A bold pour: London Wine Fair 2025
As the UK’s appetite for spirits continues to grow, London Wine Fair is aiming to meet this demand with a dedicated spirits space at its upcoming show.
May marks the return of one of the UK’s biggest drinks events, London Wine Fair, which will place a greater focus on spirits for 2025. A key event in the drinks industry calendar, London Wine Fair will welcome thousands of trade professionals to Olympia from 19-21 May.
Since its founding in 1981, the event has established itself as an important event for the wine sector and now it is planning to place spirits in the spotlight. This year, spirits will have its own dedicated space within the fair, called Signature Serve, which will bring together premium spirits and mixer brands.
Signature Serve has been created to appeal to an audience of high-end UK-based buyers and distributors across the on- and off-trade, from leading cocktail bars to independent retailers and supermarkets.
The organisers of London Wine Fair hope to cement the event’s position as the number one UK drinks exhibition for key decision makers in the industry.
The Signature Serve space will be located adjacent to the Mindful Drinking Experience, the Japan Pavilion and Centre Stage. For its debut, Signature Serve has been capped at 25 exhibitors, which include: Beckford’s Rum, BrewDog Distilling Co, Brixton Spirits, Distillery 031, Dreamsake, Elsham Wold Distillery, Karmaceuticals, Liana Collection; Mahiki Drinks, Old Monk Rum, Poetica Distillery, Renais Gin, Sagrado, Singani 63, Toretto, V Rum and Wolfie’s Whisky.
The decision to enhance the fair’s focus on spirits was based on visitor dynamics, the changing landscape of the UK and a ‘gap in the market for an industry event that connects spirit brands to serious buyers’, London Wine Fair said.
More than 2,000 decision makers working in spirits have attended previous shows, highlighting the crossover between wine and spirits buying roles. London Wine Fair points out that these buyers are ‘under-serviced’ when it comes to spirits exhibitors.
This is backed by data from last year’s show. In 2024, 41% of on-trade visitors to London Wine Fair were spirits buyers, hailing from companies such as Caprice Holdings, Harrods, 28-50 Restaurant Group, Cliveden House, and Rare Restaurants. Within the off-trade, 26% of last year’s visitors were responsible for buying spirits, covering retailers such as Harrods, Waitrose, The Whisky Exchange, Majestic, Tesco, Loki Wines, and The Co-op.
Hannah Tovey, head of London Wine Fair, said: “We wanted to bring spirits back to the fair in a really meaningful way and the decision to do this for 2025 is based on feedback from our visitor audience as well as existing and potential exhibitors.
“The demand for spirits to be a significant part of the show is there, and we are dedicated to delivering a carefully curated very premium space with high-end content to meet the expectations of the UK’s key decision makers. Signature Serve will ensure London Wine Fair is absolutely unmissable for serious spirits buyers from the UK and beyond, and will bring an additional sense of theatre to next year’s show.”
Visitor numbers boom
The 2024 London Wine Fair attracted 9,243 attendees, with 31% from the on-trade and 22% from the off-trade. More than 400 companies exhibited, with the Japan Pavilion making its debut in 2024.
This year’s Japanese Pavilion will feature 20 exhibitors across categories such as sake, shochu, whisky, gin, liqueurs and wine.
Among the exhibitors are Sicx Kyoto Distillery, Akashi-Tai Sake Brewery, Zen-Noh International and Hishinuma.
In addition to regular tastings, visitors to the Japan Pavilion will also have the chance to sample cocktails crafted using a fusion of Japanese drinks. A new addition for 2025 is The Tasting Space, a new walk-up tasting theatre that requires no booking.
For 2025, London Wine Fair has appointed Millie Milliken and Liam Davey as its ambassadors for Signature Serve. Milliken is a drinks and hospitality writer, while Davy is head of bars for Hawksmoor.
They will work alongside Mark Gander – who joined the London Wine Fair team as sales manager for spirits in November 2024 – to deliver thought-provoking, directional spirits content. Gander has almost a decade of experience in the drinks industry and has previously worked at Imbibe Live and Craft Gin Club.
Fifty VIPs, comprising the UK’s top spirits buyers and media, will be invited to attend an after-hours event on 19 May, the opening night of this year’s London Wine Fair. At the after-hours event, exhibitors will prepare their own signature cocktails for guests, which will reflect the cutting-edge trends of 2025.
For more information on this year’s London Wine Fair and the Signature Serve area, visit londonwinefair.com.
