Salon des Vins de Loire · 2027

Agoris analysis · updated September 2026

Key takeaways

• "Chacun son vin, une passion commune" (Different wines, a shared passion): the Salon des Vins de Loire is the trade gathering for the Val de Loire vineyards, where buyers discover the new vintage while it is still ageing.
• Organiser: Destination Angers, a brand of the SPL ALTEC (Angers Loire Tourisme Expo Congrès), which also operates the Parc des Expositions d'Angers and owns the event.
• Next edition: Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 February 2027 at the Parc des Expositions d'Angers (9.30am-7pm on the Monday, 9.30am-6pm on the Tuesday). In 2027 the trade show turns 40: it was created in 1987 by the Parc des Expositions d'Angers.
• 2026 line-up: close to 300 exhibiting winegrowers, merchants and cooperative wineries, including 114 newcomers, 80% Loire winegrowers and 20% from outside the Loire.
• Attendance: 4,300 trade visitors according to the 2026 review, a figure that covers the whole of ALT', the joint banner under which the trade show is held together with La Levée de la Loire and the Salon des Vins Demeter (single badge, single hall).
• Entry is strictly reserved for wine trade professionals, on a paid badge: €8 for the two-day pass on pre-booking, €10 afterwards.
• A tight, legible format: one table per business, islands of eight tables, no stand logistics, exhibitor rate of €825 excl. VAT.

Who exhibits

Typical profile

The trade show brings together winegrowers, merchants, cooperative wineries and marketers representing the full range of Loire vineyards: Anjou-Saumur, Touraine, Centre-Loire, Pays nantais and Vendée, as far as the Massif central. The geographical breakdown of 2026 exhibitors gives 25.3% for Anjou-Saumur, 24.51% for Touraine, 16.73% for Centre-Loire, 9.34% for Nantes and Vendée, and 4.12% for other Loire areas.

Two extensions round out the offer: a non-Loire contingent, French and international, which accounts for 20% of exhibitors (51 companies in 2026), and a craft beer, cider and spirits area representing 7% of participation (20 exhibitors). A young winegrowers' area brings together 12.3% of exhibitors, or 34 participants in 2026, including 6 from outside the Loire.

On certifications, the 2026 edition had 39.7% of exhibitors certified organic, biodynamic or natural wine method (102 companies) and 10.9% in organic conversion C2 or C3 (28 companies), that is 50.6% of the line-up. HVE-certified exhibitors numbered 134, or 52%.

Notable exhibitors

The full list, searchable by appellation, grape variety, newcomer status or young winegrower status, is published on the trade show's exhibitor page. The 2026 edition had 114 new exhibitors, a 40% turnover of the line-up.

Quality of the audience

The audience is that of a buying trade show, not an awareness-building one. In the 2026 edition, distribution accounted for 33% of visitors, 86% of them wine merchants; cafés, hotels and restaurants for 22%; intermediaries and wholesalers for 16%, including 37% importers and 36% commercial agents; the remaining 20% covers supermarket and foodservice buying groups, e-commerce, wine tourism, institutions, students and the press.

The base remains regional: 81% of visitors come from the north-west quarter of France. International buyers make up 9%, across 37 nationalities, mainly Belgium, the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain. The organiser records a satisfaction score of 8.15/10, with 85.5% of visitors recommending the trade show, and 83% reporting they made contacts with a view to placing orders.

Events & community

Conference programme

Master classes, round tables and conferences punctuate the two days, hosted by oenologists, sommeliers, winegrowers, researchers and journalists. The 2026 programme focused on understanding terroirs, moving upmarket and the challenges of ecological transition. The detailed programme is published by the organiser as each edition approaches.

Three free-tasting areas structure the visit. The Espace de Libre Dégustation (Free Tasting Area), specific to the Salon des Vins de Loire, presents a neutral selection of 500 cuvées, each accompanied by a technical sheet pointing to the exhibitor's stand. The Chenin Fan Zone, run by the #FANDECHENIN collective, offers more than 200 cuvées 100% chenin from AOC, IGP and vin de France categories, each cuvée identified by a code leading to its profile on a dedicated platform. The Palais des Ligers previews the Grand Or-winning wines from the Concours des Ligers.

Awards and accolades

The Concours des Ligers is the trade show's long-standing partner competition. It has existed since 1995 and is held every year on the Sunday before the opening, putting more than 2,000 wines from the Val de Loire appellations into competition, from Clermont-Ferrand to Nantes. It is organised by the Association des Oenologues Ligériens, created in 2019 in partnership with the Union des Oenologues de France (Val de Loire region) and Destination Angers. The jury is mixed, made up of professionals and informed amateurs. The distinctions are the Grand Or, Or and Argent medals, backed by a downstream quality check verifying consistency between the wine tasted and the bottled wine. The competition is now open to ciders.

Community & networks

Since 2023, the Salon des Vins de Loire has been held under the ALT' - Angers Loire dégus'T banner, alongside La Levée de la Loire (organic wines, run by Loire Vin Bio) and the Salon des Vins Demeter (biodynamics). The three trade shows keep their respective organisers but share a hall, a badge and a programme, to cover the full range of Loire production methods: conventional, organic, biodynamic and environmental approaches. Across this wider scope, ALT' brings together around 900 exhibitors and 12,500 wines available for tasting.

The Matinée Inspiration (Inspiration Morning), organised with the Union de la Sommellerie Française Val de Loire, is reserved for students and work-study trainees in wine-related courses, with three themed master classes. The initiative is led by Mathilde Favre d'Anne, a trained sommelière, president of Destination Angers and president of the Salon des Vins de Loire in 2026.

The trade show is part of a dense Angers ecosystem at the start of the year: the Food'Angers festival coordinated by the City of Angers, and a constellation of "off" events devoted to natural and organic wines. Destination Angers also organises other trade gatherings for the plant sector on the same site, including SIVAL and the Salon du Végétal.

On site: what you need to know

For access, parking and accommodation, see the venue page: Parc des Expositions d'Angers (3520 Route de Paris, Saint-Sylvain-d'Anjou, 49480 Verrières-en-Anjou).

Specific to the trade show: the three ALT' events are brought together in a single hall, which means everything can be covered without an internal shuttle. The venue's car park is free, with 5,000 spaces, and free shuttles link Angers station to the Parc des Expositions during the event. Entry is reserved for professional wine buyers: €8 for the two-day pass on online pre-booking up to and including 18 December, €10 beyond that and on site, glasses and cloakroom included. Free entry applies to students from schools linked to wine professions.

2027 opening hours: Monday 1 February from 9.30am to 7pm, Tuesday 2 February from 9.30am to 6pm.

How much it costs to exhibit

Preparing your visit

For the exhibitor

• Book early: tables and islands are allocated in order of registration, with booking done online using access codes issued by Destination Angers.
• Plan for the lack of electricity at the tables: ice bucket, spittoon and cooler are not provided, so bring an easy cooler.
• Set-up on Sunday 31 January afternoon or Monday 1 February morning, with each winegrower free to position themselves within their island.
• Make use of the 200 complimentary e-invitations to invite clients and prospects, and keep the estate profile and cuvée profile published on the trade show's website up to date.
• Enter wines for the Concours des Ligers in advance: a Grand Or medal gives access to the Palais des Ligers, which is heavily visited by buyers.

For the decision-making visitor

• Pre-book your badge before 18 December to benefit from the €8 rate.
• Prepare your visit using the online exhibitor list, filterable by appellation, grape variety, newcomer status or young winegrower status.
• Start with the Espace de Libre Dégustation to spot the cuvées worth exploring further, then go directly to the corresponding stands: the technical sheets point to the island number.
• Set aside two half-days if the aim is sourcing across all three ALT' trade shows: the organic and biodynamic scope doubles the number of cuvées accessible.
• Depending on the objective, complement with: Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris for the international market, several Loire winegrowers doing both; Euroviti in Angers, Vinitech-Sifel and SITEVI for winegrowing equipment and techniques, which are absent from the Salon des Vins de Loire, which remains a commercial trade show.

Policy & CSR initiatives

Destination Angers, the trade show's organiser, has been ISO 20121 certified since March 2023 across all of its event activities, and the Salon des Vins de Loire is part of that approach. The organiser publishes a dedicated page listing its commitments across four areas: waste, mobility, communication and purchasing.

On waste and resources, the documented measures are concrete and quantified. Carpeting was reduced by 73% between 2023 and 2026, with only common areas remaining carpeted, equating to 6.9 tonnes of CO2 avoided according to the organiser. Sorting relies on two units and ten specific waste streams with permanent signage, dual-stream sorting for visitors, biowaste sorting from source to skip, and collection then treatment of spittoon effluent at an approved facility. Plastic bottles have been eliminated in favour of tap-water bibs for exhibitors and fountains for visitors.

Glass reuse is the most developed initiative: 17,000 bottles were collected at the close of the 2026 edition, 64% of which were returned to the reuse loop after washing, equating to 2.8 tonnes of CO2 avoided.

On energy and pooling, bringing the three ALT' trade shows together in a single hall reduces consumption, general fittings are shared across the three events, and equipment rental is favoured over purchase. The organiser applies a measured use of water and energy, with no heating during set-up and dismantling, and scheduled switch-offs. Signage and banners are reusable and undated.

On purchasing and mobility, Destination Angers reports 59.25% of purchases made at regional level in 2024, including CSR clauses or criteria. Free shuttles link Angers station to the Parc des Expositions and carpooling is encouraged.

How the trade show has evolved

Trajectory analysis

Created in 1987 by the Parc des Expositions d'Angers, the Salon des Vins de Loire was the first European trade show organised by events professionals and devoted to a single vineyard. It turns 40 in 2027.

The recent turning point is the 2023 grouping with La Levée de la Loire and the Salon des Vins Demeter under the ALT' banner. Historically, these trade shows competed for the same buyers on the same dates, with the organic and natural wine scene having built a parallel circuit in Angers. Pooling them has stabilised attendance at around 4,300 to 4,500 trade buyers over four editions, against a backdrop of declining wine consumption and economic strain on the sector. It has also made the event legible for buyers, who find conventional, organic and biodynamic wines under a single badge.

The trajectory of the exhibitor line-up is consistent with that of the vineyard: 50.6% of Salon des Vins de Loire exhibitors were certified organic, biodynamic or in conversion in 2026, and 52% HVE-certified. The stated positioning remains that of a human-scale trade show, geared towards regional and greater-west sourcing, with a buyer base dominated by wine merchants, in complementarity rather than competition with the large international platforms held earlier in the year.

Unless otherwise stated, all factual data in this listing comes from the organiser's official website (salondesvinsdeloire.com).