If you want to work as a wine distributor, you’ll need a diverse set of skills. Being knowledgeable about wineries and wines is necessary, but it is far from the only skill you will require. The job entails a mix of wine expertise, sales, logistics, and accounting. To break into this exciting field, you’ll need to devote a significant amount of time to learning about wine and wine distribution, as well as studying the art of winemaking.
A wine distributor buys stock from a wine wholesaler or vineyards and sells it to restaurants, liquor stores, wine shops, and other retailers. To ensure that these vendors continue to buy wine, distributors must build and maintain relationships with them. In order to have a sales niche, many distributors specialize in a specific type of wine, region, or vintage.
If you want to be a wine distributor, there are no educational requirements, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be well-versed in a variety of subjects. Having a strong palate is the most important requirement for a career in wine. This means that in a glass of white or red wine, you can detect a wide range of subtle flavors. Although much of this talent is innate, you can demonstrate your palate taking the test for a sommelier’s certificate, which serves as proof of your knowledge. To improve your palate, there are a variety of wine tasting classes available at colleges and community centers, but you could also find a sommelier and ask him to be your mentor.
If you want to work as a wine distributor, you must have excellent communication skills. To stay in business, a wine distributor must make sales on a regular basis, and one of the most important aspects of selling is communication. It takes a lot of interpersonal skill to know how to talk to customers, meet their needs, and nurture a relationship.
It is also necessary to have a good understanding of logistics. You must understand the channels through which these products travel because a distributor looks for wines to buy and researches markets to sell them. If you want to be a wine distributor, you’ll need to know how to negotiate good prices, make sure deliveries arrive on time, and keep a stock on hand.
Working as a wine representative for another wine distributor is a great way to gain all of the necessary skills to become a wine distributor. Working for someone else allows you to sample a variety of wines, hone your sales skills, and gain insight into how the industry operates from the inside. These jobs are also great ways to make contacts for buying and wholesaling, so you’ll have a long list of people to work with when you go out on your own.