ViniPortugal organizes a Wines of Portugal wine tasting in UK next month at Royal Horticultural Lindley Hall, London. A record number of Portuguese winemakers (130) will participate in the event, revealing their strong investment in this market. The London Annual tasting is part of the ViniPortugal 2014 promotion plan and aims to promote Portuguese wines, identify new business opportunities and strengthen the image of Portuguese wines in the UK. ViniPortugal and Douro & Port Wine Institute joined forces and the wine tasting also features 2011 Vintage Ports. About 550 professionals will join the event: sommeliers, buyers, journalists, wine critics, importers and on-trade channel teams. In this edition, considering other similar events in target markets, opinion makers will have the opportunity to join a wine tasting of rare wines lead by João Paulo Martins, wine journalist. For the first time, consumers will have the possibility to join the event in the evening and ViniPortugal expects about 400 winelovers. In the afternoon before the wine tasting, 4th March, producers and winemakers are invited to join a workshop about on-trade channel and how to improve their presence in UK market. The workshop is free but registration is required. Jorge Monteiro, ViniPortugal CEO, highlights “UK market is a reference for Portuguese wines, being the third main market for exports in value. Although a traditional market, UK is a trendsetter for several markets and represents a gateway to other countries”. “The strong participation in this event reveals how UK market is important and interesting for Portuguese winemakers who will take advantage of the contact with different target audiences during the event”, adds the ViniPortugal CEO.