Luke Stephenson, Anna Gazeley, Emily O’Mara.

Amy Hopkins, editor of The Spirits Business, said: “The first Wine & Spirits Show truly was a runaway success, bringing the brightest brands from across the drinks world together for two days of tasting and learning.

“Visitors showed a real enthusiasm for the brands and categories on display, and the response from our programme of masterclasses was heartening to see. We look forward to bringing more shows to the trade and public in the year ahead.”

The masterclasses at The Wine & Spirits Show were full to the brim