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38 WINES&VINES September 2017 DISTRIBUTOR MARKET 2017 Smaller stores and wine shops are getting mar- ginalized by the concentration of larger retail groups including Costco and Amazon. Large grocery chains also are offering a greater vari- ety and number of wines than before, and many of those wines used to be only found in high-end specialty shops. All the while, the number of wineries and brands seems to grow at an exponential rate. As of June 2017, there were 9,217 wineries in the United States, according to Wines Vines Analytics' winery database. Martin said he recently spoke at a networking event for wine entrepreneurs, and in a room filled with 30 to 40 winery owners, he only had heard of a couple of brands. "How are they going to compete?" he asked. Many of them are hoping DtC will be their answer, but that takes time to scale. Have a plan and stick to what you do well Martin said Winebow is "philosophically a fine wine distributor," but that does not mean the company is focused on just wine quality or critical reviews. Rather, he said they look for well-differentiated brands with a track record and predictable sales, a well-organized and capitalized plan with professional manage- ment, a prepared understanding of the mar- ketplace and a strategy to keep the brand relevant. A few good account placements (such as Whole Foods or a restaurant group) also help. "That's sort of winning the lottery as a relationship with a supplier goes" if a winery can check all those boxes, he said. A national sales manager and in-house sales team is great, but those won't necessarily secure the attention of a distributor, Martin added. "It's a challenging dynamic in the market- place," he said. "There's a number of otherwise high-quality brands we don't accept; Napa Cab- ernet with scores in the 90s we turn down. It's not enough to just make wine that gets scores." A sales and marketing firm can help, but Martin said that's no guarantee of finding a distributor as well. Delicato Family Vineyards recently acquired one of the more successful such firms, V2 Wine Group, which was founded by Dan and Katy Leese. "The investment in V2 Wine Group by SOUTHERN GLAZER'S WINE & SPIRITS n Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits n Glazer's (Premier Bev, Stoller) n Odom n Olinger Distributing n Alliance Beverage of Alabama n Alliance Beverage of Mississippi n Sterling Distributing Co. n Union Beverage Co. 2017 2010 RNDC - REPUBLIC NATIONAL DISTRIBUTING n Republic National Distributing (RNDC) n National Distributing (NDC) n Commonwealth Wine & Spirits n Horizon Wine & Spirits n Monument Fine Wines 2017 2010 CONSOLIDATION OVER TIME