ProWine Shanghai 2026 adds Albania, Korean soju to lineup
Albania and two Korean soju trade bodies join Spain's Yecla as first-time exhibitors when China's biggest wine fair opens on 10 November.
ProWine Shanghai 2026 opens on 10 November at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, and four exhibitors join its national pavilions for the first time: Albania, Spain's Yecla wine region, and two South Korean trade bodies for soju.
The fair runs through 12 November inside the wider FHC Shanghai Global Food Trade Show, now in its 29th edition. Organisers expect that event to fill 200,000 square metres with more than 3,000 exhibitors from over 50 countries and more than 180,000 professional buyers from over 100, a scale that dwarfs China's own drinks events, from barista contests to the country's first World Barista Champion.
ProWine Shanghai's new arrivals
Four new pavilions, one message: China remains wine's most contested market.
Albania's pavilion is run by the Albanian Investment Development Agency. Its executive director, Laura Plaku, called China “a dynamic and rapidly growing market” that “offers significant opportunities for international wine producers.”
South Korea arrives through the Andong Soju Association and the Korean Traditional Liquor Export Association, putting the country's clear spirit on the floor next to still and sparkling wine for the first time. Spain's Yecla appellation, known for monastrell reds, joins a Spanish contingent that already runs pavilions for Catalonia, Castilla y León, Toro and Rioja.
Returning exhibitors include Wines of Moldova, a dedicated Champagne lounge and masterclasses run by Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting. National pavilions from Austria, Germany, France, Georgia, California, Serbia, Portugal, Italy, New Zealand and South Africa are confirmed again for 2026.
A market still worth the booth fee
The 2025 edition drew 630 exhibitors from 29 countries and regions, more than three-quarters of them from outside China, and 21,590 trade visitors, just over half of whom travelled in from outside Shanghai. Importers and wholesalers made up 41% of buyers, distributors and retailers another 18%, and hotel and restaurant buyers 15%.
Wine Australia and New Zealand Winegrowers both closed registration for their 2026 pavilions months before the fair opens, pricing booths at up to AUD 12,500 and NZD 13,650. Exhibitors need an export licence, a sustainability certification in New Zealand's case, and separately, GACC registration and compliant labelling for every sample shipped into China.
That paperwork, and the booth fees that keep rising with demand, say more about the state of the China wine trade than any export figure: producers are still paying to be in the room, the same impulse driving boutique fairs such as RAW WINE's return to New York this month.
Organisers Messe Düsseldorf Group and Food and Hospitality China run more than 80 city roadshows a year beyond the fair itself. The next edition of its European counterpart, ProWein Düsseldorf, follows on 7 to 9 March 2027.
