How we work
Low friction, by design.
Exporting fails on friction: the wrong importer, samples that go nowhere, follow-ups that stop. This page is our method, written down, so you know exactly what happens after you sign.
Four steps, every market.
From the first importer we approach to the reorder, the same team carries your range.
- 01
Prospection
We map the importers whose portfolio genuinely has a gap for your wines, then pitch, sample, follow up, negotiate and close.
- 02
Tastings and fairs
Private trade tastings in top-tier cities, 20 to 50 importers in the room, and the main fairs on request.
- 03
Account management
Orders, importer requests, problems solved on the spot, so a first order turns into reorders.
- 04
Reporting you can see
A regular report and a private partner page: every importer touched, every sample, every next step.
The contact ladder
Every channel has one job.
Most exporters use one channel for everything. We use each for what it does best, at a rhythm importers welcome. Read the full method →
- 01
Cold email
Three or four times a year per importer, never more. We intend to still be welcome in that inbox in five years.
- 02
Calls
Only to unblock: an offer with no answer, samples with no feedback, a stalled negotiation. Never as a first touch.
- 03
Email recap
Every meeting, offer and order is confirmed in writing. Chat apps forget; the email record does not.
- 04
WeChat, KakaoTalk, LINE, WhatsApp
The glue between formal moments, and where relationships in Asia actually live.
- 05
Meetings
Where it becomes real: more than 300 importer meetings in 18 months across our markets.
- 06
Trade tastings
At least once a year per market, more in China, each planned like a campaign. Seoul: 306 importers contacted, 24 buyers in the room, every one answered within 48 hours.
- 07
Fairs
The widest net: booths at the key fairs of the region, where new importers and existing partners find you.
What you receive
You see the work, not just the result.
- A lead who knows your range, reachable directly
- A regular written report: market situation, meetings held, importer profiles and needs, offers sent, samples, next steps
- A private partner page, updated from our CRM: every importer touched, every sample, every next step
- Regular calls to keep our work in line with your strategy
What to expect
Honest timelines.
Measured on our own mandates, a first confirmed order lands two to ten months after signing, most often seven to ten. The first weeks are preparation: which wines, which markets, at what landed price. Then samples travel, importers taste, and the first order is usually small. That is healthy: an importer testing you is an importer who intends to reorder.
Activity is the leading indicator, orders the lagging one. If meetings are happening and samples are being tasted, the order is coming.
How we measured it → Two producers' timelines →Your part
Three things that make it faster.
- 01
Answer quickly
A buyer's question that waits four days is often not asked again.
- 02
Keep samples ready
Every week between « send samples » and their arrival is momentum lost.
- 03
Price for the destination
A price built back from the shelf beats one built forward from the cellar door.
Your options
How the routes to a new market compare.
There is more than one way to open a market. Here is an honest comparison.
| Your Wine Rep office | Your own export manager per country | Commission-only agent | Lists and platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the market, in person | Offices in Shanghai, Korea and Paris; teams travel the markets | Yes, if you hire locally | Sometimes | No |
| Speaks the buyers' language | Yes, in each office's markets | Depends on the hire | Often | No |
| Works your range before an order is near | Yes: paid to be there every month | Yes | Rarely: paid only on orders | No |
| Cost structure | Monthly retainer, shared expenses | Salary, travel, set-up | Commission only | Subscription or one-off fee |
| Time to start | Weeks | Months (recruit, train) | Fast | Immediate |
| Opening a second market | Same team, next office | Hire again | Find another agent | Buy another list |
The engagement
How we are paid.
A monthly retainer, with shared expenses, under a separate agreement per office. The retainer is what lets us work your markets before an order is in sight. We send a proposal after a first call, built for your range and the markets you choose.
What we do not do: we do not buy your wine or take title to it, we do not promise orders, and we do not blast purchased lists. We work for the producer.
Questions from producers
What producers ask us first.
Do you buy our wine?
No. We are your agent: we do not buy your wine or take title to it. Importers buy from you directly, and we follow every order with them.
Who meets the importers?
Our own people: offices in Shanghai, Korea and Paris, staff in Japan, and more than 10 trips a year through Southeast Asia. Each office has a lead you can write to directly.
What happens to the importers if we stop working together?
The relationships are yours. You can take them over directly, or keep working with us on the importers already in place, on simpler terms.
Do you work with producers like us?
We work for family estates, cooperatives and houses from France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, each office for its own producers. Two of them tell their story, with the numbers, on our results page.
How long until a first order?
Measured on our own mandates: two to ten months after signing, most often seven to ten. The first order is usually small, and the follow-up brings the second.
How are you paid?
A monthly retainer per office, with shared expenses. We send a proposal after a first call, built for your range and the markets you choose.
Our values
Reliability
We say what we do and we do what we say.
Efficiency
We do what matters, and we do it well.
Tenacity
A no today is often a yes tomorrow.
Service
We work for the producer and adjust to your needs.
Contact me
Talk to Benjamin.
Benjamin Birot
Founder, General Manager Asia-Pacific
benjamin@yourwinerep.com · LinkedIn
Tell us about your wines and the markets you have in mind. A person answers within one working day.