How do I get my wines to the UK?

Having attended over 500 trade wine tastings in recent years and travelled out to many of the famous wine regions, the most common type of question I get asked is about facilitating the process of getting wines to the UK:

• What's the best way to get my wines to the UK?

• Can you find me an importer / distributor?

• How easy is it to get wines to the UK following Brexit?

• Wish is the best courier company to use?

• Is my branding correct for the UK market?

• Is it worth me attempting to enter the UK market / Are my wines competitively priced for the UK market?

How to enter the UK wine market.

The best steps to take in order to get your wines to the UK and also, just as importantly, to know if the UK market is correct for you / your wines / your winery.

• What are you looking to achieve by entering the UK market? Questions you should ask include if you are looking to increase profits, spread risk, improve brand recognition and more.

• What ambitions / targets? Have you in mind the amount of sales you wish to make, the type of brand profile you are looking to build - How about how much time and finance you are willing to invest!?

• Have you researched similar wineries to you and if they are in the UK? What are your competitors doing in the UK market, not only local wineries or those of your classification, but you must also consider other countries producing similar wines of similar grapes? What price points are they selling at - Which importers are they with - how recognised are their brands - Who is working with similar wineries to you - is there a gap in the market to explore?

The best way to enter the UK wine market is to contact a wine consultancy agency and ideally one which have a long history in the sector and a tasting room in London. There is a wide choice of wine consultants and the likes of marketings and PR agencies for food and drinks. It is important that the company you choose has already a wide database of contacts to push your wines out to and a current and very active presence in the UK market.

Wine consultancy usually involves a monthly service charge and a contractual commitment period - At Clerissa we have several packages starting from just £500 per month and importantly a smaller three month contract which we believe is enough time to report back to each of our clients their current standing in the UK market and / or to find a suitable importer.

A final note to make about the UK wine market is that most sales are below £10 and this is the more active and frequent part of the sector, here we are price sensitive where each cent or penny counts - Be prepared for strong discussions on cellar prices!