Wine Industry Researcher - Portugal & Spain Distributors for New eCommerce Brand

We are developing a new wine eCommerce platform targeting a younger generation of consumers in international markets, particularly Asia. For the first stage of the project, we are looking for a freelancer with wine industry knowledge and experience in Portugal and/or Spain to help us research and identify suitable wine distributors, wholesalers and selected wineries. This is initially a research and market-mapping project, with the potential to develop into a longer-term sourcing role. What We Are Looking For Our brand will be focused on making European wine more approachable and exciting for a younger generation of consumers. We are particularly interested in: • Modern and emerging wine producers • Organic wines • Natural and low-intervention wines • Biodynamic and sustainably produced wines • Independent and boutique wineries • Lesser-known grape varieties and regions • Wines with interesting producer stories • Attractive, contemporary branding and bottle design • Good-quality wines at accessible price points • Products that could appeal to younger consumers in markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand We are not looking to build a traditional catalogue dominated by expensive Bordeaux-style fine wines or only well-known commercial brands. Initial Project Your first task will be to identify approximately 20–30 qualified wine distributors, wholesalers, export companies and relevant producers in Portugal and Spain that could potentially supply our eCommerce business. For each company, we would like you to research: • Company name and website • Location • Contact person, where available • Email / telephone • Type of company: distributor, wholesaler, exporter or winery • Wine brands/producers represented • Approximate portfolio size • Organic / natural / biodynamic wine availability • Typical price positioning • Whether they work with online retailers • B2B/wholesale availability • Minimum order requirements, if available • Whether mixed-producer or mixed-case orders are possible • Export capabilities • International shipping/logistics capabilities • Whether they have their own warehouse • Whether stock/inventory information is available digitally • Your assessment of how suitable they are for our target customer and brand positioning We do not simply want a list generated from Google. We want someone who understands wine and can evaluate which distributors and producers are genuinely relevant to the concept. Portugal Will Be Our Initial Priority We are particularly interested in Portuguese distributors that can give us access to wines from multiple regions and producers through one supplier relationship. Examples of the type of companies we are currently researching include PTWine, Wine Concept and other specialist Portuguese wine distributors/exporters. We would like you to identify additional companies with similar or complementary portfolios, particularly those representing younger, independent, organic, natural or sustainability-focused producers. Spain will be the second area of research. Ideal Candidate You should ideally have previous professional experience in one or more of the following areas: • Wine distribution • Wine importing/exporting • Winery sales or export • Wine buying • Sommelier / wine retail • Wine sourcing • Wine industry consulting • Wine logistics Professional knowledge of the Portuguese and/or Spanish wine market is highly preferred. Portuguese or Spanish language ability is also a strong advantage. International Logistics Knowledge Is a Plus Our longer-term model is: Distributor / Winery → Fulfilment Partner in Europe → eCommerce Customer in Asia Therefore, experience with wine export, international shipping, fulfilment or Asian markets would be valuable, although it is not essential for the initial research phase. Deliverable For the initial project, we expect a structured spreadsheet containing approximately 20–30 highly relevant companies, together with your research and recommendations. Quality is much more important to us than quantity. We would rather receive 20 genuinely relevant distributors than a database of 200 generic wine companies. For the strongest candidates, we would also like a short explanation of why you believe the distributor is a good fit for our concept. Potential Long-Term Work If the initial research is successful, the next phase may include: • Contacting selected distributors and wineries • Requesting wholesale catalogues and price lists • Supplier communication in Portuguese/Spanish • Comparing wholesale pricing • Evaluating wine portfolios • Negotiating commercial terms • Coordinating samples • Researching fulfilment and international shipping solutions • Helping us develop our Portugal and Spain supplier network When Applying Please briefly answer the following: 1. What is your professional experience in the wine industry? 2. Do you have specific knowledge of the Portuguese and/or Spanish wine market? 3. Have you previously worked with wine distributors, wineries or import/export companies? 4. How would you identify distributors suitable for a younger, modern wine eCommerce brand? 5. Please name 2–3 Portuguese or Spanish wine distributors/producers that you think could fit this concept and briefly explain why. Please do not apply if your experience is primarily general lead generation, web scraping or virtual assistance. We are looking for someone who can understand and evaluate the wine itself, the producers and the distribution landscape.