May 2011

2011 London International Wine Trade Fair

John has finally put his feet back on solid ground after a month long trip that saw him take in the London International Wine Fair, whisky tastings in Scotland, travelling around Italy, meeting vineyard owners, visiting wineries and trying good Italian restaurants.

First stop was 3 days at the London International Wine Fair (LIWF) for meetings with prospective clients, as well as with some of John Jewell Design’s (JJD) existing client base, “we flew all the way to London and met with some of our clients based in Rutherglen, Griffith and Mildura. The saying ‘it’s a small world’ is definitely apt these days”.

John’s impressions of the fair, “there was a more positive mood this year and it was great to meet with some of the big distributors involved. Italy had a massive presence and it was interesting to note their marked design shift to more new world style designs. It was also fascinating to see that in general, the idea of driving brands around ‘place’ is well and truly entrenched.”

From LIWF it was onto Scotland with the highlight being two days of tastings at Speyside malt whisky distilleries doing research for a branding and procurement project currently being undertaken by JJD for a USA Client.

Following an overnight stopover in Rome, two weeks at the JJD office just outside Bari, and travelling throughout the Puglia region in Southern Italy, John finished his journey by headed to Cantina Tollo in Abruzzo for an outstanding wine tasting that included their internationally award winning Chardonnay. “Sensational!”