ProWein 2015: Behind the scenes

It appeared as if the entire wine trade was trying to get in to ProWein 2015 on Monday morning... The urban jungle that is a wine trade show, and this is only one hall of nine. Miguel A Torres and his wife, Waltraud, take time out for a photo with Decanter during a busy schedule at the show. Lots of top wine names attended the fair. Aurelio Montes , of his namesake wine estate in Chile, explains why decided to experiment with 'dry farming', or zero irrigation. Montes made its Alpha wines using this method in the 2012 vintage and the group plans to continue. 'I wanted to know what would happen if there was no rain,' Aurelio Montes said, citing climate change and lack of water as key issues facing Chilean winemaking. Who are you calling New World? James Lindner, of Langmeil Winery in Barossa, has been offering a rare taste of The Freedom Shiraz 2012, from vineyards dating back to 1843. Big celebrations are being planned for the 2013 vintage release, due later this year, which will mark 170 years since the firts vines were planted. Wine deliveries for the Decanter World Wine Awards 2015 have been stacking up at the Decanter stand. Javier Galerreta , of the Araex group, poses for a photo with Decanter and holds the not-yet-for-sale, organic Tierra de Castilla Tempranillo , produced in collaboration with consultant Michel Rolland . One of the more unusual wines on show at the fair included the recently released Chandon sparkling wine from China's Ningxia province. On a similar note, here is another rare sight. This Chilean Nebbiolo was spied on the Cremaschi Furlotti stand. A full line-up of the wines shown by Li Demei, including a Marselan 2011 from Domaine Franco-Chinois in Hebei province, which many tasters agreed was one of the wines that stood out. Could Chinese winemakers do more with Marselan? DecanterChina.com columnist Li Demei wanted to get the order of Chinese wines exactly right ahead of his masterclass in the ProWein forum space. His talk was standing room only, such is the curiosity around Chinese wine. Studious note taking is all part of the experience, whether you are purely a consumer or you also work in the trade. Retired columnist Michael Broadbent used to advise making a note on every wine tasted, of course. English wineries were again out in force. 'People are still surprised by our wines, but in a good way,' said one exhibitor when asked about the international wine trade's response to English wine. How much do you love wine? Enough to have your favourite grape variety imprinted on your forehead? Passion was running high in the German winemakers' section of the show.

ProWein 2015: Behind the scenes

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