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Eleven wineries from the Canary Islands participate in WINEMAD to open the foreign market and reinforce the value of wine, the territory and wine tourism
Canarian wine once again measures itself against the world, but this time not only from the uniqueness of its landscape, but from the ambition to convert that difference into a commercial opportunity. A total of 11 Archipelago wineries participate in the first edition of WINEMAD, the professional fair held at IFEMA Madrid on 27 al 29 May and was born with the aim of connecting Spanish producers with international buyers, distributors, HORECA channel operators and large stores.
The Canary Islands attend this event with an exhibition space of 48 square meters promoted by the Canarian Institute of Agri-Food Quality, in collaboration with Proexca, within a strategy aimed at reinforcing the foreign presence of wines that have already found their volcanic origin, Atlantic and small scale a powerful letter of introduction. It's not just about teaching labels, but to defend a way of understanding wine linked to the territory, to the agricultural landscape and a productive identity that is difficult to replicate.
The Canarian presence at WINEMAD brings together wineries from Tenerife, Lanzarote and La Palma. Tafuriaste participates in Tenerife, Hague, Vina Gomez, The Lomo and Fluid Stone; by Lanzarote, The Bermejos, Althay House, Vulcano Lanzarote and Eruption; and for La Palma, Teneguía and Veganorte. The island delegation is part of a forum that plans to attract more than 4.000 professional visitors and 200 international buyers, with operators from markets like Canada, USA, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Swiss, Italia, China, Japan and Singapore.
The Government of the Canary Islands frames this participation in the need to continue opening commercial channels for the wine sector of the Archipelago.. According to data provided by the regional Executive, Canarian wine exports reached 177.443 liters, with a clear orientation towards third countries, who concentrated the 74% of the exported volume. The United States appears as the main destination, followed by Canada, China and Japan, in addition to European markets such as the United Kingdom, Swiss, Germany, Belgium, France and Netherlands.
But WINEMAD is not only seen as a sales fair.. Its programming includes Wine Madrid Summit, a space for reflection on the current challenges of wine: marketing, sustainability, diversification, competitiveness and new ways of connecting with the consumer. In that context, the Canary Islands Wine Tourism Cluster, with the support of GMR Canarias, has coordinated the participation of island companies in tables dedicated to wine tourism as a strategic business, to alliances between gastronomy, wine and territory, and the need to reconnect wine culture with new audiences.
The presence of the Canary Islands in these debates is especially significant after the regional government approved in January the classification of wine tourism as a regulated tourist activity.. This recognition opens a path of professionalization for a sector that can be found in experience, the landscape and wine culture a complementary formula for profitability, especially in territories where the vineyard is not only agricultural production, but also heritage, memory and tourist attraction.
WINEMAD also incorporates the Hosted Buyer program, designed to facilitate direct meetings between wineries and buyers with real decision-making capacity, next to tastings, workshops and immersive experiences that link wine with gastronomy, the art, tourism and culture. In that scenario, Canarian wine appears with an advantage that is difficult to manufacture: a story stuck to the ground, to the lava, to the wind and the resistance of those who have made the island vineyard a form of cultivated landscape.
