With over 7,600 US wineries and tens of thousands of foreign wineries vying for valuable shelf space, menu placement and wine by the glass programs, it’s no wonder wineries are finding it to be increasingly difficult to secure meaningful distribution and ongoing sales volume.

The fact is, the number of wineries has increased almost 5-fold over the past 20 years, yet there are only about half the number of distributors with whom to work. The large wine groups now control between 65%-75% of total volume in the United States and are in a position to dictate which wineries any distributor can represent or prioritize. Unfortunately, this frequently leaves small and medium family wineries out of the picture. When these wineries find themselves with too much inventory, they can no longer count on moving it through the traditional three-tier system. Oftentimes, their wine clubs and tasting rooms can’t possibly provide enough volume potential to make a meaningful difference. These wineries frequently don’t know where to turn to convert their fine wine into cash. That’s when Mulberry Trample can be of service.

There are more wineries to spread among fewer distributors

1991                                                   2011

1600 US Wineries                            7600 US Wineries

1800 Distributors                              850 Distributors

Mulberry Trample is unique in its ability to provide wineries real value beyond the traditional wine brokerage services. That’s because we have been built from the ground up to provide wine to large wine merchants capable of making significant purchases without employing highly visible means of sell-through. This protects wineries from potentially downgrading the value of their brands, while providing a unique venue for clearing out inventory. Mulberry Trample works very closely with the following types of distribution outlets on behalf of the wines we broker:

• Email wine marketers looking for great value in exchange for exposing discounted wine exclusively to their contained mailing lists
• Wine of the Month and Gift Programs looking for great value. They actually inflate the value of the wine to enhance consumer perceptions of their programs
• Large catering organizations and banquet facilities capable of ordering in volume
• Higher end specialty retailers and restaurants looking to create outsized gross margins for their enterprises
• Export programs geared toward moving the wine outside the normal distribution channels