Wine brokers act as intermediaries between wine sellers and buyers, negotiating prices and sales terms. They may work for wineries or wine shops, and their role can involve recommending wines, organizing tastings, and building relationships with clients.
A wine broker’s primary job is to act as a liaison between wine sellers and buyers. Some brokers will work exclusively for one party, usually a winery or wine shop. These positions usually involve negotiations on prices, sales terms and import conditions, when applicable. Others are more or less free agents, working on behalf of a variety of different clients simultaneously. The main objective of any wine broker is to help facilitate successful sales and contracts between wine producers, wholesale and retail sellers and individual consumers.
In most places, the wine industry is much more complex than simply making and selling wine. Many different parties are involved including professional buyers, sales representatives and marketing agents to name a few. Brokers are professionals who spend their time drafting and negotiating wine sales contracts. They are usually responsible for recommending wines and usually receive a commission or percentage back on any sales they facilitate.
Within the winemaking industry, brokers can play many different roles. Sometimes they deal exclusively with grapes, helping negotiate deals between growers and winegrowers. Some offers concern bulk wines sold and repackaged under a different label. Most of the time, however, brokers deal with wine that is already produced and bottled, but needs to be sold and marketed.
Wineries often hire brokers to help them market and sell their wine. Brokers often visit the winery in person, taste the wine, and strike an agreement with the winery’s sales representative on how many bottles or cases need to be sold. They will then look for ways to get that wine onto restaurant wine lists, store shelves, or other commercial venues, as directed by the wine merchant.
Selling wine is often harder than it looks. Most commercial establishments have specific wine buyers charged with making official wine selections, and it can be difficult to convince them to change their minds or make new additions. One of the most essential wine broker requirements is a persistent, sales-oriented personality. Much of the work is overcoming initial hesitation and backtracking.
Sometimes brokers hold private tastings, organize trial sales shipments, and even organize promotional tours of wineries, if appropriate. Whatever is needed to seal a sales contract is usually done. This often entails a personal expense for the broker, believing that the initial outlay will lead to significant sales revenue later on.
A broker may also work for commercial ventures, often alongside a wine buyer or wine agent. Buyers and agents are generally good at placing orders and keeping up with the latest trends. Wine broker jobs are a bit different as their interest is mainly focused on dealings and fixed sales. This type of wine broker often recommends new wines to a merchant, or helps that establishment create a viable blend of vintages and labels that might otherwise be overlooked. The wine broker’s tasks often involve procuring hard-to-find wines that can give the merchant an edge over the competition.
One of the most important parts of the wine broker’s job is building relationships. Brokers generally must maintain an elaborate network of trusted contacts and sources that they can use as internal channels when doing business. Most of the time, the job of a wine broker is long-lasting. Merchants and vineyards often hire brokers they like for many years.
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