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METRICS September 2018 WINES&VINES 13 J uly direct-to-consumer (DtC) ship- ments rose 8% in terms of both value and volume, Wines Vines Analytics/ ShipCompliant by Sovos reported. Shipments totaled nearly $109 million on a volume of 296,810 cases. The onset of a dry, hot sum- mer made the month the least active this year to date. A subtle moderation of DtC shipment growth in July relative to previous months wasn't borne out in annual figures for the major varietals. DtC shipments in the 12 months ended July approached $2.9 billion, up 13% from a year earlier. Cabernet Sauvi- gnon – the top varietal by value, at $809 mil- lion – and Merlot both posted 9% growth while all other varietals saw double-digit growth, led by Zinfandel at 27% and sparkling at 21%. The two fastest-growing varietals were just a quarter of the value of Cabernet Sauvignon shipments but together claim 60% of the top varietal's case volume. Pinot Noir and red blends, the second and third most-shipped varietals, logged $475 million in shipments (up 15%) and $449 million (up 10%), respectively. —Peter Mitham Direct to Consumer O ff-premise sales through multiple-outlet and convenience stores in the four weeks ended July 15 totaled $646 million, mar- ket research firm IRI reported. This was up a scant 1% versus a year earlier, and even with growth in case volumes that totaled 8.2 million. Sales in the latest 52 weeks rose 2% to approach $9 billion. Domestic sparkling wine sales continued to experience the strongest off-premise growth, rising 2% in both the latest four weeks and the latest 52 weeks. Domestic table wine sales rose just 1% in the month and 2% for the year, consistent with last month. Drilling into varietal performance, rosé led with 52-week sales rising 34% to $442 mil- lion. Sauvignon Blanc increased 7% to step over Merlot, which saw sales decline 6% -- the only major varietal to lose ground. Cabernet Sauvignon, the top-selling varietal, saw sales grow 5%, followed by red blends at 4%. —Peter Mitham DTC SHIPMENTS BY VARIETAL $ Millions 0 $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 Cabernet Sauvignon Pinot Noir Red Blends Chardonnay Zinfandel Merlot Syrah/Shiraz Sparkling Source: Wines Vines Analytics/ShipCompliant by Sovos; 12 months ended July 2018. DTC SHIPMENTS GROWTH RATE BY VARIETAL 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Cabernet Sauvignon Pinot Noir Red Blends Chardonnay Zinfandel Merlot Syrah/Shiraz Sparkling Percent change Source: Wines Vines Analytics/ShipCompliant by Sovos; 12 months ended July 2018. OFF-PREMISE SALES BY VARIETAL $ Millions 0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 Chardonnay Cabernet Sauvignon Pinot Grigio Red Blends Pinot Noir Sauvignon Blanc Merlot Sparkling Rosé Source: , Wines Vines Analytics. Domestic table and sparkling wine sales in multiple-outlet and convenience stores, 52 weeks ended July 15, 2018. OFF-PREMISE SALES GROWTH RATE BY VARIETAL -10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Chardonnay Cabernet Sauvignon Pinot Grigio Red Blends Pinot Noir Sauvignon Blanc Merlot Sparkling Rosé Percent change Source: , Wines Vines Analytics. Domestic table and sparkling wine sales in multiple-outlet and convenience stores, 52 weeks ended July 15, 2018. Off Premise Rosé Leads as Off-Premise Sales Rise 1% Zinfandel Zooms as DtC Shipments Rise 8% in July