How to run a wine distributor annual review meeting

Turn the annual review into a working session

This guide is for alcohol importer operations teams preparing an annual business review with a wine or spirits distributor. It covers meeting scope, sales and depletion data, inventory, accounts, pricing, market activity, compliance boundaries, portfolio decisions, next-year planning, follow-up, and final quality assurance.

The annual review should produce decisions that both teams can execute. It is not a retrospective slide show or a general brand presentation. Bring reconciled facts, identify where performance differed from plan, and leave with an agreed action register for the next period.

Treat the meeting as one control point in the distributor relationship. It does not replace the agreement, qualified legal review, current state requirements, routine inventory management, or regular sales contact. Preserve the exact information reviewed and the decisions made.

Define the review before requesting reports

Start with the distributor, market, period, portfolio, and decision scope. A calendar-year review and a distributor fiscal-year review can produce different comparisons. Confirm the period before anyone builds charts.

Use a review header:

Control	Required entry
Review ID	Stable internal reference
Distributor	Exact company and division
Market	State, territory, branch, or channel in scope
Review period	Exact start and end dates
Comparison period	Prior period with matching date treatment
Portfolio scope	Exact brands, products, vintages, sizes, and packs
Agreement reference	Current executed agreement and relevant amendments
Importer owner	Person accountable for the complete review
Distributor owner	Primary counterpart for decisions and follow-up
Attendees	Names, roles, and decision responsibilities
Requested decisions	Specific outcomes sought from the meeting
Data cutoff	Latest included transaction or reporting date
Revision	Controlled meeting package release

Do not combine unrelated distributor divisions or states simply because they share a parent company. Product codes, reporting conventions, inventory locations, account coverage, and legal requirements may differ.

Set the decisions in advance

An annual review can answer questions such as:

Which goals were met, missed, revised, or made irrelevant by changed conditions?
Which products and vintages remain active in the next plan?
Which inventory risks need an owner and response?
Which accounts, channels, and markets deserve continued focus?
Which pricing or program questions require separate approval?
Which training, asset, fieldwork, and reporting commitments will each party own?
Which compliance, registration, agreement, or item issues could block the plan?

Write each requested decision as a complete sentence. Discuss performance is an agenda item. Agree on the next-period target for the named items and define its assumptions is a decision.

Request the distributor data with field definitions

Send one written request that identifies the period, products, markets, measures, format, and due context. Ask the distributor to explain its field definitions rather than assuming familiar column names mean the same thing.

A practical data request can include:

Data set	Fields to request	Definition to confirm
Shipments to distributor	Item, invoice date, units, cases, returns, credits, destination	Whether transfers, samples, and corrections are included
Depletions	Distributor item, account, transaction date, units or cases, channel, territory	What event counts as a depletion and how returns are treated
Inventory	Item, warehouse, units, cases, allocated quantity, damaged or held stock, as-of date	Whether the value is physical, available, book, or another inventory measure
Accounts	Account identifier, account name, location, channel, first and last sale, item	How active, new, lost, and reopened accounts are defined
Pricing and programs	Item, approved price reference, program, period, adjustment type	Which values are invoiced facts and which are program records
Sales activity	Training, work-with, tasting, event, presentation, or account call	What evidence supports completion
Forecast	Item, period, unit, assumptions, and owner	Whether the value is a distributor forecast, importer plan, or joint target

Keep raw distributor reports unchanged. Build analysis in a separate controlled file so a reviewer can trace each chart back to the received data.

Resolve reporting mismatches before the meeting

Reconcile at least these fields:

importer SKU and distributor item code
producer, brand, product, and vintage status
bottle size and case pack
units, nine-liter equivalent cases when used, and physical cases
shipment date, depletion date, and reporting period
sales, returns, samples, transfers, breakage, and adjustments
account identifier, name, address, and channel
warehouse and market
currency and price basis

Do not convert several packages into cases without retaining the actual pack. A six-bottle case and a twelve-bottle case are not interchangeable operational units. If a normalized measure is useful, show it beside physical cases and state the formula.

Use an exception register:

Exception	Affected scope	Source A	Source B	Deciding owner	Treatment	Status
[Mismatch]	[Items and period]	[Value]	[Value]	[Name]	[Correction, exclusion, or disclosed limitation]	[Status]

Never make a discrepancy disappear by selecting the value that appears most often.

Separate shipments, depletions, and inventory

These measures answer different questions:

Shipments to distributor show what the importer invoiced or transferred into the distributor system under the stated definition.
Depletions show what the distributor reported as movement out to customers under its stated definition.
Inventory shows stock at a defined point, location, and status.

A shipment is not evidence of an account sale. A depletion is not proof that the importer has been paid. Inventory can include stock that is allocated, held, damaged, in transit, or otherwise unavailable, depending on the report.

Use a reconciliation table for every material item:

Item	Opening inventory	Inbound shipments	Reported depletions	Returns or adjustments	Expected closing inventory	Reported closing inventory	Variance
[Item]	[Value]	[Value]	[Value]	[Value]	[Calculated]	[Value]	[Value]

Document the equation used and the unit. Investigate rather than concealing variances. Timing cutoffs, transfers, count corrections, pack conversion, damaged inventory, and different status definitions can all affect the result, but the responsible owners should identify the actual reason.

Review inventory by risk, not only total quantity

For each active item, discuss:

warehouse and ownership state
physical cases and saleable cases
recent depletion basis
current vintage and successor vintage
age or receipt-date buckets when available
open orders and inbound stock
allocations, holds, damage, and returns
known account demand
risk of a gap, overlap, or obsolete material
proposed action and decision owner

Do not publish one months-of-supply figure without its assumptions. If the team uses this planning measure, state the inventory numerator, depletion lookback, package basis, treatment of zero-sales periods, and as-of date. It is a scenario, not a fixed property of the product.

Review performance against the approved plan

Build the review from the plan that was actually approved, including later revisions. Do not compare results against an early target that both parties replaced without showing the change history.

Use a scorecard:

Measure	Approved plan	Actual	Variance	Source	Interpretation	Next action
Shipments	[Value]	[Value]	[Value]	[Source]	[What affected the result]	[Action]
Depletions	[Value]	[Value]	[Value]	[Source]	[What affected the result]	[Action]
Active accounts	[Value]	[Value]	[Value]	[Source and definition]	[What affected the result]	[Action]
Priority account placements	[Value]	[Value]	[Value]	[Source and definition]	[What affected the result]	[Action]
Training or field activity	[Value]	[Value]	[Value]	[Evidence]	[What affected the result]	[Action]
Agreed programs	[Value]	[Value]	[Value]	[Approval and evidence]	[What affected the result]	[Action]

A 2020 Wine Industry Advisor article recommends reviewing sales by brand, SKU, market, and key account and agreeing on future programs when goals were missed. Treat this as industry commentary on annual distributor reviews, not a legal rule or universal meeting cadence.

Explain variance without rewriting history

For every material variance, separate:

the approved target and its original assumptions
the actual result under a matching definition
facts that changed during the period
actions the parties took
remaining uncertainty
the proposed adjustment for the next plan

Avoid explanations such as market conditions unless the team can identify the relevant event, evidence, item, market, and effect. Also avoid assigning every miss to the distributor. Supply interruptions, delayed assets, late pricing decisions, vintage transitions, and importer availability can change outcomes.

Analyze account and channel performance carefully

Account counts can be misleading when duplicated locations, one-time sales, inactive listings, transfers, or reopened accounts are mixed together. Define the account measures before displaying them.

Useful views include:

active buying accounts during a stated period
new accounts with a first qualifying sale
repeat accounts with purchases in more than one stated period
accounts lost under an agreed inactivity definition
depletions by account, channel, territory, and item
concentration among the largest accounts
placements without subsequent movement
accounts affected by out-of-stock periods

Do not circulate customer-level data beyond the authorized review audience. Confirm whether the distributor permits account names, addresses, contacts, and transaction detail to be shared or exported.

For each priority account, record:

Account control	Entry
Account and location	[Confirmed identity]
Channel	[Distributor definition]
Current products	[Exact items]
Last qualifying activity	[Date and measure]
Performance evidence	[Source and period]
Opportunity or issue	[Specific observation]
Proposed action	[Action]
Importer owner	[Name]
Distributor owner	[Name]
Review trigger	[Date, dependency, or event]

Do not promise retailer payments, services, equipment, samples, returns, or other benefits as a quick fix. Route any proposed support through qualified federal and state review first.

Check product, vintage, and asset accuracy

The annual review is a useful point to verify that the distributor’s system and sales team still represent the intended market items.

Review each item for:

Field group	Fields to confirm
Identity	Producer, brand, product, vintage or non-vintage status, class or type
Package	Alcohol content, net contents, closure, units per case, bottle and case configuration
Identifiers	Importer SKU, consumer GTIN or UPC, case GTIN, distributor code, state code when used
Market	State, division, warehouse, active status, registrations or listings
Commercial	Current approved price reference and bottle or case basis
Assets	Bottle image, label set, tech sheet, sell sheet, descriptions, and training file
Transition	Current vintage, predecessor inventory, successor readiness, and replacement plan

TTB’s anatomy of a wine label identifies mandatory and conditional label elements and explains, among other points, that a vintage date can require an appellation of origin on the brand label. Use the approved package and the compliance owner’s decision as the source for label-facing facts. A distributor item description or annual review slide is not the deciding label record.

Create a correction action when the distributor portal, sales sheet, bottle image, or item file shows an outdated vintage or package. Correct the controlled source first, issue a replacement asset, and confirm the live distributor view after the update.

Review pricing and programs with an audit trail

Keep product performance, approved pricing, deductions, and proposed programs connected but distinct. A sales chart should not become the approval route for a new price or allowance.

Prepare a commercial review table:

Commercial control	Current state	Period and basis	Evidence	Proposed decision	Owner
Importer sell price	[Value]	[Item, pack, currency, freight context]	[Approved record]	[Maintain or review]	[Name]
Distributor price reference	[Value]	[Audience and period]	[Distributor record]	[Confirm or correct]	[Name]
Approved program	[Value or description]	[Market, account class, and period]	[Approval]	[Close, extend, or replace]	[Name]
Deduction or credit	[Value]	[Invoice or claim basis]	[Supporting record]	[Accept, dispute, or research]	[Name]
Next-period proposal	[Value or description]	[Assumptions and conditions]	[Draft analysis]	[Approve separately or decline]	[Name]

Reconcile material deductions and credits to their supporting records. Keep confidential cost, margin, bank, tax, and other distributor information out of broadly shared meeting materials.

Keep trade-practice review visible

TTB identifies four prohibited marketing-practice areas in its general trade-practice FAQs: tied-house arrangements, exclusive outlets, commercial bribery, and consignment sales. The same guidance explains that applicability depends on the parties, product, transaction, and required connection to interstate or foreign commerce.

Have qualified owners review proposed incentives, retailer support, samples, equipment, payments, returns, exclusivity, and consignment arrangements for the actual facts and applicable federal and state rules. Do not infer that a prior program is permissible next year merely because nobody objected to it this year.

Verify relationship and compliance controls

The review should identify operational risks without turning the meeting into a legal opinion. Compare the current relationship with the executed agreement and qualified compliance records.

Review:

legal entities and approved trade names
brands, products, territory, and channels covered
distributor divisions and warehouses
agreement term, amendments, notice provisions, and responsible owner
federal importer and wholesaler permit status assigned to the appropriate party
state supplier, brand, appointment, price, reporting, and representative requirements as applicable
item and listing status
current contacts and signing authority
records, reports, and evidence that each party has agreed to supply
open disputes, notices, or conditions requiring qualified review

TTB states that alcohol wholesalers must keep daily records of physical receipt and disposition and retain those records at their place of business for at least three years on its wholesaler compliance page. The same page tells businesses to check each state because requirements differ. The importer review package can reference the responsible record and owner, but it should not attempt to replace the distributor’s required records.

State treatment can materially affect the relationship. For example, the Wine Institute’s West Virginia wholesale-law summary, marked last updated August 26, 2025, describes supplier licensing, brand registration, reporting, written distributor agreements, and termination procedures for that state. It also warns that its information can become incomplete or outdated. Use such a summary to identify questions, then confirm current requirements with the official authority and qualified counsel for the actual facts.

Evaluate market support and sales tools

Compare agreed support with completed support. Evidence can include training attendance, fieldwork records, approved account activity, event records, asset delivery, access confirmation, and follow-up notes.

Use one support table:

Activity	Approved scope	Owner	Planned period	Completion evidence	Result	Next decision
[Activity]	[Market, audience, and items]	[Name]	[Period]	[Record]	[Observed result]	[Continue, change, stop, or research]

Do not evaluate an activity only by whether it happened. Ask whether the intended distributor users received the right product, current vintage, usable files, clear ordering details, and a follow-up route.

A pre-launch workspace for alcohol importer operations teams can help organize the product and catalog details, bottle and brand assets, tech sheets, sell sheets, distributor access, and vintage updates that feed this review. The practical benefit is traceability: the annual package can point back to current product records, while approved changes can flow into the distributor’s next asset release.

Decide the next portfolio before setting targets

Do not copy the current portfolio into the next plan automatically. Classify each item first.

Portfolio decision	Meaning	Required follow-up
Continue	Item remains active under the approved plan	Confirm supply, price, assets, and target
Continue with change	Item remains active with a defined adjustment	Record change, owner, approval, and effective context
Successor vintage	New release follows the current item	Define overlap, codes, assets, inventory, and distributor treatment
Hold	No new activity until a named condition is resolved	Record blocker and review trigger
Close out	Sell-through or other approved disposition is planned	Confirm lawful plan, inventory, communication, and owner
Discontinue	Item will leave the active portfolio	Follow agreement, notice, market, inventory, and system procedures
Pending	Evidence or decision is incomplete	Do not place into the committed plan

For a successor vintage, confirm label treatment, state status, importer and distributor codes, GTIN decisions, pack, price, available quantity, bottle image, tech sheet, sell sheet, and predecessor inventory. Do not attach the predecessor’s award, analysis, or tasting description without review.

Build the next plan from explicit assumptions

Once the portfolio is defined, create targets by item, market, channel, and period at the level both teams can manage. Separate committed actions from forecasts.

Use this planning table:

Plan element	Value	Basis and assumptions	Importer owner	Distributor owner	Approval state
Depletion target	[Value]	[Item, unit, period, account assumptions]	[Name]	[Name]	[State]
Shipment plan	[Value]	[Inventory, lead time, and replenishment assumptions]	[Name]	[Name]	[State]
Account objective	[Value]	[Definition, channel, and market]	[Name]	[Name]	[State]
Inventory range	[Value]	[Numerator, demand basis, and review trigger]	[Name]	[Name]	[State]
Training plan	[Activity]	[Audience, items, format, and timing]	[Name]	[Name]	[State]
Fieldwork plan	[Activity]	[Market, accounts, purpose, and timing]	[Name]	[Name]	[State]
Asset release	[Release]	[Products, audience, and dependencies]	[Name]	[Name]	[State]
Reporting cadence	[Cadence]	[Fields, cutoff, format, and recipients]	[Name]	[Name]	[State]

Stress-test the plan against supply, cash, lead time, existing inventory, vintage transition, account opportunity, approved resources, and known regulatory gates. If the parties disagree, preserve both positions and assign the decision rather than recording a false consensus.

Run a focused meeting agenda

A practical agenda can follow this sequence:

Confirm scope, period, definitions, and requested decisions.
Review prior commitments and unresolved actions.
Reconcile shipments, depletions, inventory, and material exceptions.
Review performance by item, market, channel, and priority account.
Identify supply, vintage, package, asset, and item-data issues.
Review pricing, programs, deductions, and approval needs.
Review completed market support and distributor access to current tools.
Confirm agreement and compliance items requiring separate owner action.
Decide the next portfolio.
Set next-period assumptions, targets, activities, and reporting.
Read back decisions, disagreements, owners, and review triggers.

Assign roles before the meeting:

Role	Responsibility
Meeting lead	Controls scope, time, decisions, and close
Data owner	Explains definitions, sources, reconciliation, and limitations
Commercial owner	Covers approved prices, programs, deductions, and proposals
Operations owner	Covers items, supply, inventory, files, access, and action tracking
Compliance owner	States confirmed status and captures questions outside approved scope
Note owner	Records decisions, open questions, owners, and review triggers

Do not resolve uncertainty by editing the slide during the meeting. Record the issue, evidence needed, owner, and successor revision.

Preserve decisions in an action register

Send a written recap through the agreed channel. Distinguish a decision from a proposal, a question, and a task.

Use this action register:

ID	Type	Decision or action	Product and market scope	Owner	Dependency or timing	Status	Evidence
[ID]	[Decision, action, question, or risk]	[Exact statement]	[Scope]	[Name]	[Context]	[Status]	[Link or record]

Annual review follow-up template

Subject: Annual distributor review follow-up for [Portfolio], [Market], [Period]

Thank you for reviewing [exact scope] on [meeting date]. We used package revision [revision] with data through [cutoff].

Decisions: [concise list].

Open questions: [question, owner, and required evidence].

Importer actions: [action, owner, and dependency or timing].

Distributor actions: [action, owner, and dependency or timing].

Next review trigger: [date, dependency, or event].

Please reply with any correction to this record.

Save the exact deck, data extracts, analysis, notes, recap, and accepted corrections. When a decision changes, create a successor record. Do not silently rewrite the annual review package.

Complete final annual review QA

Run this checklist against the source reports, analysis, meeting package, agreement, compliance records, and follow-up.

Scope and control

Distributor, division, market, channel, period, comparison period, and data cutoff are explicit.
Exact brands, products, vintages, sizes, packs, and market items are listed.
Attendees, responsibilities, requested decisions, and meeting owner are confirmed.
The package has a controlled revision and links to retained source reports.
Agreement scope and later approved plan revisions are reflected.
Open limitations and unresolved exceptions are visible.

Data and definitions

Shipments, depletions, inventory, returns, credits, transfers, samples, and adjustments are defined separately.
Units, physical cases, and any normalized case measure state their formulas and pack basis.
Importer SKUs, distributor items, GTINs, state codes, products, and vintages map correctly.
Opening inventory, inbound shipments, depletions, adjustments, and closing inventory reconcile or have named exceptions.
Account counts use documented rules for active, new, repeat, lost, and reopened accounts.
Charts identify source, unit, period, cutoff, and material exclusions.
Raw reports remain unchanged and analysis is reproducible.

Performance and inventory

Actual results are compared with the plan that was valid for the stated period.
Every material variance identifies facts, actions, uncertainty, and a next step.
Inventory is separated by item, vintage, warehouse, ownership, and saleable status.
Supply-gap, excess, aged, damaged, held, predecessor, and successor risks have owners.
Months-of-supply or similar planning measures state all assumptions.
Priority account observations are supported by the authorized distributor data.
Customer-level information is limited to the approved audience.

Product, commercial, and compliance

Product identity, package, codes, price basis, market status, and current assets agree across the review.
Bottle images, label references, tech sheets, sell sheets, and training files show the correct release.
Pricing, programs, deductions, credits, and future proposals have separate evidence and approval states.
Confidential cost, margin, tax, bank, and unrelated distributor records are excluded from broad access.
Proposed incentives, retailer support, samples, equipment, returns, exclusivity, and consignment questions were routed for appropriate review.
Federal, state, agreement, and distributor requirements remain separate.
Time-sensitive state requirements were checked against current official sources for the exact market and facts.
The review does not present a sales or operations conclusion as legal approval.