Speaking at a ceremony held at ProWein on Monday night to announce this year’s winner of the prestigious Winemaker’s Winemaker award, the fair’s executive director Michael Degen reminded the trade that “For 32 years ProWein has been a global meeting place for the wine industry; a place to shape, create and elevate” and “a greenhouse of optimism”.
This year was no exception, where despite reports of lighter footfall, the Düsseldorf fair generated agenda-setting conversations. After three days of exploring the halls (fuelled by currywurst and Africola), db sums up some of the biggest talking points from the fair.
The door is about to open for dealcoholised Italian wines
The hub of Italian producers in Hall 3 was alight with the news expected to break any minute that the Italian government, who approved a decree to lift the ban on making dealcoholised wines in Italy in late 2025, will officially begin sanctioning domestic production. Until now, Italian producers have had to invest significant time and cost into shipping wines outside the country to nations such as Germany and Belgium to have them dealcoholised. “It’s not only a matter of money but also of environment and sustainability,” Aurora Semenzin, communications manager for Valdo Spumanti, told db.
“We have to transport the wines for many miles,” she added, causing the company’s carbon footprint to creep up.
Several producers told the drinks business that they already have products waiting in the wings, ready to push the button when the prohibition ends, which according to Villa Sandi CEO Giancarlo Moretti Polegato could be as soon as this month. As demand for no and low alcohol products continues to rise (the US alcohol-free drinks market alone surpassed $1billion in 2025 per NielsenIQ data), this is welcome news indeed for Italian winemakers.
Brazil is a market to focus on
A talk on emerging markets revealed that Brazil represents enormous growth potential for winemakers around the world. Imported wine sales in Brazil were up 6.3% in value and 3.7% in volume between 2024 and 2025, having more than doubled in the last 10 years. According to Christian Borgos, co-director of ProWine Sao Paulo, “our projection is that this will double again in the next 10 years…maybe sooner.”
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