Tell us about Wines Unearthed and your plans for Wine Paris?
Our plan is to match the producers exhibiting on the stand with buyers looking for new-to-market producers. It’s also our job to provide producers with a good quality turn-key branded stand and also to support them with PR and marketing.
This year we are perfectly located in the International Hall on Stand C321.
How many producers are taking part and how does that compare to last year?
Wines Unearthed at Wine Paris has grown by 25% and this year we will have 46 producers inside Wines Unearthed.
Can you give us an idea of the type of producers and which breadth of countries they are coming from?
Ana Sofia Oliviera and Judy Kendrick - founders of Wines Unearthed which is back for its second Wine Paris with 46 producers
Discover wines from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain and Turkey.
We are delighted to have a real first for Vinexpo and for Wines Unearthed by having the Fairy Trees Winery, located on the banks of the River Dee, on the picturesque East Coast of Ireland in County Louth as part of the show this year.
More than half the wine producers are either organic, biodynamic or have a full sustainability accreditation and range in size from 40,000 bottle production to over a million.
We also have two very young and exciting Scottish spirits companies taking part and one 11th generation Cognac house.
What is the criteria you use to decide which producers to include in Wines Unearthed?
The general criteria is we have to be assured of a producer's quality and the producer has to be looking for distribution in the markets the fair covers.
Assessing quality: Nearly 50% of the producers have exhibited with Wines Unearthed at previous shows, so we know them well and can verify the quality of their products. For the new producers we ask them for their website, their production type and size, their medals, awards and testimonials to ensure that they meet the quality standards required to exhibit inside Wines Unearthed.
Looking for distribution: For Wine Paris, producers have to be looking for new partners in at least three of the countries where the majority of visitors are from. The countries where the producers are seeking distribution is clearly indicated on their individual profiles here: https://www.winesunearthed.com/wine-paris-exhibit-25
For those that don't know Wines Unearthed what is your background and how has it been developed over the years?
Wines Unearthed is an opportunity for wine and spirits producers looking for distribution in key markets to find the right buyers
For many years we have attended international fairs wearing different hats - as an importer, as a generic and working with producers. We could see that many talented small producers were a little ‘lost’ and unsupported at these fairs and did not receive the attention from buyers they deserved.
So in 2015 we decided to create a focussed, supported and easy-to-exhibit area for these producers and Wines Unearthed was conceived. The result - a perfect place for buyers to come and know they will find interesting producers from all over the world in one location.
The Cambridge Dictionary definition for “unearthed” describes us very well. It means to find something in the ground, or find something that was hidden or covered, to find something, especially information, often after careful searching.
Who do you think would benefit the most from attending and tasting the wines and meeting the producers at the show?
For a buyer, Wines Unearthed is an absolute dream. Wines Unearthed is designed to make buying as easy as possible for companies looking for top quality producers from all over the world. Buyers can find out in advance who is looking for distribution in their country from the easy to navigate Wines Unearthed website and then when they visit they will find it’s a one-stop shop.
The producers have been verified in terms of quality, they offer huge diversity and they are looking for new distribution.
What do you think of Wine Paris and the platform it gives you?
Buyers can quickly taste and find producers for their markets at Wines Unearthed at Wine Paris
Wine Paris is a show that is growing, and it is becoming an essential fair for producers and buyers from around the world. We had a great experience working with the Vinexposium team last year and found them to be very responsive and enthusiastic about Wines Unearthed adding a new feature to the show.
Producers and buyers alike love Paris too - it’s easy to get around, the food is tremendous, the hotels aren’t too horrendously expensive and, of course, it’s Paris.
What trends are you seeing in terms of the type of producer that is looking to take part and use the Wines Unearthed services?
Spirits producers are becoming attracted to Wines Unearthed because they know the area attracts the type of buyer they are particularly interested in. With drinks shops offering both wines and spirits and sommeliers too being involved in buying both wines and spirits this is a great business matching platform for spirits producers.
In terms of wine producers it’s interesting how the sustainability accreditated producers have grown exponentially this year with more than 50% of producers having official organic or sustainable accreditations. This is certainly addressing both the market trends and therefore the needs of the modern-day buyer.
What services do you offer producers that take part?
The Wines Unearthed team provides a range of services to help producers find the right buyers
It’s our work to give producers a good and valuable exhibiting experience and to this end we help them with PR, with promotion to international buyers and we provide them with marketing material they can use to invite their contacts and promote their presence on social media.
This year we have also created a valuable document to help producers make the most of exhibiting at the fair - something we have developed over the many years of helping producers to find distribution. It gives them lots of tips and hints about how to track-down potential business partners, how to communicate with them and how to frame the messages that will be important to do business with them.
What other plans do you have for Wines Unearthed in 2025?
Now in its second year at Wine Paris, Wines Unearthed is expanding to Vinexpo Asia in Singapore in May 2025. We are still open for applications to exhibit, and, of course, hope some of The Buyer’s readers will come and visit us there as well as Wine Paris.
We will also be at the London Wine Fair in May for our eleventh year.
Anything else to say?
To date, excluding 2025, Wines Unearthed has helped 455 producers from 44 countries find international distribution. It’s an absolutely privilege to work with so many fantastic producers, and to help them get as much exposure as they can at a fair. We thank The Buyer for their support too - without this type of PR the message would not be heard so loudly - so many thanks to you too.
* You can find out more about Wines Unearthed at which producers are taking part in Wine Paris at its website here.
* Wine Paris takes place on February 10-12 at Porte de Versailles in Paris. Click here for more information and to register.
