POST RELEASE

12th International specialized exhibition and tasting
WINE CARD

Facts and figures:

Exposition space: 2 332 sq m
Exhibitors: more than 50
Exhibitors geography: Russia, France, Italy
Regions of the Russian Federation: Moscow, St. Petersburg; Kaluga, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod regions;
Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Stavropol regions
Visitors: more than 2 000

The 12th International specialized exhibition and tasting Wine Card, a unique project of Crocus Expo which united experts, restaurateurs, suppliers and consumers of wine products for discussion of pressing problems of modern wine-making community, was held November 22 through 24, 2018. The organizer of the event was Crocus Expo, one of the top expo venues in Russia and Eastern Europe.

The opening ceremony of the 12th International specialized exhibition and tasting Wine Card took place November 22. Among its participants were:

• Arkady Zlotnikov, First Deputy Director Crocus Expo;
• Rustam Ibragimbekov, a Soviet and Azerbaijani writer (the national writer of Azerbaijan), screenwriter and film producer, the winner of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award;
• Igor Bukharov, President of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Russia;
• Fazil Kurbanov, Academician, Chairman of community of Azerbaijan in Russia;
• Konstantin Kuperveys, a composer and pianist;
• Vera Beradze, Honored artist of Russia, Moskontsert soloist;
• Mikhail Gokhberg, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, the honored writer, one of the founders of the delta glider sport in the USSR and Russia;
• Moustapha Melikov, Deputy Director Crocus Expo for Foreign and Economic Activity;
• Rudolf Avanesov, Director of the Wine Card exhibition.

Wine Card is the Russia's only dedicated on-trade wine event, where vetted suppliers showcase wines, accessories and equipment and connect with key buyers and decision makers from the restaurant, pub and hotel trade. The manifold social program, which preceded the work of the exhibition, the business program and participation of wine experts made the project a milestone event in the wine sector. The exhibition became a necessary link between experts, restaurateurs and wholesalers.

The organizers of the exhibition aimed to create internationally recognized professional networking and interaction space for wine industry specialists, wine traders and consumers; position wine as an integral part of national cultures and traditions of wine-producing countries and regions and promote healthy living and moderate and responsible wine and alcohol consumption.

Exhibitors

Wine Card annually incorporated on the same platform producers and distributors from different wine making regions of the world. This year the exposition space exceeded 2 000 sq m – products from Australia, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Russia, France, Chile and South Africa were displayed by more than 50 exhibitors. Large players of the alcoholic market of Russia, the CIS countries a nd from abroad including: LUDING, Premium (PALAIS ROYAL), Wine Discovery, wine trading company Fort, TH AROMA, Russian wine house Abrau Durso, Vintage M, Marin Express, KVVK, Nevsky Bereg, Simple, Vinoterra, BELUGA GROUP and many others are loyal participants of the project.

Stands of Cellier des Pradeaux (France), Fassati – Fattoria Saltecchio (Italy), PatruAR (Moldavia) were of special interest among the attendees.

The exposition was traditionally supplemented with stands dedicated to special equipment (cabinets for wine storage, refrigerators, etc.), wine related accessories (glasses, wine glasses, decanters, wine openers). Various presentations, master classes and tasting set were arranged daily for the visitors of the event.

Business program

The exhibition was accompanied by a highly topical business program where experts discussed hot topics of the branch: the choice of wines and creation of wine collections, holding of wine tastings, development of wine lists taking into account the cuisine type, arrangement of wine cellars, organization of wine seminars and other aspects. Skilled experts taught visitors to distinguish originals from fakes, shared councils for wine business startups and many other things. What business program participants were really interested in was diversity of style (stock scores of different grape varieties, not just hundreds of labels of the same old) and wines that both enhance our diverse cuisine and challenge your senses. In particular, Evgeny Sharov, I category sommelier, a member of the Russian Sommelier Association (RAS), taught how to read wine labels. Viacheslav Lapshin, Caballero del Vino, a teacher Wine People school, a member of the Sommelier and Experts Association of Russia (SSER) and RAS, held a master class from Premium OOO (PALAIS ROYAL) company November 23.

The International specialized exhibition and tasting became good November tradition for the leading exhibition center of Russia. The project develops, increases the exposition, keeps to high standards and attracts new gourmets which attend Wine Card aiming to get acquainted with experts and to replenish their collections with new samples of wine-making art.

See you in Crocus Expo!