For wineries, beer and sprits producers selling — or hoping to sell — in the United States, 2026 is becoming an important reminder of just how quickly distribution networks can change.

A few weeks ago, Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), one of the best-known names in US wine and spirits distribution, voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 protection. The company said the process would allow it to explore additional sales while carrying out an orderly wind-down of its remaining operations. And RNDC filing is not an isolated event.

Major portfolios, territories and distribution rights had already begun moving between wholesalers months before the Chapter 11 announcement. Taken together, these changes suggest something larger: the US wine distribution map is being reshaped.

For producers, this creates both risk and opportunity.

What happened to RNDC?

RNDC attributed its decision to an increasingly difficult wholesale environment, changing consumer preferences and financial pressure.

Before filing for Chapter 11, the company had already begun transferring significant parts of its business.

In May, Reyes Beverage Group completed a major transaction involving RNDC operations across markets including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Reyes described the acquisition as its largest to date, adding thousands of employees and more than 135,000 customers to its network.

At the end of June, Columbia Distributing completed the acquisition of key RNDC distribution rights in Oregon and Washington. The transferred portfolio represented approximately 850,000 additional cases, including around 500,000 cases of wine.

Changes have continued since the bankruptcy filing. In New York, for example, New York Wine & Spirits, part of Manhattan Beer & Beverage, acquired distribution rights for a collection of brands previously represented by RNDC New York, with the new arrangement taking effect in August.

At the same time, major suppliers have been adjusting their own distribution structures. Brown-Forman, for instance, shifted business previously handled by RNDC in several US control states to distributors including Johnson Brothers, Southern Glazer’s, Superior Beverage Group and Great Lakes Wine & Spirits.

The result is not simply the disappearance of one distributor. Brands, portfolios and territories are being redistributed among multiple companies.

Why this matters for wineries

For large international wine groups, changing distributors can mean reorganising established contracts, logistics and sales teams.

For smaller and medium-sized wineries, however, the implications may be even more important.

Many producers approach the United States with the idea that they need to find a US importer or a US distributor.

In reality, the market is far more fragmented.

Importers bringing commercial wine into the United States require a federal importer permit, while wholesalers also operate under federal permitting requirements. On top of this, individual states have their own regulations covering alcohol distribution and sales.

That means the right route to market can vary significantly from one state to another.

A partner with excellent coverage in Texas may not be the right choice for New York. A distributor strong in California restaurants may be less relevant for a producer targeting independent retailers in Florida. Some importers specialise in particular wine origins, price segments or styles; others build broader national portfolios.

The RNDC changes make this distinction especially visible.

One distributor is not necessarily a US strategy

One of the lessons producers can take from the current disruption is the importance of thinking about the United States market by market rather than as one single territory.

For wineries entering the country, that may mean prioritising a limited number of states first.

Instead of asking:

“Who can distribute my wine in the United States?”

a more useful series of questions could be:

• Which US states are most suitable for my wine, price point and production capacity?
• Which importers already work with wines from my country or category?
• Which distributors have strong coverage in those states?
• Does the potential partner already represent competing or complementary wineries?
• Is the distributor structured for a brand of my size?
• Who is the relevant decision-maker responsible for portfolio development or purchasing?

This becomes increasingly important when portfolios are moving between distributors.

Large suppliers may transition automatically as part of major transactions. Smaller wineries may have to be much more proactive.

Distribution consolidation also creates opportunities

Industry restructuring is not necessarily negative for producers looking to enter the US.

When distribution rights move, portfolios change.

And when portfolios change, new gaps can appear.

A distributor inheriting hundreds of brands may decide that some categories require additional depth. Another company expanding into new states may look for producers that fit its new customer base. Regional distributors may gain experienced sales teams or new market coverage.

At the same time, wineries that find themselves poorly positioned after a distribution change may begin looking for alternative partners.

For producers outside the United States, this makes current distributor research particularly valuable.

A list of distributors created two or three years ago may no longer accurately reflect who represents which brands, which states companies cover or where the strongest opportunities exist.

Smaller and specialist distributors should not be ignored

The restructuring of large distribution networks also highlights another mistake wineries sometimes make when searching for US partners: focusing only on the largest names.

Scale is valuable, but it is not always the most important criterion.

For a smaller winery producing 20,000 or 50,000 bottles annually, a specialist importer with a focused portfolio may be more relevant than one of the largest national distributors.

A specialist wine importer may offer:

• greater attention to individual brands;
• stronger expertise in a specific region or wine style;
• established relationships with independent retailers or restaurants;
• a portfolio where the winery is less likely to become one brand among hundreds;
• closer access to the people making purchasing and portfolio decisions.

The best distributor is therefore not necessarily the biggest one.

It is the distributor whose market coverage, portfolio, customers and commercial model match the winery.

What should wineries and spirits producers targeting the US do now?

The RNDC situation should not be interpreted as a reason to avoid the American market. It should be seen as a reason to approach it more carefully.

Before contacting distributors, wineries should define their ideal US partner based on factors such as:

Target states.
Choose where the product has the strongest commercial potential rather than trying to cover the entire country immediately.

Wine category and origin.
Look for importers already selling comparable wines, but check whether their portfolio is complementary or overcrowded with direct competitors.

Price positioning.
A distributor focused on high-volume supermarket wines may not be suitable for a boutique €30 cellar-door wine, and vice versa.

Production capacity.
The size of the producer needs to match the expectations and geographic reach of the distributor.

Customer channels.
Identify whether the objective is restaurants, independent wine shops, regional chains, large retail accounts, e-commerce or a combination.

Existing portfolio.
Studying which wineries a distributor already represents is one of the fastest ways to understand whether it could be a realistic match.

Once those criteria are clear, the next challenge is finding the relevant companies and, importantly, the right people inside those companies.

Finding US wine importers in a changing market

The RNDC restructuring is one of the most visible examples of how quickly beverage distribution can change, but it will not be the last.

Supplier relationships change. Distributors merge. Territories expand. Portfolios move. New companies enter markets while others reduce their coverage.

For wineries, this means importer research cannot be a one-time exercise.

It needs to be based on current information and on fit, not simply on finding the names of a few large distributors.

BestWineImporters helps wineries and beverage companies research wine importers and distributors across the United States and other international markets, compare relevant company profiles and identify the decision-makers behind them.