I won’t lie, it was incredibly overwhelming. The sheer size of the show was mind-blowing, with over 4,000 exhibitors from 137 countries. Italy alone had more than 1,000 exhibitors, and it took me a full day just to explore that section before moving on to Spain and the rest of the world. I completely ran out of time to visit France, which I really regretted!

Wine Paris also hosted masterclasses, and I honestly don’t know how people manage to do it all in just three days. It was brilliant to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, taste some phenomenal wines, and have some great business meetings.

My top 3 takeaways for marketing and social media experts working in the wine world from Wine Paris are:

1. The show is a great opportunity for content creation, I did a lot of 1-1 videos with people and captured some great insights! Everyone needs to build their personal brand these days, so you can offer a lot of value by giving them a platform to do so.

2. Shows like this are all about being there and being seen rather than going in “sales mode”. You need to be ready to network your socks off, and go back year after year to build your personal brand.

3. The informal moments are often the best, I had some great conversations while queuing for a coffee or even (especially for us girls!) the ladies loos! People are often more relaxed when they’re away from their stand.

By the end of each day, my feet were burning, but what a treat to be in Paris, checking out the Eiffel Tower, cocktails at the infinity bar after a full day of work. Sharing those moments with fabulous fellow wine influencers like Archie and Ellie made it even more special.

I’ll definitely be back next year!

Elizabeth x