The Wine Importer's Catalogue Prep Checklist

Catalogue season is a reliable source of stress in wine import businesses. The wines are chosen, the pricing is agreed, the relationships are in place — and then, a few weeks before print, it becomes clear that the copy isn't done.

This checklist is for the marketing manager, operations lead, or MD who has been through that experience and wants a structured process for next time.

It covers everything from data collection to final copy review, with particular focus on the tasks that typically fall through the cracks.

Phase 1: Portfolio and data collection

Before any copy can be written, you need complete, accurate data for every wine in the catalogue. This phase is often skipped or done in parallel with copy writing — which is how errors end up in print.

SKU data checklist

For every wine in the catalogue, confirm:

• [ ] Wine name (as it appears on the label — including accents, hyphens, capitalisation)
• [ ] Producer / winery name
• [ ] Grape variety or blend (percentages if available)
• [ ] Region and appellation (full, accurate name — not an abbreviation)
• [ ] Country
• [ ] Vintage (or NV confirmation)
• [ ] ABV (to one decimal place)
• [ ] Production method (oak-aged / stainless / concrete / natural / biodynamic / organic / skin-contact — as applicable)
• [ ] Winemaker notes or tech sheet (even a rough version is useful)
• [ ] Bottle size(s) being sold
• [ ] Cases per pallet (for wholesale sheets)
• [ ] Drinking window (from, to)
• [ ] Cellar notes (if being positioned as age-worthy)

Common gaps at this stage:

• Producer notes in a language you can't use directly — flag these for translation or paraphrase
• Missing ABV or vintage on new arrivals — chase before writing, not after
• Wines listed with incorrect appellation names — always verify against the label or producer website

Phase 2: Copy brief and channel decisions

Before anyone writes a word, decide what copy formats are needed for each wine. Not every wine needs every format.

Channel decisions checklist

For each wine, confirm which copy formats are required:

• [ ] Tasting note (on-trade / sommelier) — needed for: wine list submissions, PR samples, fine wine retailers
• [ ] Shelf talker (retail consumer) — needed for: independent retailers, supermarkets, online listings
• [ ] Wholesale one-liner (trade buyer) — needed for: sell sheets, price lists, wholesale emails
• [ ] Food pairing note — needed for: restaurant wine lists, retail websites, recipe content
• [ ] Short description (50 words) — needed for: website product pages, email campaigns

Efficiency tip: Group wines by format need before briefing. Wines that need all five formats are usually your flagship or high-margin SKUs — give them proportionally more attention.

Phase 3: Copy production

This is where most teams lose time. The checklist below is designed to prevent the most common delays.

Copy production checklist

• [ ] Assign every wine to a writer (in-house team member or AI-assisted draft)
• [ ] Set per-wine word count targets by format — see the template below
• [ ] Generate first drafts for all wines before starting detailed review (volume first, quality second)
• [ ] Review all tasting notes against an actual tasting (whoever knows the wines best)
• [ ] Review shelf talkers and wholesale copy against your commercial positioning for each wine
• [ ] Confirm tone consistency across the catalogue — does everything read like the same voice?
• [ ] Check for prohibited claims (provenance claims, health claims, award claims without verification)
• [ ] Spell-check producer names, appellation names, and winemaker names — these are consistently misspelled in AI drafts

Word count targets by format

| Format | Target | Absolute maximum | |--------|--------|-----------------| | Tasting note (on-trade) | 80–120 words | 150 words | | Shelf talker | 40–60 words | 70 words | | Wholesale one-liner | 30–40 words | 50 words | | Food pairing note | 60–80 words | 100 words | | Short description | 40–60 words | 70 words |

Phase 4: Review and approval

The review phase is the most commonly rushed and the most consequential. Errors found in print are expensive; errors found in digital copy are embarrassing.

Review checklist

Factual accuracy:

• [ ] Wine names match labels exactly (including accents: Côtes du Rhône, not Cotes du Rhone)
• [ ] Producer names match supplier documentation
• [ ] Vintage years are correct
• [ ] ABV figures are accurate to label
• [ ] Appellation names are spelled and styled correctly
• [ ] No factual claims about provenance, health, or awards that aren't verified

Copy quality:

• [ ] No copy is a direct copy-paste from the producer's website without transformation
• [ ] No filler phrases ("pairs well with a variety of foods," "easy-drinking," "something for everyone")
• [ ] Shelf talkers are written for the consumer, not the winemaker
• [ ] Trade copy leads with commercial signals, not sensory description
• [ ] All tasting notes include appearance / nose / palate / finish (or a deliberate decision to omit one)

Legal:

• [ ] No health claims (wine "supports heart health," etc.)
• [ ] No claims that wine is "safe" for any group
• [ ] No false provenance claims
• [ ] Award mentions are verified and from the relevant vintage

Phase 5: Final copy delivery

Delivery checklist

• [ ] All copy delivered in the agreed format (Word / Google Docs / InDesign-ready)
• [ ] Each wine has a unique identifier or SKU code linked to its copy
• [ ] Copy is filed in your SKU library for future use (not only in the catalogue file)
• [ ] A separate file exists for corrections and updates post-print
• [ ] Digital assets (website, retail partner portals) updated with final approved copy

The one thing most teams skip

Building a copy library.

Every catalogue cycle, teams produce professional copy for their entire range — and then it lives in a single InDesign file that gets archived when the catalogue is replaced.

Next season, the same wines need new copy. The writer starts from scratch. The same research happens again. The same mistakes are made.

A simple copy library — even a spreadsheet with wine name, vintage, format, copy text, and date — compounds in value over time. Wines with copy from previous vintages get updated faster. New arrivals get benchmarked against how similar wines were written. Quality and consistency improve season over season.

Building the library costs one extra hour in the final delivery phase. Not building it costs that hour every single cycle, forever.

GlassNotes maintains a versioned copy library for your entire portfolio automatically — every generation is saved against the SKU, searchable, and available for future reference or regeneration. Free trial covers 5 wines, no credit card required.

Generate professional wine copy in seconds. Try GlassNotes free for 14 days — no credit card required.