Wine Sales and Distribution: The Secrets to Building a Consultative Selling Approach

Now in an expanded second edition to include new technologies, and incorporating post-pandemic developments, this is the first book to focus solely on developing the readers’ personal wine selling skills—for producers, distributors, and direct to the consumer. It comprehensively provides a practical approach to developing exceptional wine-selling skills. Drawing from their extensive experience in the field, the authors have crafted a clear and insightful framework based on the principles, strategies, and practices employed by top-notch wine professionals, including how to develop relationships, understand customer needs, and deliver both products and sales presentations in an efficient and effective way.

Based on the authors’ over six decades of combined research, consulting, and teaching in personal selling skills, the book draws on countless interviews and interactions with effective sales professionals in the wine and broader hospitality industries. The second edition also includes articles about the wine market and sales techniques from a dozen wine industry leaders. The strategies they outline are invaluable for all those seeking to start or enhance a career in wine sales. This book will be an invaluable launching point for anyone in the wine industry, whether their focus is distribution, retail sales, sommelier sales at a restaurant, or working in a winery tasting room.

Paul Wagner founded Balzac Communications & Marketing has been an instructor for Napa Valley College's Viticulture and Enology department for more than twenty-five years where he was named the McPherson Distinguished Teacher. He is a guest lecturer at many universities, including the Wintour MBA program in Europe, and has won many international awards for his work in the wine industry. His books, including, Wine Marketing & Sales, Wine Sales and Distribution, and Artisan Public Relations, have won international awards. He has recorded a series of lectures for the Great Courses called “The Instant Sommelier,” and a series of lectures on wine for Audible: “The Story of Wine in Ten Glasses.” He currently serves as Senior Advisor, Wine Tourism for the Expedia Cruise Ship Center. He has recently written a successful series of murder mysteries.

Susan DeMatei has over 30 years of luxury direct marketing experience, but in the past 18, she has worked exclusively in the wine industry. Susan holds a B.S. in Communications from Boston University and an A.S. in Viticulture from Napa Valley College. She is a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Specialist in Wine/Wine Education with the Society of Wine Educators and was awarded a DMA (Direct Marketing Association) award for strategic excellence. She is the marketing columnist for Grapevine Magazine, Crush Magazine (Canada) and a frequent freelance writer and speaker at conferences. Susan also is a marketing instructor at the WISE Academy as well as Napa Valley Community College, and a repeat lecturer at the Institute for Enology & Viticulture at Walla Walla Community College and California Polytechnic State University. In 2012 Susan started WineGlass Marketing, a full-service direct marketing agency for the alcohol space. Her firm, now in its eleventh year, is based in downtown Napa and supports domestic and international wine and spirits clients with both B2B and DTC marketing in digital as well as traditional channels. The firm’s creative strength is acclaimed winning 6 Platinum, 13 Gold and 7 Silver national and international creative awards for websites, social campaigns, and emails.

John C. Crotts, Ph. D., is the Director of the School of Travel Industry Management in the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Prior to this he was a Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management in the School of Business at the College of Charleston located in Charleston, South Carolina; a Senior Lecturer in the Advanced Business Programme on tourism subjects at Otago University, New Zealand; and the Director of the Center for Tourism Research and Development of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism at the University of Florida, Gainesville Florida. His research encompasses the areas of economic psychology, sales and negotiation strategy, and the management of cooperative alliances. He also serves as the North American Editor of Tourism Management and as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Services Research at Virginia Tech.

Byron Marlowe, tragically passed away in December of 2022. His work on the first edition of this book is notable, and we want to express our appreciation and gratitude to his memory. It was a pleasure to work with him and learn from him. Byron was well known for his knowledge of the wine and beer industries. Just recently, he earned a Fulbright scholar award, which took him to Austria to extend and deepen his work. He was known for his research impact and in 2020 led WSU hospitality clinical professors in research productivity with 10 refereed journal articles since 2016 (including three in one of the top hospitality publications) and five book chapters. He held several international visiting lecturer/ professor positions at University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule Harz, Germany, Institut Paul Bocuse, France & China, and Castello Sonnino Field Study, Italy for his expertise in wine tourism as well as food and beverage management.