From books to wine: export manager Fernando Mariñas

Fernando Mariñas joined Long Wines as Export Manager in December 2017. Although he studied a Masters in editing and started out as an editorial consultant, it wasn’t long before he made the jump to the wine sector, firstly as assistant export manager at Earth Wines before starting his own entrepreneurial enterprise, Enotap, a project aimed at introducing a storage and service system for premium wines into the Madrid on-trade.

Understanding the courage that such an endeavour requires, it was this entrepreneurial spirit that attracted William to Fernando as a candidate for the export manager role.

Fernando now covers the UK, Ireland, Baltics, Russia and Brazil and says that his typical day consists of attending to client requests, following up to ensure that their needs are met in terms of service, planning sales visits and developing new opportunities. He’s often on the road, making monthly visits to his markets and to partner wineries. He says he enjoys working at Long Wines as the team is very professional; “I learn something new every day, particularly from William who is very experienced in this sector.”

He goes on to draw parallels between publishing and wines: “Though at first glance they may seem worlds apart, wines are much like books: each has an author or winemaker who tells the story behind a label or book cover. I personally think wines can often partner much better with books than with food, from the Long Wines range I’d enjoy a glass of the exceptionally made Puerto del Monte from Bierzo with anything from a business book to a novel. ”

When he is not reading, travelling or drinking wine, he likes running and spending time with his two young children.