Organisers and exhibitors at the biennial Vin & Spiritueux (V&S) event are toasting the success of this year's event at Tokyo Big Sight facility from June 6-8.
Visitor numbers at Asia Pacific's largest wine and spirits exhibition, held for the first time in Hong Kong in 1998, exceeded pre-event forecasts.
V&S 2000 brought together more than 1,000 exhibitors from the producing regions all over the world, with importers and distributors from 25 countries drawn from the Asia Pacific region.
Tokyo's Big Sight provided more than 10,000sqm of floor space (up 28% on 1998) for exhibitors and visitors to meet and greet. Almost half the total floorspace was taken up by exhibitors from major French regions including Bordeaux (1,892sqm), Burgundy (777sqm) and Champagne (465sqm).
Many repeat exhibitors substantially increased their presence in Tokyo, most notably the host Japan, which was represented by 19 companies compared with just one in 1998, and South Africa, whose exhibition space was up by 225%. The event also welcomed five new exhibiting countries - Lebanon, Morocco, Romania, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey.
An integral "university" programme, which ran parallel to the exhibition, organised presentations, workshops and tastings. The aim of the university was to provide an opportunity for exchange and discussion, as well as enabling business and cultural relations to be forged.
Among some of the items in this year's programme was a Moët & Chandon champagne tasting and a symposium on alcohol and health.
While the goals of exhibitors varied - from generating new sales leads to using the event as a promotional tool - most agree that V&S was a major achievement.
"The event was a huge success," says BRL Hardy Wine Company export manager for Asia north Mr Hamish Baldwinson.
"The venue was very good. It was certainly large enough for the event, despite the fact it was a little disjointed because we weren't all in one hall. There were no queues or problems with access and there was easy transportation to and from Tokyo.
"V&S, like most trade fairs of its type, was primarily a public relations exercise. As a big company there is a certain obligation to attend such events and wave the Australian and BRL Hardy flag.
"But, on another level, it allowed us to show strong support for Meidi-Ya Company, our main agent in Japan. We only exhibited the brands that it imports directly and were able to support efforts to identify and target new business.
"V&S is a significant event for us, particularly as Japan is emerging as the most important wine market in Asia. We recognise the potential to grow our base and maximise our market position as consumption increases. Events such as V&S help fuel this growth."
While useful as a vehicle for raising brand awareness, the event also delivered more tangible results.
"It honestly exceeded our expectations. Leading up to the event, we were a little unsure of how well it would be attended. The Hong Kong experience two years ago led us to think like that. But Hong Kong suffered under the economic cloud that hung over the region in 1998," adds Mr Baldwinson.
"Japan as a wine market is significantly bigger and I think this alone was enough to ensure its success. I hope the organisers recognise this and schedule V&S in Tokyo again.
"We were also very pleased with the quality of people attending. The visitors were buyers and decision-makers, just the type you hope to attract and meet at a trade fair," he enthuses.
These sentiments are echoed by champagne company Moët & Chandon area manager Mr Jiles Halling.
"Big Sight itself is splendid and has most of the facilities you could wish for. The number of visitors to our stand exceeded our expectations by a considerable margin. We were able to use the opportunity to distribute literature, provide samples of our champagne, and talk to existing and potential clients," says Mr Halling.
Yet some exhibitors left the venue and event with a sour taste in their mouth, citing lack of access and poor value for money as key criticisms.
"Tokyo Big Sight is objectively a very nice place," says Austrian Wine Making Board's Asia Pacific export manager Mr Michael Thurner.
"But I am not sure if it is a good place for a fair like V&S because it is a little out of town and you need the train to go there. It is not well situated. It was okay to deliver goods but parking for cars was almost impossible.
"I think the event was successful for Austrian wine in general. Although not all new wineries found an importer, those who are already in the market did well.
"However, the fair proved to be expensive and I am not sure if we will repeat our participation in two years time, we will have to wait and see," Mr Thurner adds.
Even Mr Halling identifies "a few minor drawbacks" with the show's logistics, including the tasting rooms, which were not easy to locate and too far from the exhibition hall, as well as the lack of on-site hotels. He describes his 35-minute commute by train as "bearable".
But such complaints are in the minority, according to early feedback received by V&S chief executive Mr Robert Beynat.
"We have had a very good response to a survey asking whether this year's exhibitors will return in two years' time," he says.
"We had the quality and quantity of exhibitors we wanted. In fact, we had to refuse some companies to ensure the event was properly targeted. Also the university programme was a great success, with all 51 seminars fully booked."
However, Mr Beynat does admit that the strength of the Japanese yen was a major question mark when Tokyo was chosen as host. "But it didn't put anyone off actually attending," he claims.
"Japan is the largest market in Asia Pacific and Tokyo is the centre for the country's wine importers, so it made perfect sense to go there. It is also a big city offering very good services. The hotels were excellent and the venue was linked to the city by train.
"It is a combination of venue logistics and regional market trends that are the deciding factors when staging V&S. Hong Kong was fashionable in 1998 because the Chinese market was opening and it was the commercial gateway. V&S could return to Tokyo again in two years, but we haven't decided definitely yet."
