Sara Danese at The Wine Business Network event
It takes boldness to pen an article titled “What Have the Wine Merchants Ever Done for Us?”—critiquing the wine industry for its adherence to tradition over innovation. But it takes true courage to deliver that message in person to a room filled with industry professionals, predominantly wine merchants. Sara Danese did just that as the keynote speaker at our recent Wine Business Network event, sparking a much needed conversation about the role of the wine merchant in today’s market.
Sara Danese CFA, combines deep financial expertise with hands-on wine trading experience, having launched her own fine wine trading company focused on the Chinese market. She now writes a fine wine and investment newsletter, In the Mood for Wine.
At The Wine Business Network event, Sara shared her experiences navigating a new market with key learnings for testing and adapting her business model, whilst examining shifting consumer behaviours and how wine businesses can align with a market that’s being reshaped in unprecedented ways.
It’s your chance to hear what The Wine Business Network guest speaker Sara Danese has to say, listen to her speech highlights below.
*Many thanks to Fino_vino_malts and William Wong for filming this video live at the event.
Despite challenges like the decline in wine consumption amongst younger generations and the rise of neo-prohibitionism, Sara remains optimistic about the future of wine. She doesn’t believe wine is dying—it’s evolving.
Sara’s perspective comes from her own unique experience. Although she’s never worked directly in the UK wine trade, about seven years ago, she launched an online wine business in China. At the time, she didn’t speak Mandarin, had no industry connections and was in fact transitioning from a career in finance. Her business learned a lot by testing, failing and adapting her approach based on data.
Key themes
A new approach to customer experience
One of the most important lessons Sara learned in China was the shift in consumer expectations. In China, tech has always been deeply integrated into everyday life, and younger consumers have grown up expecting seamless, fast and exceptional service. The UK wine market, on the other hand, is still playing catch-up with tech integration.
For UK merchants, Sara believes the key takeaway is to shift the focus from sales to service. Younger consumers no longer want to be bombarded with sales pitches—they want transparency, efficiency and responsive support after their purchase. Instead of relying on traditional sales tactics, merchants need to focus on creating a smooth, positive customer journey that extends beyond checkout.
Learning from mistakes: don’t chase trends
When Sara was building her business in China, she initially jumped on the TikTok bandwagon, eager to promote her business on the platform’s viral success. But she quickly learned that TikTok’s algorithm buried alcohol-related content, which severely limited their reach.
Instead, Sara pivoted to WeChat, where she found a more mature and engaged audience. By focusing on long-form content and collaborating with influencers who weren’t directly tied to the wine industry, she was able to build trust and saw better results. For UK merchants, this serves as a reminder: don’t chase the latest trends—find where your audience really spends their time and engage with them authentically.
Rethinking allocations
Sara also addressed a common frustration in the wine industry: allocations. For many collectors, the process feels exclusive and difficult to navigate. In China, she flipped this narrative by building a community-driven experience. Instead of making allocations feel like a restricted, top-down process, she engaged customers through online tastings, games, and feedback sessions. This approach transformed allocations from a barrier to an opportunity for discovery and connection.
Merchants in the UK could benefit from taking a similar approach. By creating a sense of belonging and offering opportunities for customers to get involved, allocations can be reframed as an exciting part of the wine-buying process.
Wine’s future: a community-driven approach
Sara firmly believes that wine isn’t dead—it’s evolving and it’s up to the industry to evolve with it. For UK merchants to stay relevant, they must embrace change. This means focusing less on sales and more on service, abandoning fleeting trends in favor of building authentic connections and creating more community-driven experiences.
The future of wine depends on our ability to adapt to consumer demands, innovate and foster a sense of connection that resonates with younger generations. The wine industry’s next chapter is waiting and it’s time to embrace it.