Wine Consulting Is Helping Portuguese Wineries Turn Exceptional Wines into Exceptional Businesses

Founded in 2024 by Pedro dos Santos Fernandes, WVBC-Consultoria de Vinho, operating as Wine Consulting, was established with a clear vision of strengthening the long-term competitiveness of Portugal’s wine industry by helping producers bridge the gap between technical excellence and commercial success. Headquartered in Chaves, Portugal, the company serves clients across the country’s renowned wine regions, including Douro, Trás-os-Montes, Dão, Bairrada, and Vinho Verde, offering strategic guidance to small and medium-sized wine producers, wineries, emerging wine brands, retailers, hospitality businesses, restaurants, and wine tourism projects. The company’s foundation was inspired by a recurring challenge observed throughout the Portuguese wine sector, where many producers possess exceptional vineyards, distinctive indigenous grape varieties, and generations of winemaking expertise, yet often struggle to convert these strengths into compelling market positioning, sustainable business models, and consistent revenue growth. Recognizing that outstanding wines alone are not always enough to build a successful business, Wine Consulting developed an integrated consulting approach that connects every stage of the value chain, from vineyard management and winemaking to branding, commercial strategy, digital communication, and export planning. By combining technical knowledge with market-driven insights, the company enables wine businesses to establish stronger identities, create meaningful customer experiences, and compete more effectively in both domestic and international markets while preserving the authenticity and heritage that define Portuguese wines.

Wine Consulting distinguishes itself through a comprehensive portfolio of services that addresses the technical, strategic, and commercial dimensions of the wine business under a single consulting framework, allowing clients to make informed decisions that support sustainable growth and long-term value creation. In viticulture, the company provides vineyard diagnosis, annual planning, nutrition management, disease prevention strategies, plant protection guidance, water stress management, and production planning to ensure grape quality aligns with the intended wine profile and business objectives. Its oenology expertise extends throughout the entire winemaking process, encompassing production planning, vinification of red, white, and rosé wines, product development, stabilization, quality control, bottling preparation, and technical problem-solving within the winery. Beyond production, Wine Consulting works closely with clients to develop effective pricing models, portfolio structures, distribution strategies, sales channels, branding initiatives, and wine tourism concepts while also strengthening their digital presence through website development, search engine optimization, social media strategy, wine descriptions, packaging, labels, and promotional content. Serving a portfolio that primarily consists of confidential clients across Portugal’s wine industry, the company has positioned itself as a trusted strategic partner for businesses seeking to transform technical potential into commercial opportunity, helping producers build resilient brands, improve market visibility, and create sustainable growth pathways in an increasingly competitive global wine landscape.

In conversation with Pedro dos Santos Fernandes, Founder and CEO of Wine Consulting

You serve producers, brands, and new projects across Portugal. What is the single biggest driver behind your company’s rapid growth in this traditional industry?

The main factor driving Wine Consulting’s growth is the increasing need for strategic clarity in the wine business. The wine sector is traditional, but it is becoming increasingly competitive, more digital, and more demanding. Producers can no longer rely only on good wine quality or the reputation of their region. They need a clear identity, a coherent portfolio, professional communication, and a market-oriented strategy.

Many producers face similar challenges: crowded shelves, pressure on margins, fragmented distribution, changes in consumer behavior, and the need to communicate authenticity in a credible way. Wine Consulting has grown because it responds directly to these challenges with practical, integrated, and results-oriented solutions.

Our approach is not limited to isolated technical recommendations. We analyze the project as a whole: the vineyard, the wine, the brand, the customer, the sales channels, and the long-term objectives.

Your approach combines technical expertise (oenology and viticulture) with commercial strategy and branding. How does this integrated model fuel faster client acquisition and revenue growth?

In the wine sector, technical decisions and commercial decisions are deeply connected.

By combining oenology, viticulture, branding, and commercial strategy, we help clients create products that are not only technically correct, but also easier to understand, sell, and communicate. This improves the efficiency of the project and increases the likelihood of commercial success.

For example, when we develop or reorganize a wine portfolio, we do not look only at the quality of the wine. We analyze whether each reference has a clear role, whether the price is coherent, whether the brand message is strong, whether the labels are distinctive, and whether the sales channels are appropriate.

You provide a “technical diagnosis + action plan” that identifies risks and priorities. How does this structured method create recurring value and long-term client relationships, driving sustainable growth?

The “technical diagnosis + action plan” model is one of the most important parts of our methodology. Many wine projects face several challenges at the same time, but not all problems have the same urgency or the same impact. Our role is to identify what is most important, what represents risk, and what should be prioritized.

The diagnosis allows us to assess the current situation of the project. After that, we create a practical action plan with priorities, recommendations, timelines, and expected results.

This structured approach creates recurring value because it gives the client a clear roadmap. Instead of reacting to problems only when they arise, the producer starts working with a more organized and preventive mindset.

This method also supports long-term relationships because the action plan can be monitored, adjusted, and developed over time. As the producer grows, new challenges emerge: new wines, new markets, new sales channels, wine tourism, export opportunities, or brand repositioning.

The Portuguese wine sector is undergoing a transformation. How are you positioning Wine Consulting to be the leader in this evolving market, and how does that drive your 2026 growth goals?

The Portuguese wine sector is changing rapidly. Producers are facing increasing pressure from international competition, new consumption habits, sustainability concerns, digital transformation, and the need for greater differentiation. At the same time, Portugal has an enormous opportunity: authentic regions, native grape varieties, diverse terroirs, and a strong cultural connection to wine.

For 2026, our growth objectives are connected to three main areas. First, to consolidate our work with small and medium-sized producers in Portugal, especially in regions such as Douro, Trás-os-Montes, Dão, Bairrada, and Vinho Verde.

Second, to strengthen our digital and commercial services, helping clients improve their websites, SEO, social media, e-commerce, and sales planning.

Third, to expand our role in strategic projects, including new wine brands, wine tourism concepts, and export preparation.

What does the future hold for your company and its customers? Are exciting things on the way?

The future of Wine Consulting is focused on growth, specialization, and greater international visibility. We want to continue supporting Portuguese producers while strengthening our ability to help wine projects become more competitive, more structured, and more visible in the market.

On the other hand, we also intend to provide international services, and in this context, one of the most important areas will be digital transformation. Many wine producers still have a weak digital presence, limited content strategy, and underdeveloped direct communication with consumers. We see a strong opportunity here to help producers improve their websites, online positioning, storytelling, newsletters, social media, and e-commerce strategies.

The fact that we also create wine label designs and packaging ultimately becomes a competitive advantage.

Meet the leader behind the success of Wine Consulting

Pedro Fernandes is the Founder and CEO of Wine Consulting. Pedro is a Portuguese oenologist and wine consultant with a strong connection to vineyards, wine production, and business strategy. His career combines technical knowledge in oenology and viticulture with a strategic vision of branding, communication, commercial development, and digital transformation in the wine sector.

From a very young age, around 12 years old, he began following the first processes related to vineyard work and wine production, and he has never stopped since. He has completed several specialized wine courses, as well as postgraduate and academic studies, including a bachelor’s degree and master’s-level training. He also worked at the prestigious Château Latour in Bordeaux, where he was involved in the winemaking area.

Pedro believes that the future of wine consulting lies in the connection between authenticity and strategy. For him, great wines need not only technical quality, but also identity, clarity, storytelling, and coherent business direction.

“By combining oenology, viticulture, branding, and commercial strategy, we help clients create products that are not only technically correct, but also easier to understand, sell, and communicate. This improves the efficiency of the project and increases the likelihood of commercial success.”