Wine Jobs: Wine Marketing

As the global wine market becomes increasingly competitive, careers in wine sales and marketing are always in demand. And people come to this part of the industry from all different backgrounds.

Those who have a passion for wine, communication, and know how to close deals typically excel as wine sales representatives. They are motivated self-starters who believe in their product and enjoy traveling. Oftentimes, wine sales managers earn the highest compensation of any position in a wine business – except maybe a star winemaker.

Like salespeople in other industries, those in wine sales usually have a Bachelors Degree and do a fair amount of traveling to get their product into restaurants and retail spaces in their expanding market. Sales representatives are usually in charge of a region or state(s) and report to sales managers.

Of course, without marketing, there would be no sales. From the wine’s label to the story of the people who make it, marketing creates the brand. In the digital age, many wineries have ramped up their marketing programs, whether that means spicing up their Web sites, starting a blog or communicating with their wine club members through Facebook. Most wineries or wine marketing companies prefer that their candidates have a Bachelors Degree in journalism, business or marketing. Depending on the size of the winery or company, the job can include the design and creation of all sales materials, coordinating events and tastings and working with the media.