Inventories Fall as Wineries Secure Supply
Following an intense couple of weeks in which millions of gallons of bulk wine were sold after the early October California wildfires, the bulk market has settled back to something similar to normal in a year that has been anything but. While inventories of all key varieties are significantly lower than where they stood a […]
Custom Crush in Step with Winery Growth
California is the country’s leading wine producer, harvesting the largest tonnage of wine grapes to support 4,784 wineries and thousands of brands. Many of those brands are the product of virtual wineries and private-label programs that contract out crush functions. Small surprise then that California is home to the country’s largest wineries providing custom-crush services […]
Seltzer Growth Slows as Market Matures
A year ago, the dramatic rise of hard seltzers made them an unexpected competitor for the dollars of what seemed to be a more health-conscious, sober-curious consumer. “The summer of White Claw” that kicked off with the July 4 weekend seemed to challenge the prevailing laws of the market, as category sales experienced double-digit growth. […]
Wine Industry Metrics: Total Market down 8%
Value of domestic wine sales for 12 months ended November 2020 -6% U.S. wine sales including bulk imports, bw166 Other Wine Industry Metrics November 2020 (versus November 2019) data: 9% off-premise sales value, Nielsen channels -41% on-premise sales (52 weeks ended Oct. 3), Nielsen CGA 8% DtC shipment value, Wines Vines Analytics/Sovos ShipCompliant -46% Winery […]
Data Affirms Spirits are ‘Winning’
As Americans moved their beverage alcohol consumption to their homes, spirits jumped out ahead of wine and beer in the retail sales data and have not looked back as 2020 comes to an end. Throughout the year, spirits have been winning in terms of sales growth and market share, and their strength appears tied to […]
Cocktail Trend Transcends Pandemic
Founded in 1982, St. George Spirits is based in Alameda, Calif., and calls itself America’s original craft distillery. Lance Winters joined the company in 1996 after convincing founder Jörg Rupf to give him a tryout with a bottle of his homemade whiskey. Winters has remained with the company since then as master distiller and “creative […]
Rebound Not so Easy for Small Wineries
Despite reports of robust growth in off-premise sales and e-commerce activity, the latest market update from Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates indicates that smaller labels face tough times as the industry has pivoted to address the challenge of COVID-19. “Some reports say that e-commerce has made up for direct tasting room sales,” said GFA editor Jon […]
Upcoming Events
Jan. 14: Sonoma County Dollars & Sense The annual Dollars & Sense forum organized by the Sonoma County Winegrowers will be a virtual event. sonomawinegrape.org Jan. 19-22: Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium The annual DtC Wine Symposium will be a virtual event in 2021. dtcwinesymposium.com Jan. 26-29: Unified Wine & Grape Symposium North America’s largest wine […]