Is your wine ready for export? Score it in two minutes
By Dmitry Savchenko, Commercial Director, PWSB
Many producers want to export, but not every wine is ready for it. Before you spend money on fairs, samples and travel, give your wine an honest score. If it lacks at least two of the three main strengths below, export will be very hard.
The three main strengths: 10 points each
- A price among the best on the market. No more than about 5% above the lowest price for similar wines in your region.
- A strong label. Modern, unusual, eye-catching: something a buyer notices among dozens of other bottles.
- Proof of quality. Critics' scores, magazines, competitions, Vivino ratings: anything that clearly sets your wine apart.
Extra points: 3 each
- A well-known grape variety or region
- A rare grape or region that is currently in fashion
- An unusual production method: natural, amphora, orange, old vines
- A name that is easy to read in almost any language
- A name an international buyer understands immediately
Your result (maximum 45)
- 35–45: very strong export potential
- 30–34: a good export product
- 20–29: possible, but hard to sell
- Below 20: export is not the right next step. You may sell a few cases through personal contacts, but it is hard to build a lasting export business on that.
What buyers really ask
Almost every producer says they are a family winery with a unique terroir that makes wine with love. Buyers hear it every day. Their real question is simpler: why should they choose your wine instead of thousands of others?
The basics are not advantages
Stable prices, consistent quality from batch to batch, enough volume, reasonable lead times, correct documents and labels adapted to each market. Buyers don't see these as strengths. They expect them.