Balancing profitability and adaptability at the global and local levels: The future strategies for the European wine sector

The European Union dominates global wine exports and production. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Geographical Indications (GI) systems primarily support the EU's wine sector. From an international perspective, the sector is experiencing significant economic impacts due to US tariffs. To overcome the identified challenges, it is crucial for wineries to implement a tailored sales distribution strategy, particularly for small wineries. The distribution landscape for small wineries is characterized by limited resources, diverse channel options, and rapidly changing market conditions, making the selection of an optimal mix both complex and critical for profitability and resilience. This study formulates the choice of distribution strategy as a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) problem and introduces a hybrid framework that combines the Best–Worst Method (BWM) for deriving consistent criterion weights with the novel Axial Distance-based Aggregated Measurement (ADAM) technique for robust alternative ranking. Seven evaluation criteria, namely economic profitability, resource availability, implementation feasibility, strategic alignment, market opportunity, competitive advantage, and flexibility, are applied to five distribution strategies: direct sales; online and social media channels; local partnerships; distributor partnerships; and participation in festivals and events. Expert assessments generate the decision matrix and weight vectors, yielding a final ranking that places local partnerships at the highest level, followed by direct sales, online channels, distributor partnerships, and festivals. The results demonstrate the value of community-based collaborations and experiential marketing, while the hybrid MCDM approach offers a transparent, adaptable tool for strategic decision-making. Limitations associated with expert subjectivity and the scope of the criterion are discussed, and avenues for incorporating sustainability and dynamic updates are outlined.