The Headwinds of a Wine Merchant

Wine Industry

Jul 19

When Vero founder, Sheila Donohue, was contemplating changing careers and becoming a wine and food importer back in 2017, she followed advice for all business startups:

know all of your costs upfront,
know your market,
create a business plan using prices that are both competitive but also allow you to achieve profit.

In line with this, she extensively researched all of the end-to-end logistics costs involved in wine importing, including freight, transport, duties, fees, as well as existing products in the US market, their prices, etc.

Back then, tariffs, meaning a broader political policy which dictates further taxes to pay on imported goods, were not considered. It never came up in conversation nor in her research, hence they were not part of the formula to determine how to run a financially healthy import wine merchant business.

Then, the US President started his tariff tirade this year: in mid March, on our founder’s birthday to be exact, he came out with a threat of 200% tariffs on wine & spirits coming in from Europe…. not the birthday present she was expecting!

Since then, tariffs have dominated the headlines, leading to US importers having to run their business by reading the news headlines. Crazy, huh?!

Articles have cited that US tariffs have never been on this scale since the Great Depression: meaning that for most of us this is the first time we, American consumers and businesses, have ever experienced anything like this.

How has the tariff conundrum been impacting Vero so far this year? That’s what we are here to tell.

We Curate Products That Cannot Be Replicated Anywhere Else

First, some background, for those who are not familiar with us. By the way, you can learn more about us in our blog, such as in this article which describes our founder’s journey which led to becoming a wine merchant and starting Vero.

In short, Vero, which means “real” in Italian, came about because our founder, after living and working in Europe for many years where she became a sommelier, realized that most of the wines, and olive oils, she knew, which were made by small artisan farmers, were not yet present in the US market. Vero is a bridge to discover unique, artisan made wines and foods from around the world, products which are impossible to replicate anywhere else due to their inherent characteristics which are defined by the place where they come from. So, by introducing tariffs, you are effectively depriving Americans from products which cannot be made in the USA, or, you can try to copy them, but they won’t be the same.

Vero is small, like the producers which we support. As a small, boot-strapped, business, we have been riding a rollercoaster ever since we were founded in 2018. The initial start was the most “normal,” then the pandemic hit… then supply chain constraints came about which hit us hard from all angles. Then inflation. Then a slowdown in the US wine industry, which, by the way is continuing into this year with wine sales down 10%. Now tariffs on top?!

What’s Going On Behind The Scenes

At the beginning of this year, we were planning our next container of artisanal wine & food to import in. We were getting our heads around what many have called the “perfect storm” in the wine industry that led to a slowdown, which we started to notice in 2023.

One of our producer’s orders held up due to the tariff fiasco.

For a small importer, like us, for most of the products we import in, we do not know to whom and when we will ultimately sell the them. We literally have to make a guess when we make each order for each product from each producer, factoring in lots of things like past interest in a specific product, market performance and trends, client feedback, competition, etc. Then, since we choose sustainable means to import our products, relying on ships traveling across oceans and seas, the door to door journey from producer to our warehouse in California is a good 3 months long.

Fortunately, the track record and support of our producers have developed fans among wine lovers and foodies across the US. Despite this, people still “speak” with their pocketbook, hence big stores, big brands, private labels, you name it, are competing with the wallets of our customers.

Nevertheless, having garnered lots of accolades for our mission of being a farmers market for wine & food across America, like our latest award of achieving Artisan Wine Champions of the USA, our formula of having a passion led business which continues to seek out hidden gems, proves that we are providing value-add to the US market.

However, the timing for our 2025 container was abysmal. Right as we finalized all the orders for the many small producers that have to be timed “just right” so they can all be aggregated together on this container, came the US President’s mid-March 2025 announcement of 200% tariffs on wine from Europe which stopped us in our tracks. Guess who has to pay for the tariffs?… You’re looking right at’em: us, the importer.

What each tariff announcement involves is that it forces us to go back to the drawing board each time there is a change in tariffs. And in moments like we are in now in which we don’t even know what the tariffs will be come August, it is excruciatingly difficult, and stressful at that. We have to re-start with the our analysis of each order from scratch product by product. We then need to make a decision as to if we can sell the wine or olive oil at this increased price, and evaluate the overall impact to our customers, the producers’ orders, our company portfolio of products and our business health. Remember: these are all educated guesses we make for each order about what American wine & food lovers will ultimately buy from us. This takes not only time, but also energy, a lot of which is mental. Plus, having to go back to the negotiating table with each producer to talk, sometimes argue, etc., means time away from other things we need to do to keep our business running.

This news hit on July 12th just as our founder was “about” to finalize the latest container to import.

As you can imagine, being squeezed like we are between a rock and a hard place, is causing us, as importers, to also be more mindful of our mental health. These are trying times, and, speaking for our founder, she has had to seek out professional help to address the unimaginable stress that she has experienced over the past several months, and is still undergoing. And some others in the industry with whom she has spoken have also been struggling. These tariffs are really come down hard on small businesses in America, and the lives of those that run them.

Finally, our founder made it back to Italy this summer to be on the same timezone and to finalize this, now infamous, 2025 container. All this month, she has been sitting down, rolling up her sleeves and re-analyzing each order, getting on the phone with each producer, looking at market trends, our own customer behaviors, wants & needs, etc. Sure enough, last Saturday, July 12th, just as Sheila got her “head” around the container, the US President came out with this latest 30% tariff announcement on imports from the EU, up from the current 10%. This is like putting a bomb into our business model, let alone the detail product by product analysis & pricing, etc.

Mind you: us, importers, are in the crux of this tariff fiasco: we are in between our suppliers who many put lots of pressure on us, some who are out right angry with us!… like we have control over the US political agenda.

Support Small Importers Like Us

Fortunately, we have the support, and sympathy, of many of our producers, and our customers, as well. This re-affirms what we set out to do at the beginning, 7+ years ago: forming a community of people committed to authentic, nature made, craft wines & foods that are really special, starting with the farmer, and ending with the consumer and business who appreciates this amazing supply chain which we created.

This support has been priceless this year, and here is a shout-out to all of you that are helping us to keep our mission going.

What is ahead of us? Let’s just say that we need to watch the news carefully as we run our business, especially planning to finish this container and get it on the water this summer.

We are counting on your patience and continued support as we navigate these difficult and uncertain times for wine merchants, and all importers.

What more can you do to show your support?

- voice your opposition to tariffs, especially for wine and food, write to congress representatives, etc.

- give your business to small importers, like ourselves. Our futures are on the line, seriously.

Despite these challenging times, we know that pockets of America are craving sustainably made, wild and scarce wines and food from around the world. With your support and patronage, we will continue to forage for and bring you incredible, hard-to-find, authentic products whose sense of place shines through.

We sell to businesses and consumers around the US, from distributors, to licensed retail, wine stores and on premise, restaurants in certain states.

For those wine explorers and corporates who do not have our products at their local store, we sell online and ship across the US:

We have a free Somm at your Service whereby a sommelier / wine expert is just a Zoom or phone call away.
Check out our hand curated wine gift baskets which is a great way to get to know our selection of hidden gems of wine and EVOO which make for great gift ideas.
Put your wine exploration on auto pilot with our award winning wine club with monthly or quarterly wine subscription box options.
We love helping you to organize wine tasting events, and olive oil too. We help you pick the theme and we take it from there. Virtual events work well also, especially with your clients and colleagues are spread around the country. We do the heavy lifting and ship the wine individually to each person.
And you can always contact us with any inquiry.