Disrupting the wine trade
We believe wine deserves to travel as easily as stories do. Producers should be able to reach the right buyers, and trade buyers should have access to original wines without barriers
For decades, the wine trade has been dominated by rigid wholesalers, high minimum order quantities, and portfolios packed with the same predictable labels. Small producers struggled to reach international markets, and buyers had little flexibility to test or rotate wines. The system left little room for discovery, storytelling, or originality.
Wine Trade International was created to break that model.
We combine hands-on discovery with smart technology. Our team travels extensively to wine regions, building direct relationships with producers, while our proprietary system monitors more than 300 data sources — from critic scores and reviews to online mentions and market signals — to spot rising wines before they peak. With this knowledge, we move wines across borders efficiently, offering low MOQs, mixed cases, and complete compliance and logistics management.
Wine Trade International is an import–export company based in Athens and active worldwide. We trade wines from Greece and beyond, placing them directly with restaurants, wine bars, and boutique hotels, and in markets such as France, Italy, Poland, Greece, the Gulf, and the U.S.
Working with us means you only deal with one partner. We handle every step of the process — sourcing, negotiation, customs, compliance, excise, shipping, and final delivery. Your wines arrive at your door ready to be listed, with no hassle, no bureaucracy, and no wasted time.
Our vision is to be the trusted source of distinctive wines from Greece and the world for restless wine professionals.
Makis Panagopoulos
M
akis Panagopoulos is the founder of Wine Trade International and a marketing strategist with a unique mix of global business experience and deep roots in wine.
He began his career in digital marketing, leading international teams and delivering global strategies for some of the largest media and technology companies in Greece and abroad. Over two decades, he built expertise in automation, account-based marketing, and cross-border business development, skills that today power Wine Trade International’s lean, tech-enabled import–export model.
Beyond marketing, Makis has established himself as a respected voice in the wine industry. He is the author of the wine blog Not An Expert and a regular columnist in Oinochoos, Greece’s leading wine magazine. Through years of writing, tasting, and traveling to wine regions, he has built a wide network of producers, sommeliers, and buyers across Europe and beyond.
At Wine Trade International, he brings these two worlds together: the precision of a strategist and the curiosity of a wine explorer. His focus is on discovering authentic producers, simplifying international trade, and helping wines find their way onto the right lists, from boutique wine bars in Poland and France to hospitality venues in Greece and beyond.