Top Annual Wine Tasting Events for the Trade

Trade tasting events in the wine industry are genuinely fun — they start to feel like a social club once you're a regular. Whether the pour is California Cabs, the newest vintage of Bordeaux, or a table of Italian regional wines, familiar faces show up, and the conversation always circles back to what's happened since the last one.

Catherine Bugue, D.W.S., co-founder and Vice President of Education at Napa Valley Wine Academy, shares her picks for the annual trade tastings and conferences that are genuine "must attends" for wine professionals — and for anyone studying toward a certification like WSET looking to build real-world context.

This isn't a complete list, but these are some of the heavy sippers that belong on your calendar. Start planning now — most require trade credentials or advanced registration.

1. Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGC) Vintage Tour

When: Typically held in January | Where: ugcb.net

Each January, roughly 100 of Bordeaux's top châteaux tour North America to pour the newest en primeur-released vintage — and it's frequently the château owner or a family member behind the table, not a regional sales rep or brand ambassador. The room is organized by appellation, and the goal each year is the same: show off the vintage that's just become available.

The tour always includes New York and Chicago, with the California stop alternating between San Francisco and Los Angeles most years. A handful of smaller markets — Miami, Toronto, Denver, Las Vegas — round out the schedule and shift slightly each year, so check ugcb.net for the current year's exact dates and cities.

Trade entry is typically free, and the tastings welcome educators — students can often help with set-up in exchange for entry. It's an invaluable stop for anyone studying Bordeaux and for buyers assessing a new vintage.

2. Simply Italian Great Wines

When: Multiple stops across spring and fall | Where: simplyitaliangreatwines.com

Organized by IEM (International Exhibition Management), this is a trade tasting built for buyers scouting new Italian wineries and trends, and it's equally valuable for students hunting down regional Italian tastings for their studies. The U.S. city lineup shifts year to year — recent tours have included Raleigh, Miami, and Houston in the spring, with additional fall stops in cities like Chicago. Check their site for the current schedule before planning travel.

3. Gambero Rosso "Tre Bicchieri" World Tour

When: Typically February through March | Where: gamberorosso.us

Gambero Rosso's Vini d'Italia guide conducts blind tastings of more than 45,000 Italian wines a year; fewer than 1% earn the Tre Bicchieri ("three glasses") designation. This tour brings those award-winning producers to U.S. cities each year — recent stops have included Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York.

One thing to know: because it's organized by importer rather than by region, it's a bit harder to taste your way through a specific region for educational purposes than at some other trade events — but it's still worth attending, especially since nearly everyone in Italian wine sales shows up.

4. Foods and Wines from Spain

When: Year-round, check their events calendar | Where: foodswinesfromspain.com

The official U.S. promotional arm for Spanish wine (formerly known as "Wines From Spain") runs tastings and trade events throughout the year, including Spain's Great Match, a flagship New York trade event each fall. It's a solid way to taste your way through Spain's major wine regions — Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Priorat, Rías Baixas, and beyond — while meeting the importers and producers bringing them into the U.S. market.

5. TexSom

When: August | Where: Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas, Irving, TX | texsom.com

Founded by Master Sommeliers James Tidwell and Drew Hendricks, TexSom is geared toward sommeliers and Master Sommeliers, but it's a key trade event regardless of your title. Tickets sell out fast. Expect strong seminars, real networking, a grand tasting spanning both regional and top-tier producers, and — by TexSom's own claim — the largest gathering of Master Sommeliers at any event in the world.

Also Worth Your Calendar

Society of Wine Educators Annual Conference — a multi-day gathering for wine educators and industry professionals, hosted by a different institution each year (the 2026 edition runs July 9–10 at Napa Valley College's Wine Spectator Wine Education Center). Check societyofwineeducators.org for the current year's dates and location, since both change annually.

About Catherine Bugue: Catherine co-founded Napa Valley Wine Academy in 2012 and serves as its Vice President of Education, teaching WSET Level 3 and Diploma units. Read more on her faculty page.