Finding the right wine importer is one of the most important steps for any winery that wants to grow internationally. A good importer can open the door to a new market, introduce your wines to the right buyers, help with local positioning and build long-term sales. The wrong importer, however, can waste your time, delay your export plans or place your wines in channels that are not suitable for your brand.

For many producers, the challenge is not only finding importers. It is finding the right importers. This is where BestWineImporters is vital, offering a solution for all the issues that appear in the process.

A winery can spend days searching online, visiting company websites, checking trade fair exhibitor lists or sending emails to generic addresses. Sometimes this works, but very often it leads to outdated contacts, companies that are no longer active, importers that do not work with your category or buyers who are not relevant for your price level.

A better approach is to treat importer search as a structured sales process. Before contacting anyone, producers need to understand their own goals, identify the most suitable markets, build a qualified list of prospects and approach each company with a clear and relevant proposal.

Start with your export goals

Before looking for importers, your winery should define what kind of market entry it wants. This step is often skipped, but it can make the difference between a focused campaign and a long list of random contacts.

A small premium winery looking for restaurant placements in Scandinavia will need a different partner than a larger producer looking for retail distribution in Germany or private label opportunities in the United Kingdom. A natural wine producer will usually need importers with a very different profile from a winery focused on supermarket volumes. A sparkling wine producer may need companies with experience in celebration, hospitality and specialty retail channels.

This is why the first question should not be “Where can I find wine importer emails?” The better question is “Which importers are most likely to be interested in my wines?”

To answer that, producers should look at their price range, production volume, export experience, certifications, packaging, grape varieties, region, brand positioning and target sales channels. Once these elements are clear, it becomes much easier to identify the right type of importer.

Choose the right markets first

Not every country is equally suitable for every winery. Some markets are large but extremely competitive. Others are smaller but more open to niche producers, organic wines, boutique brands or emerging regions. Some countries may offer strong demand but require specific documentation, labeling adjustments, local representation or a longer sales cycle.

When choosing export markets, wineries should look beyond general market size. A large wine-importing country is not automatically the best opportunity if the category is crowded, margins are tight or buyers are not open to new producers. On the other hand, a smaller market can sometimes offer better results if there is a strong fit between the winery and the local importer base.

Producers should consider factors such as wine consumption trends, demand for their origin or style, average price levels, competition, logistics, regulations and the structure of local distribution. For example, some markets are strongly retail-driven, while others rely more on restaurants, hotels, independent shops or specialized importers.

A focused export strategy usually starts with a shortlist of priority countries, not with a global campaign sent to hundreds of companies.

Understand what type of partner you need

One common mistake is contacting any company that appears to be involved in wine trade. Importers, distributors, wholesalers, agents, retailers and online shops can all be part of the wine market, but they do not all play the same role.

A wine importer usually brings foreign wines into a country and handles or coordinates customs, documentation, taxes, warehousing and compliance. A distributor focuses more on selling and delivering wines within a market, region or sales channel. An agent may represent producers and introduce them to buyers, often without buying or importing the wine directly. A retailer or restaurant group may buy wine, but not necessarily import it directly.

In many cases, one company can combine several roles. An importer may also distribute nationally. A distributor may import selected producers. A specialized retailer may import directly for its own shops or online platform.

For wineries, it is important to understand the company’s real function before making contact. If you need someone to legally bring your wine into the country, a restaurant buyer is not enough. If you already have an importer but need regional coverage, you may need distributors. If you are testing a market and need introductions, an agent may be useful.

The better you understand the role of each potential partner, the more relevant your outreach will be.

Look for portfolio fit

Portfolio fit is one of the most important criteria when searching for wine importers. Importers are more likely to respond when they can clearly see how your wines fit their existing business.

A company that specializes in premium Italian wines may not be the right target for a large-volume entry-level brand from another region. An importer focused on organic and biodynamic producers may be more open to a small certified winery with a strong story. A company supplying supermarket chains may be interested in volume, private label options and stable pricing, while a boutique importer may care more about limited production, authenticity and restaurant potential.

Before contacting an importer, producers should check what types of wines the company already represents. Look at countries of origin, price positioning, portfolio size, sales channels and whether similar products are already present. Similarity can be a good sign, but too much overlap can also be a problem. If an importer already has five wines in exactly the same category, they may not need another one unless your offer is clearly different.

The goal is not to find every importer. The goal is to find importers where your wine makes commercial sense.

Avoid relying only on generic searches

Many producers start with Google searches such as “wine importers Germany,” “wine distributors USA” or “wine importers Japan.” This can be useful for general orientation, but it is rarely enough for serious export work.

Search results often show the most visible companies, not necessarily the most relevant ones. Some websites are outdated. Some companies do not publish direct contacts. Others may have changed focus, stopped importing certain categories or no longer be active in the same way. In many cases, producers end up sending emails to generic addresses such as info@ or office@, with no clear idea who will read the message.

The best results usually come from combining several sources: importer databases like BestWineImporters, trade fair research, market reports, local recommendations, trade data and your own follow-up work.

Build a qualified importer list

Once you have selected your target markets and defined your ideal partner profile, the next step is to build a qualified list of importers.

A good list should include more than just company names. Ideally, you should know what the company does, which products it imports, which market segment it serves, which countries it already works with, whether it is active, and who the relevant decision-makers are.

Useful information includes company type, location, website, portfolio, product categories, sales channels, size, contact person, email, phone number and any available notes about trade activity or market focus. This allows you to prioritize prospects instead of treating all contacts equally.

For example, you may divide your list into priority groups. The first group could include importers that are very close to your profile and should receive a personalized approach. The second group could include companies with some potential but lower certainty. The third group could include broader contacts that may be useful later, but should not be the first focus.

This type of segmentation helps producers avoid the common mistake of sending the same generic message to everyone.

Prepare your materials before contacting importers

Finding importers is only the first part of the process. Before contacting them, wineries should make sure they are ready to present themselves professionally.

Importers receive many offers, so the first impression matters. Your message should be clear, short and relevant. It should quickly explain who you are, what type of wines you produce, why your wines may fit their portfolio and what kind of cooperation you are looking for.

You should also have your basic export materials ready. This usually includes a company presentation, technical sheets, price list, bottle images, awards or ratings if available, certification details, production volumes, logistics information and sample policy. If you already export to other markets, mention this briefly. If you are new to export, be transparent but show that you understand what importers need.

The goal is not to send a long presentation in the first email. The goal is to make the importer interested enough to continue the conversation.

Contact the right person

One of the biggest problems in importer outreach is contacting the wrong person or using only generic company emails. A strong offer can easily be lost if it never reaches the person responsible for buying, imports, purchasing or portfolio development.

Whenever possible, producers should look for direct contacts. Depending on the company, the relevant person may be the owner, purchasing manager, wine buyer, import manager, category manager, commercial director or portfolio manager.

A direct and personalized message usually performs better than a generic email. Mentioning why you selected that company, how your wines fit their portfolio and what you are proposing can significantly improve your chances of receiving a reply.

This does not mean every email needs to be long. In fact, shorter messages often work better. But they should show that you have done your research.

Follow up properly

Many opportunities are lost because producers send one email and stop there. Importers are busy, especially before and after major trade fairs, buying seasons or holiday periods. A lack of immediate response does not always mean lack of interest.

A good follow-up sequence is polite, spaced out and useful. The first follow-up can simply check whether the importer had time to review your message. A second follow-up can add something relevant, such as a short note about your best-selling wine, an upcoming fair where you can meet, recent awards or a product that may fit their portfolio.

The important thing is not to pressure the buyer. The goal is to stay visible while showing professionalism. After several attempts without response, it is usually better to move the company to a later follow-up list and focus on other prospects.

Export sales often require patience. Some importers may respond months later, especially if they are reviewing their portfolio or preparing for a new buying season.

Use trade fairs strategically

Trade fairs remain one of the best ways to meet importers, but they work best when combined with preparation. Many producers attend fairs hoping that the right buyers will simply appear at their stand. Sometimes this happens, but relying only on spontaneous visits is risky.

A better strategy is to identify importers before the event, contact them in advance and try to schedule meetings. Even a short meeting at a fair can be much more valuable if the importer already knows who you are and why your wines may be relevant.

After the fair, follow-up is essential. Producers should organize all conversations, send requested information quickly and separate serious leads from casual visitors. The first days after the fair are important because buyers may have met dozens or hundreds of producers.

BestWineImporters can be especially useful before and after trade fairs, helping wineries identify relevant importers in target countries, prepare outreach campaigns and continue the conversation after the event.

Check importer credibility and activity

Before sending samples, offering exclusivity or entering a distribution agreement, producers should do some basic due diligence.

This may include checking whether the company is active, whether it has a real presence in the market, what kind of portfolio it manages, which channels it serves and whether it has experience with similar wines. When possible, it is also useful to look at company information, financial signals, trade activity or references.

Sending samples internationally can be expensive. Offering exclusivity too early can be even more costly. A winery should first understand whether the importer is serious, relevant and capable of developing the brand.

A good importer will usually be open to a professional conversation about market expectations, pricing, volumes, support, exclusivity and next steps. If the communication is vague or the expectations seem unrealistic, it is better to proceed carefully.

How BestWineImporters helps wineries find wine importers

BestWineImporters was created more than 20 years ago to make this process faster and more targeted for wine, beer and spirits producers. Instead of relying only on search engines, outdated lists or generic trade fair contacts, producers can use BWI to search verified importers and distributors by country, product category, company type, size and contact information.

This helps wineries move from random outreach to structured prospecting. You can identify companies that match your category, understand their role in the market and contact the right people directly. Users get access to valuable financial data, a trade/ shipping data module, advanced company reports and many more tools that allow them to get a clear image of their potential partners. 

For producers preparing for export campaigns, trade fairs or business trips, this can save a significant amount of time and improve the quality of the conversations.

The platform is not meant to replace the producer’s sales work. You still need a strong offer, good materials, follow-up and patience. But it helps solve one of the hardest parts of export development: knowing which companies are worth contacting in the first place.