Six Shoes to Put Yourself in With Wine Business Questions

Many times in wine business exams, you’ll be asked questions about routes to market for various wines and regions. Or you’ll be asked to examine the strengths and weaknesses of wine regions with their penetration and appeal (or lack thereof) among certain wine markets an important area to touch on in your answer.

But what markets should you talk about? Then during the pressure of an exam, how can you remember and double-checked that you’ve covered key areas?

A memory device you can use is to think of six shoes to put yourself in (as a consumer, buyer, producer) based on some of the most important markets in the wine industry. These are markets that you want to be familiar with—their unique quirks and influences—with each presenting different challenges and opportunities for wine producers.

Shoe #1 - A wine region’s own domestic market

This is an angle that is easy to overlook when answering an exam question because often the mind jumps straight to exports. However, a region’s local domestic market will have considerable influence on its industry. For example, one of the reasons why both New Zealand (7th largest exporter by value, 2020) and Australia (4th largest) are so export-driven is because of their relatively small populations (126th and 55th in the world, respectively, 2021) and domestic market.

Domestic markets will always be valuable to producers because of ease of access and the absence of the immense costs and efforts needed to export. So it’s worth pausing to think about what’s going on at home when starting your answer.

Now since you won’t know what wine regions an exam will ask about, some good general wine business resources that touch on domestic issues in various regions includes The Drinks Business, Meiningers Wine Business International, The Buyer and Wine Industry Insights.

Shoe #2 - The UK Market

While considered an established market (as opposed to emerging or growing markets), the UK is undoubtedly one of the most important markets in the world for wine. It’s a fairly unique market with its combination of dominance by major supermarket chains as well a vibrant indie scene with specialist retailers. The UK is also where some prominent wine certification organizations are based. While the exam writers of these orgs, undoubtedly, strive for a global perspective when crafting exam questions, there’s always value in understanding the “home turf” and industry that many of these examiners work in.

There are a lot of news sources that focus on the UK market such as Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News and Drinks Retailing News that are worth subscribing to.

Shoe #3 - The US Market
The US is a complicated market because of its unique 3-Tier System which essentially makes all 50 states like their own country when it comes to the challenges of importing and distributing there. There are also cultural distinctions in this large country with the wine markets on the East Coast (New York, Washington, DC, Miami, etc) importing and consuming different wines than those in the middle part of the country (Chicago, Texas, etc.) and West Coast (San Francisco, Seattle, etc.)

If you’re not an American, who would already have some familarity with the US wine scene, we recommend first focusing on the East Coast markets—particularly New York which is the home of several prominent importers and auction houses in the US as well as a vibrant indie retail scene similar to the UK.

Some good resources for the US wine market, in general, include Shanken News Daily, Seven Fifty Daily, Vine Pair, and Wine Business Monthly.

Shoe #4 - The Chinese Market

Like the US, China is a huge country and a very diverse market. But it is an emerging market so understanding some of the overarching drivers (like the influence of the Chinese government and importance of free trade deals) can go a long way.

A few good resources for learning more about the Chinese market are Decanter China and Jim Boyce’s Grape Wall of China blog.

Shoe #5 - Germany & Scandinavia

If your study time is precious, focusing on the “Big 3” of the UK, US and China (in that order) will make the most out of your limited time. However, two markets that you should consider at least name-dropping in your exam answers are Germany and Scandinavia (particularly Sweden).

Germany is often overlooked despite being the 3rd largest wine importing country by value (2020), just behind the US and UK. There is impressive volume behind that #3 ranking, especially when you consider that Germany is an established market that tends to be very “price-conscious” and value-driven.

Both Norway and Sweden are monopoly markets with their Vinmonopolet and Systembolaget systems, respectively. David Morrison of The Wine Gourd has some good insights on these different systems as well as those of Denmark (notably not a monopoly), Iceland and Finland but probably the best one to focus on is the Systembolaget with Sweden being the 13th largest importer and a growing market.

For wine producers, working with monopoly markets is very different than with free markets so at least being mindful of these differences will help you with wine business questions. The Germany-based wine business publication, Meiningers, mentioned earlier, is a good resource to learn more about not only the German wine market but also features several articles about Sweden’s Systembolaget.

Shoe #6 - Your own local market

Finally, one very important pair of shoes not to forget in your answer is what’s going on in your own backyard. Whether you work in the trade or are just a consumer, you have insights about what wines you see at the supermarket, specialist shops, chain restaurants and fine dining where you live.

While you don’t want solely your own perspective to account for the majority of your answer (even if you live in one of the key markets noted above), there is still value (and possibly some extra marks) to be had in noting your first-person experience.

It’s also a really good fallback whenever you’re feeling stressed and your mind is drawing a blank. Take a deep breath, close your eyes and go to your local wine shop in your head. Look around and think about what you usually see (and don’t see). Starting in your own shoes can help center you and get over the anxiety hurdle.

And then branch out and try on a few other pairs.

Go ahead, indulge in your inner Imelda Marcos.