Wine Saving with Direct Imports

Did you ever want to try a special bottle (say a 2000 Charmes Chamberlin Burgundy) but did not want to pay full price? If your wine retailer was able to purchase and import the product directly, there is a good chance that a portion of that discount will be passed onto you!

Wine's Supply Chain

As with many commerce products, the wine industry consists of a three-tier vertical supply chain.

Producer
Wholesale Distributor
Retail Wine Merchant

As wine passes through to the Distributor, an additional surcharge cost is incurred. Obviously, the Wholesaler is compensated for the service provided. However, direct imports skip the intermediary and those middle tier costs.

Direct Imports

The way this works is, the Producer and the Merchant form a relationship and setup a direct importation agreement. The wine merchant makes a commitment to purchase a large quantity of wine directly from a winery at a discount price. The reason for this discount is the merchant buys a substantial volume with immediate delivery and cash payment, providing the incentive for the winery to charge a discounted fee.

Futures Trading

Sometimes this agreement is similar the stock market's futures trading, whereby the contract is setup to purchase a vintage in the future at a predetermined price. For example, an agreement is formed and paid in 2004, for the purchase of a quantity of a 2007 vintage, yet to be bottled. This forward focused agreement helps the current cash flow of the Winery Producer, and allows the Merchant to purchase the wine at a substantial discount to current market rates.

That is it

In these situations, the Merchant may not want store hundreds of cases for long periods and sets a very low price relative to the general market price. They also will often use this "Direct Shipment" method as a sales tactic. Therefore, it is possible for you to get some really good values on wines that have been purchased in this direct fashion. Direct shipments come from overseas, as well as wineries in America. Some good advice to you is to try one of these bottles first, then go back and negotiate case prices if you think you have found a treasure.

Contributor: Olivia Hall (Frankfurt, KY)

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