A day in the life of: Export Manager Martina Klingbeil

Martina is our representative in the German, Austrian and Swiss markets. She has been working in wine since 1996, and with Long Wines since 2013. Her job title is export manager but she says she feels that her role also encompasses some aspects of brand management, as she identifies the right customers for the different products in the Long Wines portfolio, meets with them and builds an on-going relationship.

Although she is based near Frankfurt, a long way from the Long Wines office in Madrid, she is in contact with the team on a daily basis, taking part in the regular Skype calls with the rest of the sales team to update William on the situation with each client, flagging up any opportunities or issues.

Formerly a translator of French and English to German, Martina’s career in wine started at the German office of the Australian Wine Bureau as Marketing and Promotions Manager, where she worked for seven years before becoming a freelance consultant for producers from Australia and other parts of the world in the German market.

She says she loves working with Long Wines as it is an international company with an international mind-set and the large portfolio encompasses lots of different products that meet the needs of the German market. She says that with Germany being a very price driven market, wines that offer good a price/quality ratio with strong packaging are the most successful. For her, Finca Mónica Rioja really fits this profile among the more classic wines, and then Alma de Casa and Chispas for their easy-drinking style.

Martina declares herself to be a Cava fan, so can be found sipping on a chilled glass of De Pró on a summer evening. That is, when she is not visiting wine festivals in the German Pfalz and Rheingau regions near where she lives.

Aside from wine, she enjoys painting and decorating, cultivates roses and loves travelling. She often goes to the island of Mallorca for her holidays and has an on-going goal to improve her Spanish.

You can contact Martina and the rest of the team here.