Why bulk wine is now so important to the US and global wine market?
• Sid Patel, chief executive and founder of Beverage Trade Network and the International Bulk Wine and Spirits Show, gives his take on the US bulk wine market in an article that first appeared in Meininger Wine Business International. • Tim Hanni MW, a wine educator and consultant, says the challenge for international producers who want to enter the US market is “learning the intricacies of how bulk wine business is transacted”. Hanni MW, who has helped to establish the USA’s first bulk wine trade fair, adds that it’s critical to establish “a network of connections to the brokers, buyers and sellers.”
What is bulk wine? Bulk wine is defined as wine that is shipped in containers (ISO tanks, Flexitanks etc), rather than in bottles or smaller packaging. Some organizations describe any wine that’s shipped in containers larger than two litres as bulk wine but, strictly speaking, bulk wine is wine that’s shipped in large containers and then repackaged at its destination.
Tier One Producer
The first and most important tier of the US bulk wine trade belongs to wine negociants or brokers. Turrentine Brokerage, Mancuso Wine Brokerage and The Ciatti Company, all based in California, are leading names in this space.
Tier Two Distributors
Wine industry classifieds make up the second strata of the bulk wine business. These classifieds may appear in newspapers, industry publications or online, through websites like winebusiness.com and Wine Country Classifieds (also distributed in print).
Tier Three Consumer
The third section of the bulk wine trade market is known as the ‘whisper market’, where trade is conducted via personal relationships only. Products are not listed anywhere and nor is transactional data publicly available; nevertheless, this market accounts for a sizeable share of the bulk wine trade.
Why bulk wine? Bulk wine is traded for many reasons, from the need to create a blend using a varietal that’s not available locally, to a need for more wine because of a poor vintage, all the way to private label. On the other side, producers sometimes have excess grapes or wine that they can’t use themselves, and the bulk wine market offers them a way to sell that excess.
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When
From: Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 11:00 am.
Where
South San Francisco Conference Center
To: Thursday, July 27, 2017 at 6:00 pm (PDT).
255 South Airport Boulevard, South San Francisco, CA 94080, United States - View Map
Event Producer / Organizer
Beverage Trade Network (BTN) is a leading online marketing and B2B networking platform servicing suppliers, buyers and beverage professionals in the global beverage industry. BTN provides a selection of sourcing solutions for importers and distributors as well as an extensive range of marketing and distribution services for international suppliers. BTN also organizes a line-up of B2B trade shows around the world like USA Trade Tasting and Australia Trade Tasting.