After three years of absence, the promotion consortium I Vini del Piemonte returns to Poland on Monday 15 May 2023 with the Barolo&Friends event now in its sixth edition and addressed to local operators, including importers, restaurateurs, sommeliers, journalists, etc.

I Vini del Piemonte will give life to a high-level tasting event which aims to conquer a 30-year-growing market which records an interesting premiumisation trend.

The event offers interesting business opportunities both to wineries looking for importers and to wineries already present in the country.

PROGRAMME

• Seminar on the Polish market for producers
• Trade Master Class
• Walk around tasting reserved for traders

THE POLISH MARKET

Sales in Poland grew by some 8.5% between 2019 and 2020. This trend continued in 2021; the total wine market grew by some 7.5% in hypermarkets and supermarkets, discounts, mini-markets and service stations.

Surprisingly, sales of premium and super premium wines increased by 15% and 13% respectively, and showed the fastest growth over this period. This process of premiumisation can also be found in alcoholic beverages.

Unlike countries with a long and stable tradition of wine consumption, the Polish market has several advantages:

• it is a developing market with many potential consumers,
• the import has few bureaucratic barriers,
• according to Euromonitor International, wine sales grew by 5.5% in volume and 6.8% in value in 2021,
• the total spending, both in shops and restaurants, is set to exceed 6 billion zloty for the first time,
• wine is still a minority part of the spirits market, but it has been growing healthily and continuously for over 30 years.

• Red wines remain the most popular, but Aleksandra Boryś of CEDC International (one of the largest distributors of Polish spirits) points out that in 2021 the sales of white wine grew much faster (over 15% on an annual basis with medium-dry wines increasing by over 11%). In stores, sweet, medium-sweet and medium-dry wines account for some 70% of total sales volume.

(Source: WineMeridian)