Marketing services and performance information
Our company provides buyers and sellers with guidance in all aspects of brokerage negotiations. The Urban Vintners Association deal with demand, grape quality, appellations, quantities, and payment terms. Of course, determining grape quality involves subjective judgements. Our team of accomplished winemakers and consultants enables this service; an important factor that distinguishes us from our competitors.
Matching appropriate buyers and sellers
If you are selling, you want to connect with as many qualified buyers as possible. If you are a buyer, you want to visit as many appropriate vineyards and to sample as many appropriate grapes as possible. Sellers and buyers don’t want to waste time and resources on a multitude of inappropriate matches. This can add up to many hours of time saved. So the fundamental role of the broker is to find as many appropriate matches – and as few inappropriate matches – as possible. In a business with a thousand wineries and many thousands of growers, in a business where each grower may have multiple varieties, and in a business where production volume is hard to predict and where sales fluctuate dramatically, everyone always has too much of some items and too little of others. Because a broker specializes in making a market, they are in constant contact – in person, by telephone, by e-mail, by fax, by web site – with potential buyers and sellers.
Trusted support
Follow up and support is key to successful sales. The establishment and support of a protocol for grape sales is a crucial function of a broker. Although actual problems are infrequent, unexpected scenarios are numerous. Not all of potential problems are easily dealt with by means of legal contracts. In actual practice, the best way to prevent these problems is to have a trusted third party facilitating the process. Virtually everyone who buys or sells grapes does so over and over again. A reputation as a solid player who deals fairly with others is important to any company that wants easy access to a wide range of buyers and sellers. As a result, the vast majority of sales go smoothly and any difficulties are quickly solved.
Confidentiality
We keep your grape sales and purchases confidential. Trust plays a large role in the the wine business: the vast majority of buyers and sellers are happy to adhere to an established protocol with regard to how products are offered and prices set and agreements written and honoured. The broker has the role of encouraging compliance with established protocol.
Long Range Planning
Many of our clients are interested in medium and long term strategic planning. How should a grower go about developing a suitable customer base for his grapes? What should a winery do to assure a flexible, high-quality and competitively priced supply of grapes for a growing brand? What are the strengths and weaknesses of potential suppliers? What is the likelihood of price decreases over the next few years? Does it make sense to commit long term or keep commitments short? The experience gathered from over 20 years of selling grapes and wines in bulk helps us to address issues like these. Of course, when dealing with Mother Nature, there are no guaranteed strategies. But there are ways to reduce risks and increase the rewards.
The functions outlined above, including matching buyers and sellers, avoiding inappropriate matches, providing pricing and performance information, and mediating disputes, are all part of the standard services of a good broker. If you are looking to source Italian grapes for your wine club, private winery, or business please fill out the custom quote form on this page or contact us for more information.
