The first meeting went well. The conversation flowed, the wine generated genuine interest, and there were signals worth paying attention to. Now comes the step that most producers handle instinctively: the follow-up. But between that moment and the next email, there is a stage that rarely receives the analytical attention it deserves. Reading the importer’s existing catalogue as a commercial document, before investing further time and credibility in a direction that may not be the right one.
The portfolio as a commercial map
An importer’s catalogue translates their business strategy into something visible: the markets being served, the channels being prioritised, the price segments being defended, the origins being genuinely understood. Each section reveals something about the company’s commercial architecture and about the probability that your wine will find a functional, defensible position within it.
The first reading layer is origin density. How many Italian references are already in the portfolio? From which regions? If an importer manages twenty Tuscan labels, introducing a twenty-first requires a very specific commercial rationale: a different price tier, a different channel, a positioning gap that none of the existing references cover. If central Italy is instead absent or thinly represented, the structural room exists and the conversation starts from a very different position.
Price architecture: where does your wine actually land?
Every portfolio has an internal pricing logic. There are anchor wines, high-volume references with predictable margin, and there are niche additions, used for positioning and credibility but with slower rotation. Mapping your ex-cellar price against the importer’s existing range is an exercise that repays every minute invested.
If a catalogue concentrates between €5 and €12 per bottle and your wine is positioned at €18, you would be entering territory the importer knows less well, sells less confidently, and likely promotes with less conviction. Equally, if your price falls directly into a segment already occupied by two or three stylistically and geographically similar references, the risk is internal cannibalisation, something no commercially rational importer welcomes.
Distribution channels: where does their wine actually go?
An importer focused on fine dining and one specialised in retail multiples are fundamentally different commercial partners, even when both maintain credible portfolios. For which channel is your wine built, considering price, packaging, story, and production volume? And is the portfolio you are reading coherent with that destination?
This information is not always explicit in a catalogue, but it can be read between the lines: the type of producers represented, the presence of specialist retail references versus mass-market volume drivers, the language used in trade communications. An importer whose team works primarily with sommeliers operates on a different sales timeline, with different decision-making processes, than one supplying supermarket chains. Understanding which world they actually inhabit shapes both your approach and your expectations.
Portfolio Vitality: is it actually moving?
A catalogue that never changes is a signal worth reading carefully. A commercially active importer adds and removes references because products sell, markets evolve, and portfolio gaps get filled. A static portfolio can indicate satisfaction with the existing range, but it can equally signal difficulty generating rotation, limited proactivity in the market, or a distribution structure that does not readily absorb new entries.
Comparing a current catalogue with earlier versions can be instructive: which producers were dropped and when, which categories are being built out, where commercial attention is actually moving.
Three questions before you write
Before sending the follow-up, three direct questions are worth answering honestly.
Does your wine solve a problem or create one? A wine occupying an already crowded space adds operational complexity. One that fills a geographic, stylistic, or price-positioning gap adds commercial value. That distinction determines how the conversation is likely to unfold.
Is there a natural buyer for it in their market? A wine that belongs in a starred restaurant, an independent wine shop, or a retail multiple requires a different distribution infrastructure. Does this importer consistently serve that channel, or is it peripheral to how they actually operate?
Is your production volume compatible with their commercial structure? An importer moving large volumes across dozens of references is not necessarily the right partner for a production of 8,000 bottles. The proportion between your supply capacity and their commercial scale directly influences the attention your wine will realistically receive once it enters the catalogue.
The portfolio as the starting point for the conversation
Studying a catalogue before the follow-up is the foundation for a message that talks about the importer, not about you. Instead of describing the wine, you can indicate where it fits within their existing range, what gap it addresses, which channel it can strengthen. That specific commercial literacy is, in itself, a professional signal, and one that relatively few producers manage to convey.
In a market where producers seeking distribution are abundant, those who can read another business’s logic before discussing their own are still comparatively rare and consistently more persuasive.
Sources & Further Reading
As a writer working closely with wineries and export managers, my primary source remains direct observation of how commercial decisions are actually made, including the moments between a first meeting and a follow-up that rarely get discussed openly.
To support these field-based insights with structured industry data, from portfolio dynamics and distribution channel analysis to product-market fit and buyer behaviour, I regularly consult a selection of authoritative, trade-focused sources.
SevenFifty Daily – A guide to becoming a wine importer An inside view of how importers build and evolve their catalogues, and what drives decisions to add or drop producers.
BestWineImporters – How to identify and approach potential Wine importers A practical guide on researching an importer’s portfolio, focus, and history before making contact.
