5 Essential Steps to Export Wine to the U.S. – A guide for Spanish Wineries.
Are you a Spanish winery considering entering the U.S. market? Exporting wine to the U.S. can be a successful venture, but it requires careful preparation or the biggest disaster for a winery.
Here are the five steps I consider essential to consider before exporting your wine to the US:
1 -Strengthen your local and proximity market.
Before tackling not only the entry into the U.S. market but any export, make sure your winery has a presence in your local and proximity market. Ideally, you should have experience exporting to other European countries or markets outside Spain. Why is this important? Firstly, because it will allow you to test your product and get feedback to improve every day and secondly, because it gives us importers security and confidence in the continuity of the winery.
2 – Understand the Market and Compliance Requirements
Understanding the U.S. market and its compliance requirements is crucial. Familiarize yourself with the Three-Tier System for alcohol distribution in the U.S., which involves producers, wholesalers and retailers. Be aware that minor changes will need to be made to the back labels of your wines to comply with Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) regulations. In addition, you must obtain your FDA registration to ship products to the U.S. Although we help our wineries with this process, it is important to have this knowledge beforehand and be aware that exporting to the U.S. is not a quick process.
3 – Your reputation will precede you.
Awards and recognition from wine critics can significantly enhance your brand’s reputation. Although it is not mandatory to get a perfect score from critics such as Tim Atkin, Robert Parker or James Suckling, having positive opinions and reviews from reputable sources can help in brand development. At Tasters, we don’t just sell wine; we develop brands with a medium to long-term strategy that benefits both the winery and our portfolio, and this is a step that helps us with that work. You can also monitor and evaluate how they are rating your wine in applications like Vivino and of course, always take good note of how you can improve year by year.
If you want to know some of our wineries in Decanter’s blind tastings, such as Bodega Marta Maté or Vino Feliz.
4 – Demonstrate Your Commitment to Export
In a competitive market, your commitment to support our sales efforts is vital. This includes providing wine samples, assisting with marketing promotions and visiting us and our customers at the destination. This can be a big effort especially when we ask you to come to destinations like Miami, but consider applying for OCM funds, they are not easy and help you fund an important part of the travel and actions, so find out more if you didn’t know about it.
Forgive me for emphasizing a lot on samples, as it is probably the most powerful weapon for a small winery, as it helps to develop the brand and increase the presence in the market, and there is nothing that the American public likes more than a good story, a good wine and meeting a “winemaker”.
5 – Elige al Importador Adecuado
Deciding between a national importer with exclusivity or working with state-specific importers and distributors is a strategic decision. The best choice depends on your product and business objectives, but in our opinion we believe that partnering with state-specific importers, like us, allows for deeper market penetration, increases annual volumes and, most importantly, builds trust and strong relationships. This approach helps develop the market more effectively by tailoring strategies to local preferences and needs.
Of course, it takes more work to find importers and distributors per state, but in our experience it is worth it if you want to export regularly.
How can we help you?
We are importers of Spanish wines in Florida, Texas and South Carolina, although we are always looking to open new states.
You want to boost the export of your winery, or you lack national business development. We can help you and be your guide, with our consulting service we will help you develop new markets.
I hope this article has been helpful.
