A Breakout Year for DtC Shipments
Direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipments are up 19% in the first nine months of this year versus a year ago, totaling $3.6 billion, according to Wines Vines Analytics/Sovos ShipCompliant. The activity establishes 2020 as a breakout year for the fast-growing sector, which made headlines as the COVID-19 pandemic curbed on-premise activity and shifted spending off premise. […]
Sparkling Sales Point to Brighter, Lighter Times
The past decade has seen a surge in U.S. sparkling wine production, with 614 domestic producers today versus just 477 in 2010. While the number has pulled back from a peak of 625 in 2018, sparkling wine sales have continued to increase. Scan data from Nielsen off-premise outlets show domestic sparkling wine sales in the […]
Fire Losses Widespread, Will Cost Billions
In an Oct. 6 interview with Bloomberg, Philippe Melka, one of Napa Valley’s top winemaking talents and consultants, estimated that 80% of the county’s vineyards had been impacted by wildfire smoke and predicted that many wineries would not produce a 2020 vintage. A few days later, he described 2020 to the Wine Spectator as “one […]
Wine Industry Metrics: DtC up 17%
Value of domestic wine sales for 12 months ended September 2020 – 7% U.S. wine sales including bulk imports bw166 Other Wine Industry Metrics September 2020 (versus September 2019) data: +16% off-premise sales value, Nielsen channels -31% on-premise sales (ended Aug. 8), Nielsen CGA +17% DtC shipments value, Wines Vines Analytics/Sovos ShipCompliant -47% Winery Job […]
Winning Varietals in DtC, Off-Premise
After more than 20 years meticulously tracking the total beverage alcohol category, Danny Brager has concluded his tenure as senior vice president of Nielsen’s Beverage Alcohol Practice in the U.S. During that time, his counsel and ability to succinctly deliver data-driven analysis was highly valued by beverage alcohol producers, importers, distributors, retailers and financiers, as […]
Two DtC Strategies for Two Iconic Estates
Nicole Carter has what she essentially describes as her dream job, overseeing two very different but equally historic and successful wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties. Carter is president of Merry Edwards Winery in Sebastopol, Calif., and Napa Valley’s Diamond Creek Vineyards. Carter was recruited for the Merry Edwards position following its acquisition by the […]
Barriers to DtC Still Remain and Should Be Lifted
Free the Grapes, a nonprofit group focused on removing the legal obstacles to winery direct-to-consumer shipments, recently asked Wines Vines Analytics for some DtC shipment data on the state of New Jersey. The group is focused on getting new legislation passed that would allow wineries producing more than 250,000 gallons, roughly 106,000 cases, to make […]
Upcoming Events
Nov. 10: Winejobs.com Summit The Winejobs.com Summit will be held online this year. The event is intended to help those working in winery human resources connect with their peers and discuss the hiring, retention and training of employees. winejobshrsummit.com Jan. 19-22: Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium The annual DtC Wine Symposium will be a virtual event […]