The Key to a Wine Producer’s Success: Marketing | New Brief #267

Sometimes, one marvels at how all the wines produced manage to find consumers. And the right consumer. The one who enjoys that particular wine. Also, more than half of all wines are consumed in a different country than where they are produced. It requires quite sophisticated logistics—and international marketing. The wine passes through several hands before it reaches the end consumer.

Wine tourism is essential to wine producers today. Having people come directly to the vineyard and buy has advantages both for the grower (who avoids middlemen) and the buyer (who can taste the wine before purchasing). The entire wine industry today talks about wine tourism and its importance, and we contribute to this through our work as speakers at wine tourism conferences or as wine tourism consultants. (And, of course, wine tour organiser.) It is direct and local marketing.

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But for most wine producers, these purchases still account for only a small part of the business. Not everyone is fortunate enough to live in Provence, France, where a producer might sell 50–60% of their volume directly on-site. This direct sales channel also allows the producer to meet the end-customer. Well, at larger estates, it may instead be an employee in the tasting room who handles the shop and tasting duties, but still.

Sometimes participants on our wine tours ask, “Why does the winegrower receive us? Why does he spend all this time with us?” It is hardly to sell a handful of bottles. More importantly, it is a way to meet real wine drinkers, the end-customer. And a way to create experiences that become lifelong memories and relationships.

Recently, however, we read a report claiming that today European wine producers receive 25% of their revenue from wine tourism (and 32% outside of Europe), i.e., bottles they sell to visitors and the fees they charge for tastings and other activities. This shows the weakness of survey studies. For us, who visit hundreds of vineyards per year and see reality, it is an unreasonable or outlandish figure. It is enough to make a calculation “on the back of an envelope” (who does that anymore?) to realise it is an unrealistic number. Would Champagne, for example, sell 70 million bottles directly to 3 million visitors in the region?

Receiving visitors can be important in other ways. Being too far removed from the end customer can mean not keeping up with changing trends. One continues in old tracks and eventually (when it is too late?) discovers that the wines being made are not what people want. “The wine is what it is, and I hope someone likes it,” is not a good strategy for surviving as a producer.

For most producers, it is about finding good wine merchants / importers / restaurants who sell their wines onward. These actors actually have an extremely important job. They are the winegrower’s extended arm. They must inspire wine shops, monopoly buyers, and sommeliers, who in turn must inspire the end customer. Competition is fierce. Sometimes wine producers ask us, “How should we go about selling our wine in Sweden?” There is almost only one answer to that: “Find a good and skilled wine importer, who thinks like you, with whom you get along well. Then together you can work out a good strategy.” And that’s not just for Sweden. It’s for any country.

The more wine drinkers I meet, the more I realise how many different taste preferences there can be. But still, one is influenced by others and sometimes (or often) persuaded to try a new wine. And that is a good thing; otherwise, one would miss many of the greats of the wine world. Perhaps that is also one of the most essential aspects of travelling to a wine region and visiting producers — to experience things one may not know so well and discover that there is much exciting beyond “the same old same old.” (For example, in Bierzo? See the item below.)

Travel

Now it’s time to plan your trip for next year.

We do not have any places left on the winter wine tours, but soon we will publish the entire autumn travel program for 2026, as well as the winter of 2027. You will get a sneak peek below.

More info on our wine tours here. “World’s Top Wine Tours“. Tours with the people who know wine and who have an unrivalled experience of wine and tours.

Travel in wine regions with someone you trust.

Enjoy the Brief!

Britt & Per

Wine editors to the national encyclopedia, Forbes.com contributors, award-winning wine book authors, wine tour advisors to the UN and national wine organisations, wine judges … and, above all, passionate wine travellers.

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