London Wine Fair - Look at last year

My first stop was at Luxxica who gave me a wine journal and showed sculptures.

Luxxica stand at the London Wine Fair. Photo by Angela Lansbury. 

The next London Wine Fair is May 17-19 2027. A trade show.

-ends-

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One of many sessions at the London Wine Fair, a trade show.

Georgia wines from the birthplace of wine, and honey cake

 At the London Wine Fair, a trade show held at Olympia May 18-20th 2026.

A trade show in 2026 I learned about Georgian wine and food.

The picture on the label shows sheep and symbols from the old language.

Presenter Sarah Abbott, who is a Master of Wine (MW for short).

I recommend Georgian honey cake. Walnut and honey cake.

Georgian Food In London

Walnut & Spice

tel 07941560277 or 07540477982 - does home delivery and catering for events.

Useful Websites on Georgian Wine

Information on the history and wine labels from

https://www.georgianwine.uk/

https://www.georgianwine.uk/find-a-stockist

Lists lots of familiar names, from Waitrose supermarket to Hedonism shop in central London, as well as shops and wine bars all over England, such as the Old Bridge Hotel in Huntingdon which contains a wine shop, and a supplier in Scotland.

If you do a search you will probably also get ads from

https://www.georgianwineguild.co.uk

and Amazon and Ebay.

The next London Wine Fair trade show is in 2027.

Birds on bottles of Prosecco from Tiziano Nardi

I learned to spit at the London Wine Fair where I tried 57 bottles of Prosecco. You would be under the table after three or for glasses, or 12 tasting measures, never mind 57.

The old saying goes, it's not what you know but who you know. However, what you know increases with who you know. I didn't know Ash but we got chatting. He pointed out that birds in the glass is a defect in a wine bottle, so he surmised that the manufacturer had intentionally put a pattern of birds on their bottles as a joke.

'PROSECCO is made in tanks,' Ash reminded me, not in bottles, bottled at the end of the process, making it an affordable alternative to Champagne for lovers of white bubbly drinks for celebrations or evening dinners and summer lunches.

Who is knowledgeable Ash? He works at Rathfinny Estate in southern England, south of London, on the outskirts of the historic village of Alfriston, not far from Easbourne if you are a train traveller.

They have a shop and restaurant, one open 10 to 5, the other 10 to 6 but check their website. You might be able to have dinner there if staying at accommodation nearby. Again, check their website for the latest.

Rathfinny Estate

They have a vineyard and sell bottles of wine made on the estate. 

 1 The bottle with birds in the glass.

Holding the bottle is Ash, whose surname is French.

My favourite was award winning silver medal Prosecco, Riva dei Frat, which had a pear aroma, and flavour. From the Wine Society.

Costing  May 21st 2025 was £26 for a magnum, £156 for a case of six. (Magnums? ). Free delivery.

On another website I saw £10.95 a bottle. I shall research this later and update.

Useful websites

www.rathfinnyestate.com

https://www.thewinesociety.com/

Wine society (check their membership details. Buy online, go to paid for wine lunches and events. Huge shop with Enoteca machine,  glassware and seasonal surprises on sale pre Xmas.

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London Wine Fair Next Year 2026

 

The London Wine Fair was held on 19-21 May in 2025.

The next London Wine Fair will be 18-20 May 2026.

I attended. I was able to visit stands of London companies, others around the UK, wine makers, makers of low alcohol and no alcohol. I sampled wines, from grapes, plum wine, beer, sake, and other spirits, as well as fruit juices and bottled water. And more than 50 labels of Prosecco! I attended masterclasses on South African wines from Klein Constantia, and on beer presented by WSET.

Regarding packaging, I found can of moscato wine, sandria, and a small glass container of Nkeo brand (Neko meaning cat), sake in a glass  rather like the size of a small one person yogurt pot.

The most amazing full size bottles came from a French company. The most amazing packaging for bottles came from a Honk Kong company who also make amaazing advent calender cabinets with small 

drawers.

Some of these companies already have distribution in major supermarkets, and online suppliers and clubs such as the Wine Society. Others are looking for distributors in the UK and worldwide. So if you are already running a restaurant, shop, supermarket or distribution business, you are likely to find new ideas and opportunities from people you already know as well as newcomers to the catering and hospitality scene.

I am looking forward to next year when, 

https://londonwinecompetition.com/en/entry-info-251.htm

Wines of Israel & Kosher Wine

At London Wine Fair, we learned, from two jolly gentlemen, John and Josh, that Israelis were pioneers of drip irrigation.

Their vines did not suffer from phyloxera, which devastated French, Spanish and European vines in the last century, and attacked our vines in London this year, 2025. However, Israel's vines had a virus, so the growers replanted.

Vines have been cultivated for wine since the time of The Temple, and Jesus served wine at the Last Supper. But what about recent times?

Very interesting to hear about the vineyards and the past. But what sort of wine can you buy nowadays?

Sparkling moscato with pink foil, brand Bartenura, at only £16 retail.

Even better value the Moscato D'Asti. Popular for a party.

The Asti of course is from Italy. That's not from Israel. Not all kosher wine is from Israel. £12, sometimes even £10 on discount.

Lychee wine in cans. Buy from Tesco, Wembley and online in Amazon.

When would you need it? At a family or business or club event with even only one person drinking kosher wine, or just adventurous drinkers, cans of lychee moscato, only 5% alcohol.

From a wine shop in Hendon called The Grapevine.  1848 winery, Modem mountain winery, Carmel.

For a special occasion, birthdays, an 80th birthday celebration, you have lots of options of unusual kosher wines at all alcohol levels and prices.

Legal, odor mountain winery

A Prosecco, at retail about £18 to £20, sells as a party drink. Label Verawang, green label glows in the dark!

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmel_Winery

https://londonwinecompetition.com/en/entry-info-251.htmCarmel_Winery

https://www.kosherwine.co.uk/

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Portuguese wines

 I was at the London Wine Fair at Olympia and this wonderful cork five-point star attracted me. Then I noticed another plus point, the Portuguese Red and green flag, and the smile of Claudia. 

She imports Portuguese wines to the UK, through her company Vinify.uk. She will sell as few as two bottles, but mostly to bigger buyers, corporate events and others.

Dão is an inland region of north Portugal. Dao is a DOC. Denominação de Origem.  Controlada (DOC). They produce sweet as well as dry wines.

Pt is short for Portugal.

Useful Websites

Casaamerico.pt

vinify.uk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A3o_DOC

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Portuguese_wine_regions

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Bottle up, plant-based bottles

 At London Wine Fair, stand E50, for two more days, Tuesday 20th May 2025, and Wednesday until 6 pm.

Here's an answer to the question of how can we dispose of water bottles? Water may be healthy for us, but are plastic bottles healthy for us, and for the environment when the bottle is disposed of? We want to reduce pollution.

The bottles come in three colours, blue, pink and red.

This water was supplied in the walk up tasting at the London Wine Fair. 

The three day event at Olympia featured wines, spirits, beers, packaging, water, and teas.

Mentzendorf wine shippers Klein Constantia at the London Wine Fair

At the London Wine Fair. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

This wine may be new to you or some of the people you know, but it has been around for a long time. The wine was drunk by Napoleon and previous royalty. Also by Jane Austen.  

You can visit the vineyard which is said to be one of the prettiest in the world. Between two oceans, which adds to the appeal of the location and its beneficial effect on the wines. The place is only 20 mins from Cape Town.  

60% sauvignon blanc white.

My favourite wine from there is the sweet wine. Very more-ish.

They are on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram.

Useful Websites

https://www.kleinconstantia.com/

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Ukrainian wines with wonderful labels of cats and art

 

An amusing label for a low alcohol wine.

Useful Websites

https://cikera-mead.com/en/pet-sat/

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Food and Wine Fair in London

 

London Wine Fair is at Olympia Monday 20th to Wednesday 22nd 2024. What can you see or try?

First, it is not open to the public. Oly the trade. However you can look at in online and see their Facebook page.

The Drinks Britania section features English and Welsh wine. There's also Scottish whisky.

This is for the trade, wine writers, promoters of wine brands, tourist boards promoting wine regions. Sommeliers and buyers of wine and organizers of wine tastings and wine holidays.

Who is exhibiting? Well known wine regions. Masterclass tastings. Authors of books on wine. Writers of newsletters on wine. Writers of newspaper columns on wine.

Global warming is opening up areas of England to the opportunity of vineyards. Although London is famous for its clay soil, reulting in houses built of London red bricks, around the south of England and others parts of the UK we have a swathe of the same chalk under the surface soil as the Loire valley and the Champagne region. That's what the vines love. We have vineyards across England and Wales. 

Who will you bump into, or arrange to meet? A whole range of people, different ages, classes, nationalities. 

California's Chronic Cellar Wines displayed at London's Wine Fair

California's Chronic Cellar wines were displayed at the London Wine Fair May 3rd to 5th.

Their information card says, "Chronic Cellars is a fun brand but we make some serious wines."

More information from:
chroniccellars.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

London Wine Fair - my favourite pictures ; plum, mulled wine, squirrels and Marilyn Monroe

Nyetimber bus. Of course as it's a London wine fair I have to start with a wonderful award winning wine from England.

Wine and Spirit Education Trust. A reminder of what I learned on my Level One course. How different wines paired with lemon or cheese or a sweet such as marshmallow will taste differently.

The free massage. Of course they want to sell you the machine at £149. The massage was really good, like three rotating golf balls either side of your neck or back or wherever you put the machine.

Speakers Corner

The audience members did blind tasting trying to guess the wine, whilst so did the speaker, Joe Wadsack. He told us what he looked for when guessing which wine it was. Red or white grape? Which grape? Aromatic or not? Which flavour? Tannic or acidic? From warm or cool climate country? If you can identify the grape, you know where it is likely to come from. Oak aged or not? My favourite wine was the sparkling white sweet Nyetimber wine, from England.

Origin colourful bottles and a stand with a tree. A major exporter from South Africa, now expending and innovating with wines sourced from other countries.

Plum wine from Japan on the stand showing Sake.

Red Squirrel wine. The rare red squirrel is beloved by the British. A recently set up company, 2012, specialise in importing unusual wines with unusual packaging.

Marilyn Monroe on label

Mulled wine from Forest Glow gives you a warm glow. (They were also smart enough to offer a free tasting of something on a cracker - a good move at wine fairs and in pubs, found everywhere at Tapas bars in Spain, and increasingly popular in England. Some people are willing to pay. Pubs which offer mulled wine and free food before lunch on Sundays in England in winter time are packed with drinkers who stay on to drink wine and dine.) 

Their wine is from Sweden, Europe, blended with fruit and flowers and spices.

More information from:

Nyetimber wine www.nyetimber.com

WSET Wine and Spirit Eduction Trust www.wsetglobal.com

Massager: www.begate.co.uk

http://www.marilynwines.com/WINES/MARILYN-MERLOT

Origin wines: www.origin

Plum wine and sake: Daishchi Sake Brewery Co Ltd 

Red Squirrel Wine: www.redsquirrelwine.agency

Mulled wine from Sweden: A Taste Of Ltd / Forest Glow www.forestglow.co.uk

If you are in the trade and missed this event, or want to read about the next one, it will be the 37th London Wine Fair, 22nd to 24th May 2017, again at Olympia, London, England. 

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Stars who bought vineyards and owners and authors who became stars

Some film stars have bought vineyards; other vineyard owners have become stars of the vineyard and wine drinkers worlds.

Stars Who Own Vineyards
The first film star who came to my attention was American Angelina Jolie and her husband. Since they are in America I must call her a movie star.

I heard about them owning a vineyard at a wine tasting education session in London, England. Several wines were served accompanied by a plate of assorted co-ordinating canapés, pieces of cheese and crackers.

The Berry's venue, far from California, USA, was the historic cellars underneath the Berry's olde world shop near Piccadilly in London. Upstairs in the shop you often get a free tiny sip of one or two or three wines seasonally, for example, must before Christmas.

But  if you are tempted to linger and try more, the wine tasting evening are at all prices from expensive tooth-droppingly expensive (though not expensive for the fun, information and unusual wines you get to taste). Several people had been bought the tasting as a treat such as a birthday present. These tastings occur at intervals throughout the year.

Again in London, this month, sunny as rose, but chilled as a white wine in May,  I heard about a vineyard owned by a New Zealand film star. (Since New Zealand has its own flavours of the English language, but inclines more to the British English, I shall use the phrase film star. Sam Neil, star of the film Piano, owns a vineyard called Two Paddocks.

I was told this by David Boyd, Director of Lynfer Estate whom I met in London, England. He was on a stand at the London Wine Fair, a trade only event, business to business, where the wine producers and importers worldwide meet up. This is when the restaurant and pub owners from all over the UK come to see what's new and interesting in the world of wine and taste varieties from all over the world, presented in one place.

I met a pub owner from near Dundee in Scotland. He was sitting enjoying a free session on matching wine and food, on the stand of WSET, Wine and Spirit Education Trust. Anybody who wants to progress from being a drinker, a bar staff or restaurant worker, to a manager, restaurant owner or sommelier, might be interested in a course run by WSET. I have done the level one course and considering doing to the level two course, trailing behind a family member who is on level four.

Along the way, you get to learn about the stars who have bought vineyards, and the vineyard owners who are stars

Vineyard owners and authors who are stars? The ones who come to mind are England's Jancis Robinson, America's Parker, Jancis Robinson, who appears on TV and wrote the encyclopaedic wine guide covering grapes and vineyards, Parker who wrote the annual wine guide, analysing every year's new wine, so you can compare the vintages. when choosing wines for a dinner in a restaurant, for a wine to be drunk today, or bought for stock from a wine shop when stocking up your cellar , a real clear, basement, wine fridge (or even if it's only a cool cupboard in your home). Historically, I think of the French, the jolly robed priest who supposedly saw stars when he discovered naturally occurring bubbles creating Champagne, the grand widow Veuve Cliquot an early women's libber if you like, who founded a great Champagne house. The champagne houses were all at the London Wine Fair. More about the people at the wine fair in my next post.

Angela Lansbury, author and photographer, writer and speaker.