WOSA WORLD
NY WINE EXPO 2013: 1 - 3 March
5 March 2013
The first weekend in March on the WOSA calendar kicked off with the New York Wine Expo that was once again held at the Javits Center. WOSA had a cluster of 10 stands in a prominent position on the expo floor overlooking the Hudson river. Six beautiful banner flags with pictures of the SA region marked the way to the WOSA stand and many people commented on how much we stood out in the crowded hall. Our participating importers, wineries, and distributors generously provided some of South Africa`s best available wines in the USA, and they were awarded with great feedback and interest from both the consumers and the trade.
Over the course of the weekend 7 000 consumers and 3 000 people from the trade attended the expo. One full day was dedicated to the trade. This group consisted of wine retailers, restaurateurs, sommeliers, distributors, importers, hoteliers and caterers. The trade was very enthusiastic about the wines on offer and many of them reported that they feel that South Africa is on the "up" in the US market at the moment. Distributors like Southern Wines and Spirits and Opici have recently significantly expanded their South African selection of wines and their representatives were raving about the quality of the new wines they have access to.
Most people were amazed by the value that South African wines offer. Feedback from the importers supported this notion and they continue to be positive that this is one of the unique selling points of our wines.
Consumers paid an average of $95 per person per day to attend the Expo, demonstrating a keen interest in learning about and sampling a wide variety of wines. It was noticeable that old-world wine countries like France and Germany were mostly absent at the expo, but newcomers to the USA like Greece and Croatia exhibited in good numbers. Italy was dominating the show with a few clusters of stands, mostly including wines from producers that are seeking representation in the US.
WOSA generously subsidised the exhibitor fees and the participating importers and producers are keen to subscribe to next year`s Boston and NY expo`s. Overall, the Boston and the NY Expo`s were excellent opportunities for South African producers and importers to show their wines to a great number of interested consumers and trade, and Wines of South Africa will certainly plan to have a substantial presence again at these shows in 2014. We hope that more producers and importers will take advantage of this offer and join us next year.
Annette Badenhorst