A celebration of connection, education and California Wines
This October, between 26th and 29th, the California Wine Institute brought together more than 100 wine buyers and professionals from 35 countries at CIA Copia in Napa for the Global Buyers Marketplace (GBM). This extensive event focused on helping wineries understand what types of California wines buyers are seeking, helping to build businesses on both sides of the industry and all sides of the globe.
Over the course of four days, buyers from across the globe, including several from India- Sumit Sehgal, Co-Founder of Aristol and Ujjwal Singh, Founder of Tannins- amongst others – took part in a stimulating mix of meetings, dinners, classes, tastings and tours.
To paint the scene by number, GBM 2025 involved:
- 1,500+ wines available to taste over the week
- 1,137+ meetings between buyers and wineries
- 132 wineries pouring at the grand tasting
- 102 Wine Buyers representing nearly $10billion worth of wine sales
- 36 wines featured in regional spotlight seminars from 9 featured regions
- 36 wine glasses smashed — out of 5,000 — over 2.5 days of intensive tastings
- 35 countries represented, with 10 new markets
- 15 member wineries highlighted in 2 in-depth masterclasses
- 4 memorable regional tours
- 2 lost passports recovered
- Umpteen amounts of impact through strengthened business partnerships
Sumit Sehgal, Aristol, commented: “A big thank you to the entire team at the Wine Institute for organizing such a well-planned and insightful trip to Napa. The visit was truly exciting, educational, and inspiring. I had the opportunity to meet several producers during the visit and will be following up with them to explore potential collaborations. Experiences like Rudd were particularly fascinating, tasting wines priced at over USD 300 a bottle was quite a treat and an eye-opener in terms of what Napa is creating.”
“I also shared insights about the Indian market with many producers I connected with, hoping they’ll consider developing a special vision for India, given the market’s high duties, taxes, and overall complexity. They seem not aware much about the Indian complexities and the size of business- a lot of awareness need to be given to them,” Honore Comfort, Vice President of International Marketing at The California Wine Institute.
Established in 1934, Wine Institute is the public policy advocacy group of more than 1,000 California wineries and affiliated businesses that initiates and advocates state, federal and international public policy to enhance the environment for the responsible production, consumption and enjoyment of wine.
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